Florida Atlantic Falls at Maryland

Saturday, August 30

College Park, MD

12 p.m.

Florida Atlantic

0-1 , 0-0

Maryland

1-0 , 0-0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Fla. Atlantic

Maryland

8/30/2025 4:59:00 PM | Football

Box Score

By: Ben Paul

COLLEGE PARK, MD. – The Florida Atlantic football team opened the 2025 season with a 39-7 loss to Maryland on Saturday afternoon

Hagerty Family Head Football Coach Zach Kittley said following his head coaching debut: "I'm extremely proud of our guys. We fought the whole game, we didn't give up even though we were in tough situations there. Hats off to Maryland, coached really well, really good football players over there."

VIDEO RECAP

FIRST HALF
Opening the game with the ball in the offense's hands on their own 25-yard line, redshirt junior QB Caden Veltkamp drove the Owls (0-1) down to Maryland's (1-0) four-yard line, aided by three receptions from redshirt junior WR Easton Messer and five Terrapin penalties.

While the offense's opening fourth-down attempt in the red zone failed to convert, Florida Atlantic's defense held its own, forcing three consecutive punts while not allowing a score in the first quarter.

The Terrapins struck first with an interception return for a touchdown, but the Owls came storming back with a drive culminating in a wide open 27-yard pass to redshirt sophomore wideout Asaad Wassem in the end zone to tie the score at 7-7 at the end of the first. Maryland then capitalized with 26 points in the second via a field goal, safety, and three touchdowns to send the Owls to the locker room trailing 33-7.

SECOND HALF
The Owls defense returned to form in the final 30 minutes, holding the Terrapins to just two field goals.

Late in the third quarter, a diving 31-yard catch from Waseem marked his second highlight play of the day and put the Owls deep into Maryland territory before an interception stalled the drive.

A scoreless fourth saw both benches clear, with several Florida Atlantic players making their Owl debuts including graduate QB Zach Gibson.

OFFENSE

Messer tied the single-game program record in receptions with 15.
Waseem turned his four catches into 70 yards.
Redshirt sophomore RB Gemari Sands rushed for 44 yards on nine carries.

DEFENSE

Redshirt junior LB Leon Hart Jr. led the way in tackles with 11.
Freshman end Josh Roberts had a tackle for loss in his collegiate debut.
Redshirt senior DB Terez Reid recorded multiple tackles at the line of scrimmage, including one for a loss.

SPECIAL TEAMS

On his five kick returns, junior Jayshon Platt recorded 134 yards, the most by an Owl in a single game since 2021.

POSTGAME AUDIO

Hagerty Family Head Football Coach Zach Kittley

Redshirt Sophomore WR Asaad Waseem

Redshirt Junior LB Leon Hart Jr.

PHOTO GALLERY

Gallery: (8-30-2025) Florida Atlantic at Maryland

UP NEXT
The Owls will return to Paradise for their home opener at Flagler Credit Union Stadium, taking on Florida A&M on Saturday, Sep. 6. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. on ESPN+.

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