It was a typical order of events for Temple quarterback E.J. Warner.

Take the shotgun snap, lure the defense downfield with his steely gaze and sling the ball to the boundary on a wide-out screen.

It was a rousing success until UAB senior defensive lineman Fish McWilliams imposed his presence on the unsuspecting signal-caller. Swimming left through one blocker and around the right on the next, the 305-pound defensive tackle swallowed up and planted Warner into the turf for an 8-yard loss — ending a promising drive and igniting a fire in McWilliams’ defensive cohorts.

“I was just doing what I’m coached to do,” McWilliams said. “I had to get off the ball sooner and secure the sack. I’ve missed a lot of sacks so my biggest thing was just securing the sack.”

Finding their passion on defense and fellow seniors Jermaine Brown Jr. and Tejhaun Palmer carving paths to the end zone, the Blazers rallied quickly and held on for a 34-24 victory over Temple, Saturday, Nov. 18, at Birmingham’s Protective Stadium.

“Happy for our seniors, we talked all week long about playing in a way that makes them proud and proud of the legacy they left here as Blazers,” UAB head coach Trent Dilfer said. “A bunch of them showed up tonight in a big way. Fish, T-Palm and Skull, others, they just played at a really high level. I’m most proud of the resolve and the grit they’ve shown.”

“We’ve been very honest about how disappointed we’ve been in our record,” he added. “I’ve been around a lot of football teams that would cave in these moments, that would divide, and they’ve been steadfast in staying the course, trusting in the process and learning how to live a certain life on and off the field, regardless of what their circumstances are.”

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Rewinding UAB’s 34-24 win over Temple

UAB (4-7, 3-4 AAC) held the Owls to 109 yards following the sack of Warner — reviewed and confirmed after it appeared McWilliams forced and recovered a fumble — and amassed 505 total yards with a balanced offensive attack.

In the first half, Temple gained 256 yards, primarily by way of Warner’s arm, but managed only two scoring drives on four possessions while a fumble and a sack by Desmond Little brought an end to the other two drives. Along with allowing only 55 rushing yards (2.6 average/rush), UAB held Temple to a 5-of-15 performance on third down while true freshmen Chris Bracy and Everett Roussaw combined for a forced fumble and recovery.

“A lot more press coverage, trusting in our corners and coverage guys to make him (Warner) uncomfortable,” Dilfer said. “We pulled out pressure on our defensive line to clog the inside of the pocket and make it hard to see, and then the second half more of the same. We didn’t really change anything (in the second half), it was really after the second drive we changed the most and started doing a better job.”

In the second half, Palmer eclipsed the century mark for the fourth time this season, hauling in eight receptions for 125 yards, and scored UAB’s second go-ahead touchdown on a 22-yard pass from Jacob Zeno, who finished 20-of-28 for 246 yards. The senior receiver opened the Blazers’ first scoring drive of the second half with a 26-yard reception, leading to Battle’s rushing score, and had three receptions for 70 yards — converting two third downs — on his touchdown drive.

“At some point, we got to go out there and make a bunch of plays, game-changing plays, and take pride in doing it,” Dilfer said. “It became a little competition the last 24 hours, guys talking about who is going to make the most plays, and I thought T-Palm made a handful of plays.”

Brown set the UAB career record for all-purpose yards last week at Navy — currently standing at 4,846 yards — and continued his record-setting season in rushing for a season-high 153 yards and a touchdown. He moved into third place on the program’s all-time rushing list (2,962 yards), behind Spencer Brown and DeWayne McBride, and caught five passes for 20 yards to set the UAB career record for receptions by a running back (94).

The senior running back found his groove late in the second quarter, breaking loose on runs of 16 and 24 yards on UAB’s final drive of the half, and had rushing attempts of 16, 26 and 12 yards in the second half. Brown’s 2-yard touchdown run with 2:32 remaining sealed the outcome for the Blazers, along with a red zone interception by true freshman Ricky Lee III.

UAB rushed for 259 yards as Lee Beebe finished with 10 carries for 70 yards and a touchdown and senior Demetrius Battle had three attempts for 12 yards and a score.

“Shout out to the O-line,” Brown said. “Running back, it’s a hard position because it can be on and off. Sometimes it’s going to be holes there and sometimes it’s not. But those guys, those offensive linemen, that’s a hard position. They banging, they doing the dirty things and I have to give all the credit to them boys. They push me and keep me confident all the time.”

With as many plays made by members of the senior class, the same can be said of a true freshman class that has seen at least 20 players hit the field this season. Defensively, Bracy and Roussaw combined for a turnover and Ricky Lee III hauled in his second interception of the season. Although Amare Thomas was held to 10 yards on two touches, fell true freshman wide receiver Corri Milliner brought down a 59-yard reception on a deep throw from Zeno.

“I think one of the neatest things this week has been watching the older guys help the younger guys get better,” Dilfer said. “Ricky Lee has never played safety and he’s playing safety the whole second half. All week long, (Keondre) Swoopes, Ike (Rowell), Ray (Thornton) and all these guys we’re helping him adjust to the position. You see at the defensive line with Emmanuel (Waller) and Tyler (Thomas). T-Palm helped Corri Milliner out this week, we played another true freshman that hadn’t seen time tonight, and that’s been really encouraging to see.”