MIAMI – All it took was an opening drive to set the tone for FIU in its 48-10 home win over Long Island University.
Coming off a 0-5 season in 2020, the Panthers were looking to get far past all that happened last year in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent shortened campaign. It is safe to say that they did so in emphatic fashion.
“The things that have changed over the last 18 months…it was kind of a nightmare, to be honest with you,” FIU head coach Butch Davis said. “We have guys that had a chance to leave the program but chose to come back to it…I told the players that we wanted to play fast, play smart, play physical, and give great effort.”
The first drive meant everything for FIU’s morale, as senior running back D’Vonte Price ran on all three plays of it, resulting in his 8-yard touchdown run at the 13:55 mark.
An extra point by kicker Chase Gabriel made it 7-0 in favor of FIU.
After FIU’s defense settled down and forced LIU into a field goal that resulted in a missed opportunity to make the game a potentially close one, it was off to the races from there.
At the 4:52 mark of the first quarter, Price flew past the opposition as he reached the end zone mainly untouched on a 68-yard touchdown run.
Gabriel’s extra point extended FIU’s lead to 14-0.
And with 1:56 left in the first, FIU running back Shaun Peterson Jr. made his trip to the end zone on a 4-yard touchdown run.
It was 21-0 in favor of FIU after Gabriel’s third extra point made.
FIU finished the first quarter with 216 yards, 161 of which came on the ground.
The second quarter’s pace was different.
FIU did not get another scoring moment until it was at the 5:47 mark, when Price broke through the line of scrimmage for a 28-yard touchdown run. Gabriel’s fourth extra made it 28-0 in favor of FIU.
“I just felt great out there,” said Price, who had five carries for 165 yards and three touchdowns. “Just doing what I had to do and executing off the calls and showing people that I could be the best…I feel like I’m in the best shape since I’ve been here.”
It was a struggle for FIU’s defense at certain stretches of the game, as LIU quarterback Camden Orth lobbed a perfectly placed pass near the sideline to wide receiver Derick Eugene, who reached the end zone off a 26-yarder. An extra point by kicker Paul Inzerillo cut FIU’s lead to 28-7 at the 3:59 mark.
And to end the first half, Inzerillo nailed a 29-yard field goal to cut FIU’s lead further to 28-10.
But it was all FIU for the rest of this one.
At the 10:01 mark of the third quarter, FIU quarterback Max Bortenschlager fired off a 52-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Bryce Singleton. Gabriel’s fifth extra point extended FIU’s lead to 35-10.
And then Gabriel connected on his first of two field goals off a 29-yarder with 4:24 left in the third for a 38-10 lead by FIU.
The game’s final 10 points happened in the fourth quarter, which was highlighted by a 12-yard touchdown pass from Bortenschlager to wide receiver Tyrese Chambers at the 11:06 mark and a 45-yard field goal by Gabriel at the 7:33 mark.
“It feels awesome,” Bortenschlager said. “That throw to Bryce was awesome. It was the coverage we wanted…We got a lot of playmakers everywhere. My job is just to get them the ball. As you saw, when we get them the ball, good things happen.”
With the convincing win, FIU starts its season at 1-0. Meanwhile, LIU is now 0-1.
NEXT GAME FOR FIU: Home vs. Texas State (0-0) on Saturday, Sept. 11 at 7 p.m.
NEXT GAME FOR LIU: Away at West Virginia (0-0) on Saturday, Sept. 11 at 5 p.m.
