Carter scored on a 16-yard touchdown run in the first quarter and rushed for 54 yards on 11 carries. Parker finished with two sacks and a forced fumble for the East in a 25-8 win.

The West leads the all-time series 45-36. It’s the third win in a row for the East, who was coached throughout the week by Dan Reeves and assistants Shawn Jefferson, Sam Mills and Steve Atwater, among others. Wade Phillips was head coach of the West.

Defensive end Bruce Miller and offensive tackle Jah Reid represented UCF in the contest, which was played in front of an announced crowd of 9,642. Both started at their positions for the East.

“It was a great opportunity to get out there and show a little bit of what you’ve got,” Miller said. “And we had a blast doing it.”

Miller helped force a punt when the defensive coverage by the East gave him ample time to chase down Idaho quarterback Nathan Enderle for a sack in the third quarter.

Reid did his part as well, despite being called for a penalty.

“It’s a great way to sum up my college career right here in Orlando, at home,” Reid said. “I’ll never forget it.”

The East gained 301 yards of total offense. The West gained just 126 yards on the day.

(– Edited version of release from UCF Athletics –)

“They’re great players and you can see why their program has done so well,” Reeves said of UCF’s Miller and Reid. “The enthusiasm and the way those guys concentrated and worked hard paid off. This is a short week. This is tough. People don’t understand how tough it is for these players to have this much thrown at them this quickly. I can’t tell you how tough that is. They didn’t have any problem with it at all. It shows you what kind of players they are.”

“Jah Reid has a real bright future playing in the National Football League. It’s hard to find guys that big that have the kind of foot quickness that he’s got. I was working with the offense and guys like Bruce showed up all the time. He was one of the ones getting to the quarterback in practice. You hope that he carries that on to the game and you saw that he could do that.”

Miller and Reid both were quick to credit their time with the Knights as a prime reason for why they stand on the cusp of earning an NFL paycheck.

“UCF got me here,” Miller said. “My coaches and the players that I’ve been able to play with are the reason that I’m here. I’m very grateful for everything that they’ve done for me. It sure does help prepare you. The work that we put in and learning to do things the right way is what the scouts and coaches want to see when I’m out here. They want the work ethic and intensity on the practice field and I was able to show that.”

“Coach O’Leary definitely prepares us for the next level with how we think about the game, how we practice, it all carried over,” Reid said.

Miller for one certainly enjoyed the experience of playing in the East-West Shrine Game.

“It was a blast out there. I came over here to the stadium very excited about the week. I was able to come over here last year and watch Torell (Troup) play for the week so I knew a little bit of what it was going to be like but I was excited getting out here and running around with some of these guys that you watch on TV and then you get to meet them. It was great to get out there. The talent level was top-notch. These are thebest college football players in the country and it was fun to see where you stack up against them.”

Reid also relished the opportunity to play his final collegiate event in the shadow of both his hometown of Haines City and also the campus that he called home.

“It feels great,” he said of the experience this past week. “I had over 30 people at will call. I had a lot of family here and friends.”

Miller believes that he did what he needed to do this week before moving on to the NFL Combine next month in Indianapolis.

“I showed work ethic,” he said. “I didn’t make as many plays as I wanted to but they knew that every day I was going to work. I was going to give great effort and that was important to me.”

Reid, still under consideration for a combine invitation, feels that he did well this week, too.

“I think I did pretty well,” he said. “There’s always room for improvement. The competition was so great. To be able to play in this game with such great athletes was an honor and I had a great time.”

Clermont native Gregory Lloyd II and Lake Brantley alum Patrick DiMarco, a fullback for the West, were among a handful of local players taking part in the game.

Lloyd II, out of Connecticut, led the East with 5 tackles. Florida defensive end Justin Trattou finished with 4 tackles (2 for loss), a sack and pass breakup while Buffalo cornerback Josh Thomas had 4 tackles, a fumble recovery and pass breakup.

Other defensive standouts for the East included Ohio State linebacker Brian Rolle (2 tackles, forced fumble, pass breakup), Tennessee defensive end Chris Walker (2 tackles, forced fumble), Miami cornerback Demarcus Van Dyke (2 tackles, fumble recovery), Nebraska defensive end Pierre Allen (sack, forced fumble) and Penn State defensive tackle Olong Ogbu (sack). Iowa State strong safety David Sims intercepted a pass.

