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Deflected kick saves the day for USF
By The Associated Press
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Game No. 10 Vitals: ECU vs. USF |
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GREENVILLE — The major
underdog mounted the major comeback, but a minor diversion of a PAT kick
attempt was just enough to head off the major upset.
An extra-point kick
attempt by East Carolina's Cameron Broadwell was partially blocked in
the second overtime, giving South Florida a 38-37 victory Saturday.
The Bulls (6-3 overall,
4-2 Conference USA) had taken a seven-point lead on Elgin Hicks's third
touchdown catch of the day — a 22-yarder from Ronnie Banks — and
Santiago Gramatica's extra-point kick.
The Pirates (1-9, 1-5)
moved within a point on fullback Vonta Leach's 3-yard run, but Broadwell
had his kick partially blocked wide right.
Broadwell, who earlier had
missed two field goals, had been successful on a 35-yard field goal
attempt in the first overtime. His effort was matched by South Florida's
Gramatica from 40 yards.
The Pirates forced
overtime with 21 seconds to play when Leach plunged in from the 1. The
touchdown capped a 10-play, 33-yard drive after a fumble by South
Florida's Chris Iskra.
The Bulls have won all
three of their overtime games this year. They earlier beat Louisville
(31-28) and Cincinnati (24-17), also both in two overtimes.
South Florida scored 21
points in a 3:40 span of the first half. The first touchdown was set up
by Bruce Gipson's block of a Ryan Dougherty punt.
The Pirates answered with
two touchdowns before halftime. James Pinkney, starting at quarterback
in place of the injured Desmond Robinson, connected with Townes on a
28-yard score.
The Pirates pulled even at
21-21 just 55 seconds after halftime. Guy Whimper picked up the ball
after a USF mix-up on a shotgun snap and returned it the final 7 yards.
02/23/2007 10:52 AM
Copyright 2003 The
Associated Press. Bonesville.net contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may
not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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