Box Score
•Final
Statistics
Brian Porter raced for a
career-high 213 yards and four touchdowns
as No. 3-ranked Western Kentucky (9-2) controlled
the second half of play and posted a 35-14
victory over Florida International, Saturday
at FIU Stadium.
With the scored tied at 14 at halftime, Porter
ran for scores of five, 67 and 46 yards to
left the Hilltoppers to a fifth-straight win.
They will now await the NCAA Selection Committee's
announcement Sunday for the 16-team NCAA Division
I-AA Playoffs that begin next weekend.
Behind Porter, who replaced starter Lerron
Moore who left the game in the second
quarter with a left ankle injury, WKU rushed
for 383 yards and an even 500 yards in total
net yards.
“When Lerron (Moore) went down, we
asked Brian to step up. He hit a bump in the
road with a fumble, but the guys up front
did a good job — we stuck together and
kept coming after them. We seem to get better
as the game goes on,” said WKU head
coach David Elson, whose
18 wins over his first two seasons as head
coach is the most by a Western head coach
over his first two seasons on the job.
FIU (2-6), which lost for the fifth-straight
time, was led by running back Rashod
Smith, the No. 8-ranked runner in
I-AA who scooted for another 131 yards on
29 carries--his fourth 100-yard rushing game
of the year. He now has 976 yards on the season,
just 24 yards shy of becoming the first Golden
Panther in the history of the program to run
for 1,000 yards.
Quarterback Josh Padrick
completed 27-of-44 passes for 286 yards and
a touchdown to Cory McKinney,
who caught eight balls for 69 yards.
After a scoreless first quarter, Western
jumped out to a 14-0 lead on scoring runs
by Justin Haddix, from three yards, and Porter
from two. But FIU would come back in the final
three minutes of the second quarter.
First, FIU drove 65 yards, culminating the
drive on a 19-yard scoring run by Smith, and
then, after a defensive stop the Golden Panthers
got the ball back with 1:48 to play in the
half.
On the first play, Smith was stopped for
a loss of two yard, which was followed by
a sack of Padrick, setting up a third-down
and 16 from the FIU 30. But Padrick completed
a 19-yard pass to Smith for the first down,
then found Harold Leath for
another 22 yards and into WKU territory. Five
plays later, Padrick connected with McKinney
in the end zone from four-yards out with 10
seconds remaining in the clock to tie the
game, 14-14, at the break.
Once again, however, FIU was held in check
in the second half while its opponent put
points on the board.
With WKU up 21-14, FIU's Myron Acoff
recovered a Porter fumble at the
FIU eight yard line, which started a sustained
19-play drive that began with 8:39 remaining
in the third quarter but concluded on the
first play of the fourth quarter when an Adam
Moss 28-yard field goal attempt was
blocked, ending the threat.
The Golden Panthers had three more possessions
in the frame, but was forced to punt once
and twice turned the ball over on downs.
"We didn't do a very good job stopping
them in the second half, at the same time,
we had opportunities on offense, but couldn't
convert. It seems like an old record,"
said FIU head coach Don Strock.
"We played hard the whole game, but when
you're in a pressure situation against a good
team like Western Kentucky, somebody has got
to step up and make plays. Obviously, that
didn't happen today."
Two FIU injuries proved costly. Starting
cornerback Greg Moss left
the game with a concusion after making a tackle
in the second quarter and strong safety John
Haritan, the team's leading tackler,
left the game in the third quarter with a
neck strain and never returned.
The Golden Panthers continue the 2004 season
next Saturday, Nov. 27, at the Miami Orange
Bowl for the 68th Annual Orange Blossom Classic
against Florida A&M. For ticket information,
call the FIU Ticket Office at (866) FIU-GAME.