Oklahoma State linebacker Orie Lemon led the West with 8 tackles (2 for loss) while Central Michigan linebacker Nicholas Bellore had 6 tackles and Boise State cornerback Brandyn Thompson had 5 tackles. Boise State linebacker Winston Venable finished with 4 tackles (1 for loss) and an interception.

Navy quarterback Ricky Dobbs passed for 51 yards on 5-of-10 attempts and rushed for 40 yards on five carries for the East. Penn State running back Evan Royster rushed for 38 yards and a touchdown on nine carries and Texas tight end Greg Smith led all receivers with four catches for 77 yards before dislocating his shoulder.

– More Highlights From 2011 East-West Shrine Game –

– 1st Quarter – Hawaii’s Alex Green fumbled away possession of the ball on the opening play of the game. The East took over at the 16-yard line, from which Carter worked his way around the right end and beat a defender to the goal line at the 14:38 mark.

The early troubles for the West continued as Wisconsin quarterback Scott Tolzien was sacked on successive plays. Parker was in on the first sack while the second came from Oregon’s Kenny Rowe, who forced a fumble that resulted in a safety with 8:59 to go.

The East had no trouble finding the end zone once again following the kick as Royster extended the lead to 16-0 with 4:23 remaining on a four-yard run up the middle.

– 2nd Quarter – After missing a 27-yard field goal attempt, Auburn’s Wes Byrum hit from 25 yards out. The second chance came by way of another big defensive play by the East as Parker got to Tolzien for another sack and forced fumble.

The field goal put the East up 19-0.

The West would finally get on the scoreboard with Enderle taking over under center. Enderle hooked up with Portland State tight end Julius Thomas for a five-yard touchdown. They then connected on the ensuing two-point play to cut the deficit to 19-8 with 2:44 to go in the half.

– 4th Quarter – With less than four minutes remaining Walker forced a fumble at the goal line, which was recovered by North Carolina defensive tackle Marvin Austin for the final score of the game. Byrum had his extra-point attempt blocked by Idaho’s Shiloh Keo.

Byrum finished the day just 1-of-3 on field goals and 2-of-3 on point-after tries.

– (email JC@OrlandoSportsCentral.com and follow at Facebook or @OrlandoSportsJC ) –

– Photos by Scott McCall –

The Tide outgained MSU 546-171 in total yards, holding to Spartans to minus-48 yards on the ground. Alabama was in on five quarterback sacks defensively, and used a balanced offensive attack (275 yards rushing, 271 yards passing) to finish its season 10-3. Michigan State finishes 11-2.

Junior linebacker Courtney Upshaw was named most valuable player after finishing with five tackles (three for loss), two sacks and a forced fumble. Robert Lester (5 tackles) broke up a pass and returned an interception 22 yards. Alex Watkins (4 tackles), Marcell Dareus (3 tackles) and DeQuan Menzie (2 tackles) also recorded sacks for Alabama.

“Coming into the game coach (Nick Saban) talked about being inspired and dominating the person in front of you,” Upshaw said afterwards. “We wanted to dominate and finish the game.”

Michigan State was tackled for a loss 11 times on the day for 70 yards. Edwin Baker gained just 14 yards on 12 carries. Quarterback Kirk Cousins was knocked out of the game after being sacked for the fourth time.

“It was an accumulation of hits that ran its course as the game went on,” Cousins said of being forced to the sideline. “The last one I took was one where I just had a throbbing headache on the field and my lower back started to flare up, so I just felt my body was wearing down as the game went on. That was sort of the final nail in the coffin.”

And while nothing went right for Michigan State, there was little that could go wrong for Alabama during a game that was played in 77-degree weather.

Quarterback Greg McElroy finished 13-of-17 passing for 220 yards and a touchdown to Marquis Maze, who caught four passes for 77 yards. Preston Dial also caught four balls for 55 yards. McElroy now holds the single-season records at Alabama for passing yards (2,914) and touchdowns (20), moving past the top-two previous efforts of John Parker Wilson in 2006 and 2007.

