MIAMI – The FIU football team held UTSA scoreless for the opening 16:59 of the first half before the Roadrunners pulled away for a 30-10 victory on Friday night at FIU Stadium in Miami.
 
The Roadrunners outscored the Panthers 17-3 in the second quarter on the strength of 170 yards of total offense after the FIU defense limited them to just 66 in the opening 15 minutes.
 
UTSA (5-2, 3-0 C-USA) was led in the win by senior quarterback Patrick Harris who tossed two touchdowns while completing 24-of-35 passes for 303 yards.  He did not toss an interception.  Leading the way on the receiving end for the Roadrunners was Zakhari Taylor, who hauled in six receptions for 68 yards and a score. 
 
Kevorian Barnes paced USTA on the ground with 20 carries for 128 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
 
FIU (2-4, 0-2 C-USA) posted a total of 323 yards of offense while being guided by sophomore signal caller Grayson James who completed 18-of-36 passes for 174 yards – he tossed one interception.  A total of nine different players hauled in a pass for the Panthers, led by Kris Mitchell who totaled 70 yards on two catches.
 
Junior running back Lexington Joseph recorded 56 yards on just six carries – averaging 9.3 yards per touch.
 
The FIU defense was led by Gaethan Bernadel, who finished with a career-best and team-high 15 stops, which also represented the most tackles by any FIU player in a single game this season.  Demetrius Hill tabbed nine tackles and Donovan Manuel tabbed eight.
 
The Panthers came out of the gate and put together a solid drive on their opening possession, which saw it march 57 yards on 14 plays while chewing up 6:01.  Unfortunately, they came away empty when a 41-yard field goal attempt by sophomore Chase Gabriel sailed wide right.
 
UTSA opened the scoring with just over 13 minutes left in the second quarter on a 44-yard field goal by Jared Sackett, which was set up following a 31-yard reception by Clark.
 
Franklin extended the Roadrunners' lead to 10-7 with a five-yard TD grab at with 9:27 remaining in the second to cap a 70-yard drive.
 
Gabriel made up for his earlier miss when he drilled a 41-yarder to get the Panthers to within a touchdown at 10-3 with 5:37 left before half.  The drive was sparked by a 35-yard run by Joseph and a clutch 15-yard reception by sophomore Kris Mitchell, which converted a fourth and six attempt.
 
Harris tossed his second touchdown pass of the night to put UTSA up 17-3 with 2:41 left before the break when he hit sophomore Dan Dishman down the sideline for a 42-yard score.
 
The Roadrunners pushed the advantage to 24-3 at the 9:30 mark in the third when Kevorian Barnes scored on a nine-yard scoring run five plays after an interception of FIU's James by Corey Mayfield Jr., which set up UTSA at the FIU 44.

UTSA added a touchdown early in the fourth quarter on a second TD run by Barnes, this one from two yards out.  A bad snap on the ensuing extra-point kick attempt kept the score at 30-3.
 
FIU closed out the game with a nine-play, 70-yard march that resulted in a 15-yard TD run by Owens – the first touchdown of his collegiate career – to account for the final 30-10 margin.
 
UP NEXT
The Panthers return to the road next week for a Conference USA matchup at Charlotte on Saturday, Oct. 22 in a 3:30 p.m. ET start on ESPN3.
 
POSTGAME NOTES

• Friday night's game marked FIU second of three appearances on CBS Sports Network in 2022.
• The game vs. UTSA was FIU's Conference USA home opener – its 11^th since joining the league in 2013.
• FIU owns a 5-6 all-time mark in C-USA openers.
• FIU sophomore Jamal Potts forced a fumble by UTSA quarterback Patrick Harris that was recovered by graduate Davon Strickland with 3:46 left in the opening quarter.
• FIU kicker Chase Gabriel missed a 41-yard FG (wide right) with 8:52 left in the first quarter.
• FIU played without the services of senior wide receiver Tyrese Chambers (injury).
• UTSA kicker Jared Sackett missed a 41-yard FG (wide right) with 12:37 left in the third quarter.
• 55-yard pass completion from Grayson James to Kris Mitchell in the third quarter represented FIU's second-longest play from scrimmage this season.
• UTSA failed on an extra-point attempt at the 14:14 of the fourth following a bad snap on the kick attempt.
• FIU sophomore linebacker Chance Coleman recovered a fumble by UTSA's Eddie Lee Marburger at the 9:56 mark of the fourth quarter – the first of his career.
• Haden Carlson entered the game at quarterback for FIU at the 9:56 mark of the fourth quarter.
• Freshman running back Kejon Owens finished with 52 yards (career-high) and scored his first collegiate TD with 46 seconds left in regulation.

TICKETS
For more information on FIU Football season and individual tickets, including student ticketing, call 305-FIU-GAME or visit the FIU Athletics Online Ticket Office
 
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