Posted September 11, 200420 yr Golden Panthers Football Time: 5 PM Place: Youngstown, Ohio TV: Sunshine Network Radio: 790 ESPN Radio, WRHC "Cadena Azul" (1550 AM), and WRGP 88.1 FM Wednesday, September 8, 2004 FIU Football Puts in Impressive Showing in Preparation for Youngstown State Whether it was the display military helicopters flying overhead, which transported President George W. Bush to his press conference at the National Hurricane Center on campus, or just reality that the season will finally begin this Saturday at Youngstown State, Wednesday's two-hour FIU Football practice in full gear impressed head coach Don Strock. The Golden Panthers haven't gotten in much work of late, what with four days off from Hurricane Frances and then yesterday's practice washed out after heavy rain and lightning. Yet despite it all, Strock remains positive as he readies his team for the opener. "Tuesdays are usually our extra day in getting ready for an opponent any way, and at this point, the rest was maybe just as important," Strock said. "Today's practice was excellent and yesterday we got in a lot of class-room time studying film. "But it was good to get these guys back out here this afternoon and it was important to get them out one more time in full gear. Tomorrow we'll finish up with our game plan and get ready to play Youngstown State." The Penguins showed a new wrinkle on offense last week against opponent Slippery Rock with redshirt freshman quarterback Tom Zetts completing 14-of-16 passes for 207 yards on the day. Strock is well aware of that feat and says his team has played against that kind of offense before. "Teams that run the ball often use the play-action pass," he reasoned. "We've faced teams like Western Kentucky and Georgia Southern in the past who play that type of game. They run and run and then all of a sudden, they pull it out and throw it down field into an open seam. That's what we have to guard against and I think we'll be prepared for it." Several minor injuries reported after Wednesday's workout included wide receiver Chris Patullo (Weston/Western H.S.) re-aggravating his right shoulder and linebacker Antwan Barnes (Miami/Norland) and tight end Moses Hinton (Delray Beach/American Heritage) going down with leg cramps. All are expected back to practice tomorrow. JACKSONVILLE GAME OFFICIALLY CANCELED: FIU Athletic Director Rick Mello made it official Wednesday that FIU's scheduled game against Jacksonville that was washed out last Thursday by Hurricane Frances would not be made up?Today's practice was interrupted for about 35 minutes when lightning struck around FIU Stadium.
September 11, 200420 yr i cant believe i actually have this game on tv. i guess after 2 years going there its about time. next step, actually go to a game. lets see how long i can leave this game on.
September 12, 200420 yr Nice comeback win for FIU yesterday. I'm very happy with their progress. We played a sloppy game and still were able to pull out the win so that makes me feel positive that we can work out the kinks and play MUCH better.
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