Running back Mark Ingram gained 59 yards and scored twice on 12 carries while Eddie Lacy also reached the end zone twice in the second half on five carries for 86 yards. Trent Richardson rushed for 42 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries and Julio Jones got a big block from McElroy to score on a 35-yard run late in the second quarter. Jones finished with 36 yards on two carries and caught three passes for 49 yards.

The 1,133 receiving yards and 78 receptions for Jones this year are new single-season records at Alabama, surpassing the efforts of D.J. Hall.

Ingram set the new career rushing touchdowns record at Alabama in the second quarter. His 42 scores on the ground is one better than Shaun Alexander finished his career with from 1996-99.

Marcus Hyde (8 tackles) and Greg Jones (8 tackles) led the Spartans on defense.

– (email JC@OrlandoSportsCentral.com or follow @OrlandoSportsJC and Carnahan Chronicles) –

– Photos by Scott McCall –

Russell went 28-of-45 passing for 275 yards and two scores. He rushed 14 times for 41 yards and was sacked five times in the win.

Senior Jarvis Williams led all receivers with six catches for 77 yards and a touchdown while sophomore James Washington led all rushers with 62 yards on 18 carries and caught two passes for four yards. Williams is a graduate of Jones High School and Washington finished as a state runner-up while at Boone High School.

Freshman Mustafa Greene caught a 16-yard touchdown pass for N.C. State (9-4) with 1:37 left in the first quarter. Senior Josh Czajkowski made 3-of-4 field goal attempts, including kicks of 45, 40 and 38 yards.

The 20 field goals made by Czajkowski on the year ties Marc Primanti (1996) for the most in a single season in school history. He finished his career ranked No. 3 all-time with 46 made attempts, the most since Damon Hartman made 48 from 1988-91.

Freshman David Amerson forced a fumble and led the Wolfpack with seven tackles. Sophomore Brandon Bishop intercepted a pass and finished with five tackles. Nate Irving (4 tackles, FF, FR) and Audi Augustin (3 tackles) each recorded sacks while Michael Lemon (2 tackles), Taylor Gentry (tackle) and David Akinniyi recovered fumbles.

The win for N.C. State gives coach Tom O’Brien his 100th career win in 14 years as a head coach.

West Virginia (9-4) got two sacks from Bruce Irvin (forced fumble) while Robert Sands (8 tackles), Julian Miller (4 tackles) and Sidney Glover (4 tackles) also reached the quarterback. J.T. Thomas led the Mountaineers with 10 tackles. Terence Garvin finished with five tackles and a fumble recovery.

Quarterback Geno Smith tied the game at 7-7 with 2:10 left in the first half on a 32-yard touchdown pass to Stedman Bailey. That gave him 24 touchdown passes on the year, which is good for No. 2 on the WVU single-season list. He is also No. 2 on the single-season completions list at the school with 241.

Smith finished 22-of-39 passing for 196 yards and rushed for 59 yards on 12 carries.

Noel Devine took eight carries for 50 yards and caught four passes for 21 yards in the loss. Jock Sanders caught five balls for 58 yards and Tavon Austin caught five passes for 30 yards.

Devine finished out his career No. 3 all-time at West Virginia with 4,315 rushing yards and No. 1 all-time in all-purpose yards with 5,761. Sanders ended his career at WVU with 206 receptions, the most in program history.

West Virginia missed two field goals and turned the ball over five times in all during a game that was played in 51-degree temperatures. N.C. State also forced five turnovers against UCF when the Wolfpack played in Orlando on Sept. 11. The 23 points scored by N.C. State on Tuesday was the most allowed by the Mountaineers this season.

( – More on the game at Williams, Washington Lead N.C. State At Champs – )

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– Photos by Scott McCall –

Whatever the extent of that animosity was, some back-and-forth between players over which team’s uniform sponsor held the most clout clearly bothered members of the Wolfpack.

The feud led to an intensely physical football game in front of an announced crowd of 48,962. And N.C. State got the last word with a 23-7 statement win over the Mountaineers (9-4).

