Issue date: 10/2/07 Section: Exclusively Online

Media Credit: Ralph Notaro Owls gave it their all this Saturday at Lockheart Stadium in front of a sellout crowd, but in the end they lost 35-23 to South Florida, the sixth ranked team in the county.

Media Credit: Ralph Notaro Saturday's game attracted a sellout crowd of 21,106 at Lockhart Stadium.

Media Credit: Ralph Notaro The Owls needed an 80-yard drive to take the lead and shock the football world, but quarterback Rusty Smith threw three incompletions and a pass for a short gain to end the Owls hopes of an upset.

Fort Lauderdale - For 59 minutes of football it remained possible that the Owls could defeat the sixth ranked team in the country. In the end, South Florida came away victorious 35-23 in front of a sellout crowd of 21,106 at Lockhart Stadium.

"It was a bittersweet defeat because we didn't take advantage of all the opportunities we had to win the game," said Owls coach Howard Schnellenberger. "The sweet part of it is we played them as well as anybody has this season."

Running back Benjamin Williams scored four rushing touchdowns for the Bulls. He ran for 186 total yards, 162 of them in the second half. Williams formed a rushing tandem with Bulls quarterback Matt Grothe who ran for 120 yards and a touchdown of his own.

Despite the late rushing onslaught the Owls had a chance to win the game. Down 28-23 with 2:26, FAU had possession on its own 20 yard line. The Owls needed an 80-yard drive to take the lead and shock the football world, but quarterback Rusty Smith threw three incompletions and a pass for a short gain to end the Owls hopes of an upset.

"We feel we should have won this game," Smith said. "We did a lot of good things tonight, but it's hard to claim a moral victory when you had a chance to win the game."

The Owls defense stood its ground and the offense did more than enough to play even with the sixth ranked team in the country for more than one half of football. FAU would have had the lead at the half, but kicker Warley Leroy missed three field goals on a windy day to deny the Owls nine points.

The Owls tied the Bulls at seven at the end of the first half, scoring a touchdown on a short field. A punt by Keegan Peterson pinned the Bulls back at their own 10 yard line. That poor field position and an arrant heave from Grothe combined to set up an easy interception for Corey Small near the 40 yard line. Small then darted to the 11 where he was forced out of bounds. On third and 11 from the 12-yard line, Smith found Cortez Gent in the corner of the end zone and the score was tied at seven with 44 seconds left in the half. The TD was scored right in front of the student section which went into a wild celebration when Gent came down with the ball.

The Bulls took a 14-7 lead on their first drive of the second half but the Owls came right back to tie the score again. A combination of a hard fought kickoff return by DiIvory Edgecombe, athletic catches by Jason Harmon and Cortez Gent, and power running from Charles Pierre and Willie Rose propelled the Owls down the field. The game-tying score was a leaping end zone catch by Harmon in which he reached out over the top of a defender and brought in the ball.

The Bulls came right back and scored again but the Owls had another answer. This time Harmon brought the Owls into field goal range with this season's second installment of the "Harmon hurdle" in which he senses a defender going for a low tackle and then jumps over their outstretched body.

"Yea, I've been told I have perfect form," Harmon said. The drive resulted in a field goal which made the score 21-17 heading into the fourth.

Harmon finished the game with seven catches for 82 yards and the TD. Wide receiver Cortez Gent had seven catches for 61 yards and a TD.

The Bulls scored again, giving themselves an 11-point advantage but the Owls still didn't give up. DiIvory Edgecombe caught a slant pass and out-ran two Bulls defenders to bring the Owls within five points. Schnellenberger elected to go for a two point conversion but it was unsuccessful meaning the Owls needed a TD to win the game. The Bulls added a touchdown in the final minute to reach the final score of 35-23.

The sellout crowd appeared to be an even split of green clad USF fans and Owl supporters, mostly in red. The crowd arrived early and the parking lots were full more than an hour before game time. Many fans had to park at an FAU satellite building several blocks away and walk to the stadium in 85-degree heat. The trek did not hinder enthusiasm as both teams received support throughout the game.

"The crowd was great. I'm glad the fans came out," said Rusty Smith. "They did a great job."

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