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TAMPA, Fla. (WWSB) - It was a busy Thursday for Tampa-area sports teams. The Buccaneers, Lightning, and the USF Football team were all in action, and the Bucs and the Bolts were able to come away with big wins.
There was no Baker Mayfield for the Bucs on Thursday night in Arlington, Texas against the Dallas Cowboys. There were also no win entering the contest, and a short week since Sunday’s home loss to the Packers.
Still, the undrafted rookie quarterback Jalon Daniels stood under center and guided Tampa Bay to a big win on the road, their first of the season.
The Bucs were down 10-7 at halftime, with a Daniels to Bucky Irving 5-yard touchdown pass the lone score in the second quarter for Tampa Bay.
The Bucs moved the ball better after the break, including a 72-yard breakaway for Irving that set up a 14-yard rushing score for Emeka Egbuka and a 14-10 lead.
Later Daniels found a wide open Tez Johnson on a 64-yard strike down the right sideline that led to an Irving rushing score. He had a career-high 165 yards with a rushing and receiving touchdown.
The team weathered a late Cowboys rally and intercepted Dak Prescott late in the game while Dallas was threatening to score, securing their first win of the season, 24-16.
The Bucs are next at home on Sunday, October 18th against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The USF Bulls football team was a five hour drive south of Arlington on Thursday night, taking on the Road Runners of UTSA in San Antonio, Texas.
The Bulls were up 24-23 late, but UTSA scored with :15 seconds left in regulation for the 31-24 win.
USF falls to 4-2 on the season, and Michael Van Buren had two passing touchdowns in the loss.
The Tampa Bay Lightning hosted the Minnesota Wild at home on Thursday as well, looking for a third-straight home win in the early stretch of the season.
They got off to a hot start. Eric Cernak shot from distance thirty seconds into the game, and it was tipped in at the net by Anthony Cirelli for the 1-0 advantage.
Less than a minute later, defenseman John Carlson shot from almost the same spot as Cernak, and notched his first goal as a member of the Lightning after his shot was deflected in off a Wild defender. Tampa Bay was up 2-0 a little over a minute into the contest.
In the second period with the Lightning up 2-1 and on the power play, Nikita Kucherov found John Carlson, who connected on his second goal of the night.
The Lightning hung on for a 3-2 win and a third-straight victory after an opening night loss on the road at the New York Rangers.
Now the Lightning will head back up to New York for Saturday’s matchup with the Islanders, and follow that up with a rematch with the Rangers on Tuesday.