Jarvis Williams (5) and James Washington (24) returned to Orlando on Tuesday in the Champs Sports Bowl. (Photo by Scott McCall)

“We came out with a chip on our shoulder,” said former Boone High School running back James Washington. “They challenged us at the luncheon and we just wanted to come out and show that a team that wears Adidas can beat a team that wears Nike.”

Whatever source of inspiration is necessary, I suppose.

“The Nike team was talking a lot of mess,” former Jones High School standout Jarvis Williams confirmed. “They were underestimating us. We could tell that they thought they had this game in hand all week long.”

Williams finished his final game at N.C. State with a game-high six catches for 77 yards and a touchdown with 3:55 to play. Washington, a sophomore, ended the night with a game-high 62 yards on 18 carries and caught two passes for four yards.

“We knew that we were going to come in the underdogs, but sometimes it takes you being the underdog to win the game,” Washington said.

The homecoming for the college teammates capped off a 9-4 season for the Wolfpack. It also brought back a flood of memories for the Orlando natives.

“Jarvis has really grown – off the field and on the field,” N.C. State Coach Tom O’Brien said. “He’s matured a lot. He was elected as one of the captains by the team this year and was excited about the opportunity to come back here and play in the shadow of his former high school.”

Williams, who played his home football games for the Tigers at the Citrus Bowl, was thrilled about having one more chance to play in front of his hometown fans.

Jarvis Williams (Photo by Scott McCall)

“We got some new grass here, I see,” said Williams with a smile as he looked down at the newly planted artificial turf.

But it wasn’t really all about where his last collegiate football game was being played, rather how it would end once the clock ran out.

“I wanted to make sure I left (N.C. State) with a big statement and helped our team have a positive note to end the season,” Williams said.

For Washington, he was able to leave the Citrus Bowl field on a much brighter note than he did as a senior for the Braves in 2007.

“Last time I was in this stadium we lost in the state championship, but we’re just happy that we won this game today,” Washington said.

Turns out, though, that it was the hard work he put in while in high school that led him right back to Orlando after all.

“He’s another guy that was very excited to get back here,” O’Brien said of Washington. “One of the things we liked about him in high school was that he carried the ball about 40 times a game and never tired. He was about as strong in the fourth quarter as he was in the first quarter.”

Washington, who O’Brien said was not fully functional until sometime in November, pulled his hamstring in training camp and missed out on a chance to play in Orlando against UCF in the second game of the season.

Yet when a second chance presented itself, he took the ball and ran with it the best he had all year long.

– (email JC@OrlandoSportsCentral.com or follow @OrlandoSportsJC and Carnahan Chronicles) –

– (email JC@OrlandoSportsCentral.com or follow @OrlandoSportsJC and Carnahan Chronicles) –

– Photos of UCF vs. SMU on Dec. 4 by Scott McCall –

Last week Conference USA awarded three league honors to the UCF Knights football program. Quarterback Jeff Godfrey was named C-USA Freshman of the Year, defensive end Bruce Miller took home Defensive Player of the Year for the second year in a row and George O’Leary was named Coach of the Year for the third time in six years.

Jeff Godfrey (Photo by Scott McCall)

The Knights finished the 2010 season as C-USA champs and are preparing for a season-ending matchup against Georgia at the Liberty Bowl in Memphis on Dec. 31.

Godfrey, who recorded a 9-2 record as the starter and was 8-1 against C-USA teams, is the second Knight to receive C-USA Freshman of the Year honors. In 2005, running back Kevin Smith was the other.

Godfrey ranks eighth in the nation in passing efficiency at 165.28, trailing only seven others who have led top-10 teams this year in Cam Newton, Kellen Moore, Ryan Mallett, Scott Tolzien, Andy Dalton, Greg McElroy and Andrew Luck. Godfrey’s 68.4-percentage in completions ranks sixth nationally. He also rushed for 546 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns on the year.

Miller joins Adalius Thomas of Southern Miss (1998-99) as the only repeat winners of the C-USA Defensive Player of the Year award. Miller leads all players nationally with 34 career sacks, a number which matches Florida State’s Peter Boulware (1994-96) for fourth most ever by an FBS player in the state of Florida.

