Box Score
| |
Photo by Geoff Anderson
FIU running back
O.J. Price plunges into the end zone
for a score as the Golden Panthers won
for the first time this season, 34-23,
on Homecoming.
|
Sophomore running back Adam
Gorman led an FIU ground attack
with 187 rushing yards and three touchdowns
as the Golden Panthers won for the first time
this season, beating Holy Cross (1-7) on Homecoming,
34-23, Saturday in Miami.
Gorman ran for first-half scores of two and
one yards, helping FIU (1-7) to a 21-13 halftime
lead. He helped put the game away in the fourth
quarter on a 73-yard touchdown run, providing
the final margin of victory.
Golden Panthers quarterback Josh
Padrick completed 12 of 19 passes
for 159 yards, but it was the FIU ground game
that accounted for 248 of the team’s
407 net yards.
Holy Cross quarterback John O’Neill
threw 44 times on the day, completing 28 passes
for 272 yards and two touchdowns. His main
receiver was Ari Confesor
who caught nine passes for 150 yards and a
touchdown.
“We’re happy we won the football
game,” said FIU head coach Don
Strock who saw his team snap an eight-game
losing streak dating back to last Nov. 23.
“Adam Gorman kept plugging away. The
offensive line did a good job. We tried with
the offense to keep our defense off the field.
At times we did and other times we didn’t.
We ended with the win though, and you have
to get your first before you can get your
second.”
FIU scored on its first possession of the
game, set up when return specialist Greg
Moss took the opening kickoff
50 yards to the Holy Cross, 49. Playing in
place of starting running back Diamos
Demerritt (left shoulder) and
back-up Rashod
Smith (left toe), Gorman touched
the ball five straight times, covering the
49 yards and scoring on an two-yard run.
But Holy Cross came right back to tie the
game, 7-7, when O’Neill directed a 77-yard
drive in 1:36 that culminated with a 42-yard
touchdown pass to Confesor.
photo by Geoff
Anderson
Adam Gorman had
a career day against Holy Cross with
187 yards rushing and three touchdowns,
including one for 73 yards, during the
Golden Panthers' Homecoming victory
over the Crusaders.
|
|
The Golden Panthers regained the lead, 14-7,
on the opening drive of the second quarter.
Padrick competed a 30-yard pass to Cory
McKinney, and then hit Harold
Leath for a 24-yard gainer, giving
FIU a first down at the Holy Cross 13. Padrick
called his own number around the left end,
but he was knocked out of bounds at the one.
Gorman then put the finishing touches on the
drive with a one-yard plunge.
Back came the Crusaders on their next possession
with a 13-play, 80-yard drive that ended with
a one-yard scoring run by Gideon Akande. The
point after failed, and FIU extended its lead
to eight, 21-13, when O.J.
Price punched it in from the
one-yard line with 37 seconds remaining in
the half.
The teams traded touchdowns in the third
quarter, and a field goal by the Crusaders’
Mike DeSantis drew Holy Cross
to within, 27-23.
But Gorman took charge on the next drive.
On a second and three from the FIU 27, he
burst through the line and raced down the
right sideline, outrunning Holy Cross defenders
and scoring from 73 yards away--the second-longest
run from scrimmage in the two-year history
of the program (Smith’s 89-yard touchdown
run against Jacksonville last Oct. 32 is the
record long).
Gorman’s 187 yards was not only the
first 100-yard-plus game for a Golden Panther
runner this season, but it was also the second-most
yards ever attained by an FIU running back.
Only Smith and his 262 yards last year against
Jacksonville had more.
Gorman’s three touchdowns also tied
an FIU record, previously held by Smith against
Butler on Sept. 14, 2002.
“I thought our kids played very well
against what I feel is one of the best teams
we’ve played all year,” said Holy
Cross head coach Dan Allen.
“The records of both FIU and us are
not indicative of the type of teams we have.”
FIU must regroup in a hurry as the Golden
Panthers host Jacksonville, next Thursday,
Oct. 30 with a seven o’clock start that
will be televised on Sunshine Network. For
ticket information, call (305) FIU-GAME in
Miami-Dade, toll free at (866) 348-4263 or
on the Internet at fiusports.com.
