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Ford helps South Florida to sluggish win over FIU

Sep 21, 2008 - 3:10 AM MIAMI (Ticker) -- After a sluggish effort and frightening moment, South Florida almost suffered a devastating loss.

Mike Ford scored two touchdowns as the 12th-ranked Bulls survived another late-game scare in a 17-9 victory over Florida International on Saturday.

Freshman Maikon Bonani added a 20-yard field goal to provide the only other offense for the Bulls (4-0), who held the Golden Panthers to just 183 total yards.

"We got the win," South Florida quarterback Matt Grothe said. "But we should have played a lot better.''

South Florida's triumph was marred by a serious injury to senior linebacker Brouce Mompremier, who left in an ambulance in the third quarter and was subsequently airlifted to the hospital after suffering an apparent head injury.

"I was going for the ball. He was going for the hit. His helmet hit my hip,'' said Bulls safety Carlton Williams, who also was hurt in the collision. "I was devastated.''

According to South Florida linebacker Kion Wilson, Mompremier wanted to get to his feet but was told to stay down for his own good.

"He's a fierce competitor,'' Wilson said. "I saw he didn't want to stay down, but as a safety precaution he was told to stay down.''

Entering Saturday's contest, South Florida had posted back-to-back dramatic wins, including last week's 37-34 victory over then 11th-ranked Kansas on Bonani's 43-yard field goal as time expired, only the third kick of the Brazil native's career.

The Bulls, however, had squandered 14-point leads in the fourth quarter in each of their last two games.

It looked as if it would be different in this one thanks in part to the anemic Golden Panthers (0-3), who snapped an 11-game losing streak in last year's finale against North Texas and have been barely competitive in their first two contests this season.

They could not get anything going Saturday until the final 2:48, when Julian Reams scored a 1-yard touchdown after FIU's defense recorded a safety. The Golden Panthers could not recover the ensuing on-sides kick, effectively ending the game.

In the third quarter, Mompremier's injury took some more life out of an already plodding contest. The linebacker collided with teammate Carlton Williams when attempting to break up a pass.

Motionless on the field, Mompremier was strapped to a stretcher and carted off the field before he was taken away in a helicopter. Both teams then came together at mid-field in prayer, and the linebacker's family members were escorted out of the stadium with the ambulance.

South Florida, which looked to regain momentum after the sobering incident, drove down to FIU's 1-yard line when Ford lost a fumble. After a long review, it was determined the runner's knee was down before the ball came loose.

The reversal allowed for Grothe's fourth-down quarterback sneak, which was thwarted by the Golden Panthers' defense for an inspiring goal-line stand.

However, FIU could not mount anything offensively, going three-and-out to set the stage for South Florida's final scoring drive, which was capped by Ford's second score to make it 17-0.

Quarterback Paul McCall was 8-for-13 for just 46 yards with one interception for the Golden Panthers, who took something out of their stellar late-game performance.

"Our guys are as down as they can possibly be,'' FIU coach Mario Cristobal said. "But it does say something. It does say that we can do some things that can make us have a successful season.''