Bruce Miller (Photo by Scott McCall)

Perhaps Miller’s two biggest plays of the year came when he intercepted passes and returned them both for touchdowns, setting a UCF record and tying for the second most in conference history for a single season. Miller helped UCF lead C-USA defensive statistics in total yards, rushing yards, scoring defense and passing efficiency in 2010 for a unit that ranked amongst the national top-20 for much of the season.

O’Leary helped guide the Knights to its first national top-25 ranking this season behind the league’s most dominant defense and a vastly improved offense and special teams unit, which includes a kickoff return team that ranks first in the nation.

He did this while also guiding a UCF program that has excelled in the classroom. UCF’s 972 APR (Academic Performance Rate) is in the national top-10 for public schools while eight members of the UCF team had all ready received their bachelor’s degrees prior to this season. All of the team’s 19 seniors are on pace to graduate.

It is the fifth FBS Coach of the Year award for O’Leary, who also claimed C-USA’s prize in 2005 and 2007 while winning the ACC’s in 1998 and 2000 as head coach at Georgia Tech. The five career awards ties him for third amongst all active FBS coaches. Leading the pack with six are Dennis Erickson and Steve Spurrier, while Frank Beamer and Bill Snyder also have five apiece. O’Leary ties former Southern Miss mentor Jeff Bower for the most C-USA Coach of the Year honors all-time.

– (email JC@OrlandoSportsCentral.com or follow @OrlandoSportsJC and Carnahan Chronicles) –

2010 Conference USA Champions (Photo by Scott McCall)

When the Conference USA title game ended on Saturday afternoon at Bright House Networks Stadium in Orlando, UCF football players made their way towards an ecstatic student section to share in the celebration.

UCF had just defeated SMU, 17-7, in front of an announced crowd of 41,045, earning its second conference championship since 2007.

And while head coach George O’Leary beamed with a joyful exuberance as he addressed those in attendance, freshman quarterback Jeff Godfrey was also caught up in the emotion of the moment.

“I was in tears,” Godfrey said immediately afterwards. “I never won a championship game. Every one that I’d been in I had lost. It’s the first one as an NCAA student-athlete and it feels great to win a conference championship in my first year.”

Godfrey went 15-of-19 passing for 167 yards and a touchdown. He was also sacked four times by a team that recorded four sacks in a game on three other occasions this season.

Latavius Murray evades defenders on Saturday. (Photo by Scott McCall)

Running back Latavius Murray earned the game’s most valuable player award after rushing for a touchdown and catching another in the win. He rushed for 94 yards on 20 carries and caught two passes for 21 yards.

“I couldn’t do it alone out there,” Murray said. “The offensive line did a great job as well as the receivers putting their hat on people, but not being able to play last year I was just a little more hungry to get back on the field and try to help the team out.”

Murray missed the 2009 season with a knee injury. He helped UCF rack up 311 yards of total offense.

Stopping Murray and the Knights on offense proved to be just one obstacle for SMU Coach June Jones. Afterwards he said he knew his team would only have a few opportunities to jump on UCF, but the Mustangs were never able to make those chances pay off.

Early In the second quarter Kyle Pardon overthrew two receivers, one in the end zone and the other inside the five-yard line, which would have tied the game at 7-apeice. SMU was forced to settle for a 47-yard field goal attempt that sailed wide to the right. On their next possession, Pardon again went to the end zone but had his pass batted away when Josh Robinson laid out to make the play.

UCF led 10-0 at halftime after opening the game with a scoring drive then getting a 29-yard field goal from Nick Cattoi in the final minutes before the break.

Josh Robinson defends a pass on Saturday. (Photo by Scott McCall)

Robinson finished with seven tackles, an interception, and two pass break-ups on the day.

“I was just trying to make a play for the defense,” Robinson said. “Defending the deep ball is something I haven’t done very well this season so I knew they were going to come at me with it.”

Reggie Weams picked off a pass in the fourth quarter and the defense as a whole held the Mustangs to 5 of 14 conversions on third down. Kemal Ishmael was in on eight tackles and Derrick Hallman had six tackles.

