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USU wins one the hard way, hanging on against Central Florida By
Doug Layne For the Aggies, nothing ever seems to come easy. Not even when they win. As the USU football team opened a 17-0 lead over Central Florida in the first quarter, it seemed as if the Aggies would not have any trouble against the Golden Knights. The Aggies scored on their first drive, as Jose Fuentes connected with Chris Stallsworth for a 44-yard touchdown reception. USU would get the ball back moments later and score on a 4-play drive as Emmett White ran the ball in from the 1. Central Florida had only allowed 13 points in its last three games and less then 600 yards of total offense against their opponents. Utah State would finish the game with 381 yards. It would then being only fitting that UCF would march right back in the second quarter and trail only 17-14 during the break, leaving Utah State without scoring a point in the second quarter. "We sometimes end up being our worst enemy," USU coach Mick Dennehy said. In every game this season that the Aggies have played, when leading at the break they have ended up losing. In breaking that trend, USU would have to get it done without White or Roger Fernandez, as both left the game with injuries in the second half. The Aggies would have to rely on third-stringer David Fiefia to be the big man for his team. Fiefia rushed for 47 yards on eight carries, including what would become the game-winning touchdown as he carried the ball in from 16 yards out to put Utah State up 30-20, with just under eight minutes remaining in the game. Fiefia had seen little playing time as a running back this season as he has sat behind both White and Fernandez . "He hasn't played much this year, but he was ready to play," Dennehy said. Sophomore safety Bryan Jackson said, "I was proud of David. . . . He stepped up and did what he had to do he saved the game" The Knights refused to give up, though, and on the next drive pulled within threee points, 30-27. "This was a real physical game," Dennehy said. "They have seven or eight really good players." UCF got one final chance to win, and it looked like the Knights were going to score on their final position, but the Aggie defense caused a fumble. After Sean Gaudion ran for a first down on USU's 23-yard line and coughed up the ball, Bryan Jackson recovered for USU. "We were looking for anything we could get," Jackson said " I just tried to block him (Gaudion) I pushed him to the side and the ball was right there. The ball came falling out whoever ripped it out did a great job." Fiefia sealed the victory by rushing on third down for more than 10 yards to get a first down and let the Aggies run out the clock. "I told the guys if they made some holes I'd get it," Fiefia said. "It felt good after sitting out to get this opportunity to play." Kevin Curtis, who leads the nation in reception yards, had a quiet game as he finished with 87 yards and eight receptions. The Aggies have the week off and a chance to recover from their injuries before they will hit the road to face Connecticut. With the victory over Central Florida, Utah State improves its record to 2-5.
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