Panthers Come From Behind to Defeat Owls, 53-52

10/5/1996

PITTSBURGH - Billy West's six-yard touchdown run with 58 seconds to play capped a wild fourth quarter as Pittsburgh rallied to defeat Temple, 53-52, in a Big East Conference game.

Pittsburgh rallied from an 18-point deficit in the final 7:55 of the contest. The Panthers (2-4, 1-2) scored their first points of the season in Big East play after losing to Miami and West Virginia by a combined 79-0.

Temple (1-4, 0-1) has given up 176 points in its five games and lost despite quarterback Henry Burris throwing for 445 yards and three touchdowns while running in two others.

Burris and Pete Gonzalez traded TD passes in the first 1:51 of the game before Pittsburgh took a 10-7 lead on a 45-yard field goal by Chris Ferencik. Burris scampered 17 yards to give the Owls a 14-10 lead and Dwayne Schulters raced 67 yards to give Pittsburgh a 17-14 lead.

Temple took a 21-17 lead in the second quarter when Deadrake Epps returned a blocked punt 12 yards for a score. Curtis Anderson took the ensuing kickoff 91 yards to give the Panthers a 24-21 lead. Burris then ran in from seven yards out and threw a 30-yard TD pass to Van Johnson for a 35-24 haltime lead for Temple.

Ferencik and Zanc Michealski traded field goals before Burris hooked up with Johnson on an 87-yard scoring play to extend Temple's lead to 45-27 with 7:44 left in the third quarter.

Gonzalez's second TD pass of the game pulled the Panthers within 45-34 before Ramod Lee scored from one yard out to give Temple a 52-34 advantage with 10:13 remaining.

Panthers coach Johnny Majors then switched quarterbacks, turning to Matt Lytle. The sophomore responded with two touchdown passes 3:16 apart to draw Pittsburgh within 52-46 at the 4:39 mark.

Lytle completed 12-of-20 passes for 155 yards and two TDs. Schulters added 107 yards on 12 carries for Pittsburgh, which has given up 259 points in its six games.

NCAAF   FINAL               1ST  2ND  3RD  4TH     TOTAL
                            ---  ---  ---  ---     -----
        TEMPLE               14   21   10    7      52
        PITTSBURGH           17    7    9   20      53   FINAL
        SCORING SUMMARY
        1ST QTR: PITT - TD, JAKE HOFFART 46 YD PASS FROM PETE GONZALEZ
                            (CHRIS FERENCIK KICK), 0:19
                 TEMP - TD, VAN JOHNSON 12 YD PASS FROM HENRY BURRIS (ZANC
                            MICHAELSKI KICK), 1:51
                 PITT - FG, CHRIS FERENCIK 45 YD, 5:45
                 TEMP - TD, HENRY BURRIS 17 YD RUN (ZANC MICHAELSKI KICK),
                            9:24
                 PITT - TD, DWAYNE SCHULTERS 67 YD RUN (CHRIS FERENCIK
                            KICK), 12:55
        2ND QTR: TEMP - TD, DEADRAKE EPPS 12 YD RETURN OF BLOCKED PUNT
                            (ZANC MICHAELSKI KICK), 4:04
                 PITT - TD, CURTIS ANDERSON 91 YD KICKOFF RETURN (CHRIS
                            FERENCIK KICK), 4:23
                 TEMP - TD, HENRY BURRIS 7 YD RUN (ZANC MICHAELSKI KICK),
                            9:28
                 TEMP - TD, VAN JOHNSON 30 YD PASS FROM HENRY BURRIS (ZANC
                            MICHAELSKI KICK), 14:55
        3RD QTR: TEMP - FG, ZANC MICHAELSKI 24 YD, 2:47
                 PITT - FG, CHRIS FERENCIK 32 YD, 5:32
                 TEMP - TD, VAN JOHNSON 87 YD PASS FROM HENRY BURRIS (ZANC
                            MICHAELSKI KICK), 7:16
                 PITT - TD, JOHN JONES 4 YD PASS FROM PETE GONZALEZ (PAT
                            FAILED), 10:33
        4TH QTR: TEMP - TD, RAMOD LEE 1 YD RUN (ZANC MICHAELSKI KICK), 4:47
                 PITT - TD, MARK BUTLER 4 YD PASS FROM MATT LYTLE (JAKE
                            HOFFART RECEPTION FOR TWO-POINT CONVERSION),
                            7:05
                 PITT - TD, MARK BUTLER 14 YD PASS FROM MATT LYTLE
                            (TWO-POINT CONVERSION FAILED), 10:21
                 PITT - TD, BILLY WEST 6 YD RUN (TWO-POINT CONVERSION
                            FAILED), 14:02