TEMPLE – If Chad President wanted a dream debut as Temple’s head coach, his Wildcats delivered it Friday night. From the very first snap, Temple set the tone and never looked back in a 42-18 win over Nuevo Leon at Wildcat Stadium.
How fast was the start? Try 17 seconds. Quarterback Champ Mayo launched a deep ball down the middle on the game’s first play, and Ramauhn Brown hauled it in stride for a 59-yard touchdown. Fireworks before fans had even settled into their seats.
Brown wasn’t finished. The senior wideout torched Nuevo Leon’s secondary all night, finishing with eight grabs for 143 yards and three touchdowns. His second score came on a perfectly placed fade in the second quarter, and moments later he struck again in the back corner of the end zone for a 30-yarder that left the Tigres scrambling.
Mayo was surgical in his 2025 opener. The senior, who tossed for more than 2,600 yards last fall, went 21-of-26 for 306 yards and four touchdowns without a turnover. He spread the wealth, too—hitting Preston Thomas for a 52-yard strike in the third quarter and keeping the offense humming to 512 total yards.
On the ground, Cavalli Nealy powered the attack with 123 yards on 16 carries, including a 23-yard score in the fourth. Sophomore Eric Shelly chipped in with a goal-line plunge right before halftime to put Temple ahead 28-6 at the break.
Nuevo Leon had its flashes—Juan Ramos broke tackles for a 21-yard touchdown in the first quarter, Enrique Goico took a short pass 60 yards in the third, and Angel Vazquez sprinted 42 yards late in the fourth—but Temple’s firepower was too much.
Even when the Tigres thought they had a momentum-changer, Temple had an answer. Early in the second quarter, Nuevo Leon recovered a muffed punt in the end zone that could’ve tied the game—only for an illegal formation flag to wipe it away. That break opened the door for Brown’s second and third scores.
For President, a former Temple star quarterback and receiver, the night couldn’t have been scripted better. His first win as head coach came with big plays on both sides of the ball and proof that this Wildcats offense can be explosive from anywhere on the field.
Temple (1-0) now heads to Round Rock next Friday at 7:30 p.m., seeking revenge for last year’s 42-21 loss to the Dragons. Nuevo Leon, meanwhile, continues its Texas swing with three more games against Lone Star competition.
On opening night, though, it was all Wildcats—and all smiles for their rookie head coach.
