Sept. 29, 2012
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By Brian Ormiston
UCFAthletics.com
| UCF vs. Missouri Sept. 29, 2012 |
| From Bright House Networks Stadium | |||||
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
| Missouri | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
| UCF | 3 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 16 |
Soldier Returns to UCF for First Time in 16 years
Former baseball player Joe Amman has been proudly serving his country ever since his time as a member of the UCF Knights ROTC in the 1990s. It was only fitting that his first trip back to campus since his graduation in 1996 took place on Saturday for Military Appreciate Day at the UCF-Missouri football game.
Amman was a second and third baseman in his first two years for the Knights and earned a letter in the 1993 season.
At the beginning of his senior year in 1996, he was appointed as the UCF Knights ROTC Battalion Commander where he led hundreds of students through the program.
After earning an engineering degree as a Distinguished Military Graduate, he was commissioned into the U.S. Army as a second lieutenant. He attended flight school and earned the designation as "Top Gun" while flying the Apache helicopter, finishing as an honors graduate.
Amman continued to serve valiantly as a captain for the Third Infantry Division in Kuwait as part of Operation Enduring Freedom in 2002. The following year he was awarded both a Bronze Star Medal and an Air Medal for combat operations as one of the first soldiers into Baghdad.
Amman was deployed again in January of 2005 for a year-long tour in Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom II. During this time, the company commander directed countless aviation missions from his post inside the Blackhawk helicopter. For Amman's performance and bravery as an army aviator in the Apache helicopter during this operation, he was awarded a second Bronze Star and a second Air Medal.
He returned stateside in 2006 and now resides in Charleston, S.C. with his wife Elloree, son Jacob, and daughter Emma. Amman retired as captain a few years ago but still serves America as an engineer inside the U.S. Navy, and to this day, continues to represent the Knights.
By: Jessica West
TEAM NOTES
-The Knights finished non-conference play with a 2-2 record. UCF also held a 2-2 mark in the 2010 season when it went on to capture the Conference USA title and a victory in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl.
-Before the game, LT Bradley Miles and LT Peter Langley conducted a flyover aboard two F-5 Tiger II jets. Miles graduated from UCF in 2003 with a degree in aerospace engineering.
-Saturday was the first UCF home game vs. a school from the SEC.
-UCF won the toss and received the opening kickoff for the 37th time in its last 43 games.
-At the end of the first half, UCF's offense produced an 18-play, 80-yard drive but it did not result in any points. It was the longest drive in terms of plays since an 18-play, 94-yard drive vs. FIU Sept. 17, 2011, which ended in a 1-yard run by Jeff Godfrey.
-The Knights held Missouri to minus-5 rushing yards in the first half. UCF ran 51 plays in the opening 30 minutes compared to Missouri's 20, while the home team was 5-for-11 on third downs and MU was 0-for-4.
-For the game, UCF outgained the Tigers, 395-346, had just one penalty for five yards and held the visitors to 1-for-11 on third downs.
-The UCF defense amassed five sacks, the most in a game since five vs. SMU in the 2010 C-USA Championship Game. It was the most sacks against a non-conference opponent since six vs. Miami Oct. 17, 2009.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
-UCF captains were senior wide receiver Quincy McDuffie and senior defensive back Lyle Dankenbring.
-Freshman Thomas Niles earned his first-career start at defensive tackle Saturday. He proceeded to collect 2.0 sacks.
-Senior safety Kemal Ishmael, making his 39th-straight start, intercepted his fourth-career pass to open the second half. It was his first interception since the 2010 season.
-With his six tackles against Missouri, Ishmael has amassed 277 tackles in his career and inched his way closer to breaking onto UCF's all-time leaders list. He needs two more tackles to tie Cory Hogue (2006-09) for the 10th spot.
-Sophomore Shawn Moffitt kicked a 42-yard field goal to open the scoring in the first quarter, which was the longest field goal of his career.
-Sophomore running back Storm Johnson eclipsed his career-high of 78 rushing yards by the middle of the second quarter. He finished as the Knights' leader for the day with 93 yards on 15 carries.
-On UCF's first touchdown scoring drive of the game, Blake Bortles was 3-for-3 for 72 yards, capped off by a 12-yard TD pass to Quincy McDuffie. That drive also included a 41-yard pass to Rob Calabrese, who took the snap on the play, flipped to Jeff Godfrey who in turn tossed it back to Bortles.
-For the day, Bortles completed a career-high 29 of his 43 passing attempts for a personal-best 267 yards and two touchdowns. At one point in the first half, the Oviedo native completed 12-straight passes, which tied for the second-longest streak in UCF history. Daunte Culpepper owns the record with 15-consecutive completions vs. Samford Oct. 11, 1997.
-Senior defensive end Troy Davis had 1.5 sacks giving him 9.0 sacks in the previous nine games. He now has 14.5 sacks for his career.