The Knights also recorded five sacks with Bruce Miller finishing with two of his own along with a forced fumble. Miller now has 34 sacks for his career and after meeting the team’s initial goal of winning a conference title, leads a senior class to its second trip to the Liberty Bowl on Dec. 31.

“Very few times in life we get a chance to follow out our dreams or follow out our goals and they had a chance to do it,” UCF Director of Athletics Keith Tribble said. “Now they want to go to the Liberty Bowl and play a good opponent in the SEC, whoever that might be, and win that game.”

– (email JC@OrlandoSportsCentral.com or follow @OrlandoSportsJC and Carnahan Chronicles) –

With wins in each of the final two games of the season Florida would secure a rematch with the Las Vegas Locomotives (5-2) in the title game.

Florida hosts the Hartford Colonials (2-4) at 7 p.m. tonight at the Citrus Bowl. They are then on the road against the Omaha Nighthawks (3-3) on Friday, Nov. 19 at 8:30 p.m. to finish out the regular season.

– (email JC@OrlandoSportsCentral.com or follow @OrlandoSportsJC and Carnahan Chronicles) –

– Photos of Florida vs. Omaha on Nov. 11 by Scott McCall –

Tuskers running back Dominic Rhodes rushed for 111 yards Friday night. (Photo by Scott McCall)

Sports fans had little trouble finding something worthwhile to do with their time on Friday night.

The Orlando Magic hosted New Jersey at the new Amway Center. The Florida Tuskers were caught up in a do-or-die regular season matchup at the Citrus Bowl. Then there was the UCF Knights football team on the road against Houston on ESPN2 while the women’s soccer team hosted the conference tournament semifinals. The men’s soccer team at Rollins College was also involved in a conference semifinal match, in Miami Shores. And it wouldn’t be a Friday night in November without crucial high school football games on the schedule.

While we recover over the weekend, let’s take a quick look back at the busy Friday night that was…

–– High School Football ––

The Florida High School football postseason picture got much clearer on Friday as district titles were won and lost throughout the area.

In the Class 4A-7 title game Edgewater ended the undefeated season for East River 51-13… Olympia came from behind to beat East Ridge 31-24 to finish as Class 6A-5 runners-up behind Apopka… Lake Brantley won 22-20 over Lake Mary to finish as runners-up in Class 6A-3 behind Seminole… Timber Creek won 35-14 over University to finish as runners-up in Class 6A-4 behind Winter Park… With Dr. Phillips having already wrapped up the Class 6A-6 title, Freedom, Oak Ridge and Boone stayed alive for the No. 2 spot. They will decide who gets it on Monday in a tiebreaker… Three teams are still alive for the top two spots in Class 5A-3 as Oviedo, Hagerty and Winter Springs also forced a tiebreaker…

District champs and runners-up advance to playoffs. A complete list of local district standings is available at Varsity Sports. Visit WFTV Channel 9 and Bright House Sports Network for more high school football coverage.

But give it to me straight high school football fans, is there a single team in the state that can mess with the Panthers at Dr. Phillips? Here’s hoping we get to see a postseason matchup between DP and Winter Park, the two unbeaten 6A teams in Orange County.

–– Rollins Men’s Soccer ––

The Tars finished in a tie with Barry at 6-1-1 in the Sunshine State Conference this season but were bounced a day early from the league tournament.

As the No. 2 seed, Rollins was upset on Friday by No. 3 Florida Tech in a match that came down to penalty kicks. A purely miserable way to go out. What makes it worse for the local team is that Stephen Wright put Rollins ahead with a goal in the 25th minute before Florida Tech evened things up in the 53rd minute. And that was while the winning team was playing a man down in the second half. Rollins lost the shootout 3-0.

Surprisingly, Barry was also upset in the semifinals 2-1 by No. 4 Tampa.

Both the men’s and women’s soccer programs at Rollins College have been ranked in the Top-10 over the course of the past month. They find out Monday night if they did enough over the regular season to be invited to the NCAA Division II Soccer Championships.

–– UCF Women’s Soccer ––

Hosting a conference tournament for the first time since 2001, the No. 23 UCF women’s soccer team is in position to make this gathering a memorable one.

