It’s the first time the Golden Panthers (3-6) have defeated the Hilltoppers (6-5) in three meetings. WKU concludes 2005 with its 10th consecutive winning season.
The contest — which saw five ties and a pair of lead changes — looked like it was headed for overtime after Justin Haddix found Ross Cassity for a 4-yard touchdown pass with 1:20 remaining after Dennis Mitchell returned a punt 55 yards to set up a 1st-and-goal situation.
But, Josh Padrick hit Chandler Williams twice for gains of 28 and 21 yards on the Golden Panthers’ ensuing possession to set up the game-winning kick.
Trailing 14-7 late in the second quarter, the Hilltoppers turned the tide on a pair of touchdown passes from Haddix. His 48-yard scoring strike to Curtis Hamilton at 3:39 came just over a minute after the Golden Panthers had taken their second seven-point advantage of the day, while he gave WKU a seven-point lead at the half — its first of the game — after finding Rannen Roberson for a 5-yard touchdown on third down with 17 seconds to go.
Haddix completed all five pass attempts in the opening 30 minutes, finishing the night 11-of-14 for 125 yards and a career-high-tying three touchdowns.
From there, the Toppers answered every FIU challenge in the third period. Padrick scored on a 1-yard quarterback sneak at 7:28 to tie the score at 21, but WKU needed just six plays to drive 89 yards — the longest of the night by either team — before a Lerron Moore 5-yard run allowed the Toppers to regain the lead, 28-21, with four minutes to go in the quarter. The Golden Panthers tied the score again before the end of the period when Ben West scored from 2 yards out.
West would record 58 yards on nine carries, all in the second half, to help FIU’s comeback.
The Golden Panthers regained the lead with 11:19 left in the contest when Padrick found Moses Hinton in the back corner of the end zone for an 8-yard touchdown. That came one play after the Toppers were whistled for a personal foul as Moss missed a 32-yard field-goal attempt.
FIU opened the contest with a lengthy 14-play, 80-yard drive that lasted almost seven minutes before Padrick’s 3-yard draw gave the Golden Panthers a 7-0 advantage with 8:20 left in the opening quarter. Padrick was 4-of-4 passing on the march for 38 yards, while A’mod Ned carried seven times for another 34 yards.
The Hilltoppers answered with a 10-play march that reached the FIU-1 yard line, but Marshall McDuffie and Chris Smith stopped Moore for no gain on third down before Venson Jones and James Black tackled Haddix just short of the goal line as the Golden Panthers forced a turnover on downs.
On 3rd-and-1, the Toppers caused a fumble by Ned that Andre Lewis recovered on the FIU-8, leading to Moore’s 6-yard touchdown three plays later that tied the score 2:23 before the end of the first.
Moore recorded the 17th 100-yard game of his career to pace the WKU rushing attack, ending the contest with 181 yards on 27 carries. His 37-yard rush midway through the third period pushed him over 1,000 yards for the year, making him the first Hilltopper since Willie Taggart to post multiple 1,000-yard seasons. Stephen Willis added 40 yards on seven attempts as the Toppers finished with 222 yards on the ground.
FIU regained the lead, 14-7, at 4:45 of the second quarter when Ned reached the end zone on a 2-yard run at 4:45, capping an 11-play, 61-yard possession that took more than five minutes off the clock. Ned led the Golden Panthers with 20 rushes for 79 yards.
They outgained the Toppers, 492-347, as Padrick completed 22-of-36 attempts for 324 yards. Williams ended with eight catches for a game-best 129 yards, while Hinton had five receptions for another 62.
Maurice Perkins led the Hilltoppers with four catches for 33 yards.
Smith paced all players with 14 total stops for FIU, with Lionell Singleton supplying 11 tackles. Marion Rumph led WKU with 11 tackles, and Antonio Thomas had nine in his final collegiate contest.