Following a 2-0 win over SMU in the Conference USA semis on Friday, UCF is now one victory away from winning its first tourney title. Standing in their way, though, is three-time defending champion Memphis. The title game goes down on Sunday at 2 p.m. at the UCF Soccer Complex. The Knights lost to Memphis in the conference finals in 2007 and 2009.

Senior Kim Newsome scored a goal in the opening minutes of the semifinal match while sophomore Nicolette Radovcic added another in the 29th minute for the Knights.

UCF has won the regular season title four of the past six years and are the No. 1 seed in the field. No. 2 Memphis advanced by defeating Houston 1-0. A loss for the Knights on Sunday would be the equivalent of, say, the football team losing those games to N.C. State and Kansas State earlier this season.

The game will feature C-USA Offensive Player of the Year Tishia Jewell of UCF along with C-USA Defensive Player of the Year Lizzy Simonin and C-USA Midfielder of the Year Vendula Strnadova from Memphis.

–– UCF Football ––

Here’s hoping Top-25 poll voters tuned in for some college football Friday night on ESPN2. The UCF football team made it 11-straight C-USA wins as they improved to 7-2 overall (5-0 in C-USA) with a 40-33 win on the road against Houston.

The win strengthens UCF chances of hosting the conference title game next month. The Knights led by 17 points until the Cougars took a 24-23 lead in the third quarter. UCF would rally, though, then get a defensive stand in the final moments to pull out the win despite giving up 532 total yards to Houston.

UCF quarterback Jeff Godfrey continued his phenomenal freshman season by throwing for 294 yards and two touchdowns on 15 of 19 attempts, while also rushing for 105 yards and another score.

Now, I was one of those guys sticking up for injured quarterback Rob Calabrese earlier in the season, when UCF fans were continuously giving him hell instead of placing blame where it was do – on the offensive line. But that stuff aside, this Godfrey kid is kind of good.

Josh Linam finished with staggering 17 tackles while Bruce Miller (4 tackles) and David Williams (2 tackles) each intercepted passes. Miller took his interception back for a touchdown, for the second time this season, in the first quarter.

UCF hosts Southern Miss (5-2, 2-2) on Saturday at noon in the final regular-season home game at Bright House Networks Stadium. The Knights could be right back there, following two road games to close out the regular season, as hosts of the C-USA title game Dec. 4 against either Houston or SMU.

And for the record, I’m with local columnist Mike Bianchi when it comes to the possibility of UCF joining the Big East. It should either be all the programs getting in, or none at all.

–– Florida Tuskers ––

With backup quarterback Chris Greisen under center the United Football League’s Florida Tuskers kept its postseason hopes alive with a 31-14 win over the Omaha Nighthawks.

An announced crowd of 9,203 was on hand as Florida improved to 3-3 on the year. The Tuskers need wins over the final two weeks to advance to the UFL Championship Game for the second-straight time against Las Vegas.

Greisen, who made a name for himself in the Arena Football League, was taking cues from AFL Hall of Famer and Tuskers Coach Jay Gruden. On Friday he passed for 215 yards, two touchdowns and an interception on 23 of 31 attempts in his first processional outdoor start. Dominic Rhodes rushed for 111 yards and a touchdown on just 11 carries and Calvin Russell caught six passes for 61 yards and a score.

Patrick Chukwurah finished with two sacks and three tackles. Keiwan Ratliff and Darrius Vinnett each had six tackles. Ratliff also returned an interception back 29 yards for a touchdown.

The final home game of the season for the Tuskers is on Thursday night at the Citrus Bowl against the Hartford Colonials. If the recent trend holds up, there should be another crowd of less than 9,000 in the stands at that gigantic football playground downtown. With a fan base such as this it’s hard to imagine the Tuskers staying in town for too much longer.

–– Orlando Magic ––

Point guard Jameer Nelson suffered a sprained left ankle late in Friday night’s game against the New Jersey Nets at the Amway Center. Before leaving the game, Nelson went 7-for-12 from the field for 20 points and six assists. It was his best effort since the start of the season. He did not play on Saturday night in Charlotte.

Vince Carter finished with 19 points and five rebounds as Orlando won 105-90. Dwight Howard had another huge game as he scored 30 points and grabbed 16 rebounds while making 12 of 16 attempts from the free throw line to lead the way.

Game highlights and additional analysis available at NBA.com.

– (email JC@OrlandoSportsCentral.com or follow @OrlandoSportsJC and Carnahan Chronicles) –

UCF put up 424 yards of offense and were never forced to punt in a wild 49-35 win over East Carolina.

Chance Henderson makes a tackle Saturday at UCF. (Photo by Scott McCall)

The Knights opened the game with a big 55-yard kick return by Quincy McDuffie, which set the home team up at ECU’s 44. UCF used eight plays from there to reach the end zone as freshman quarterback Jeff Godfrey tossed an 8-yard strike to A.J. Guyton for the early lead.

ECU’s first offensive drive did not go as smooth. UCF junior defensive end Darius Nall sacked quarterback Dominique Davis for a 12-yard loss on third down to force a three-and-out for the Pirates.

Then after the ensuing punt, Godfrey saw one of his receivers break away from a defender downfield while tiptoeing around a couple defenders the very next play. He proceeded to launch a 40-yard bomb into the waiting arms of senior Kamar Aiken in the end zone.

“I knew I had a little pressure on me,” said Godfrey. “I seen the receiver get on top of the safety, so I just had to buy some time and throw it up there.”

That made it 14-0 in favor of the Knights with 8:45 remaining in the first quarter.

From there, the Knights merely needed to play keep-away as the offensive fireworks continued from both sides. East Carolina came within a touchdown three different times, though neither team was able to slow the other down.

“As I told the team, everyday some group has their day,” said UCF Coach George O’Leary.

Josh Robinson and Derrick Hallman team up to make a play Saturday. (Photo by Scott McCall)

And it was clearly all about the offense on Saturday. The teams combined to convert on 21 of 28 attempts on third down and go 2 of 3 on fourth down.

“We never really got comfortable playing our type of defense,” said senior Derrick Hallman. “We were giving up way too many plays, especially on third down, but what’s important is that we pulled it out in the end.”

Hallman finished with nine tackles, one for loss. Josh Robinson led the team with 11 tackles in the win.

Ronnie Weaver and Latavius Murray were active ball carriers in the UCF ground attack, which racked up 265 yards. Weaver rushed 30 times for 180 yards and two scores while Murray scored three touchdowns on seven carries for 47 yards behind an offense line that’s steadily improved since earlier in the season.

“They did an amazing job today opening up the line of scrimmage and making some movement,” Weaver said. “Moving the down lineman was a critical part of our week, and getting up to the second level. When they do that it’s easier for the backs to read and hit the holes.”

O’Leary agrees with the assessment.

“They’re playing with a lot more consistency out there,” he said.

Ronnie Weaver hits a hole against East Carolina. (Photo by Scott McCall)

O’Leary also credited Weaver with making some smart decisions during a number of carries. Godfrey rushed for 43 yards on eight carries and went to the air just 12 times, completing eight passes for 159 yards and two touchdowns.

“On the sideline I told my o-line to keep blocking and they did a great job up front,” said Godfrey. “We just pounded them.”

The phenom mentioned afterwards how confident he is that this UCF team can win the conference. It’s actually convincing once you hear it come from such a humble student-athlete as Godfrey.

UCF is now bowl eligible for the second year in a row after improving to 6-2 overall and 4-0 in C-USA. Not that that’s the big picture here.

“Our goal is the conference championship,” said O’Leary. “That’s what we said earlier and that’s the only goal we talk about. If you do that, that sets up all the bowls and everything else.”

East Carolina drops to 5-3 and 4-1. It’s only the second win for UCF against the Pirates in 10 tries all-time.

The Knights are at Houston (5-3, 4-1) on Friday at 8 p.m. The Cougars share the West Division lead with SMU (5-4, 4-1). UCF will then host another East Division contest against Southern Miss (5-3, 2-2) on Saturday, Nov. 13 at 12 p.m. in the final home game of the season.

– (email JC@OrlandoSportsCentral.com or follow @OrlandoSportsJC and Carnahan Chronicles) –