No. 4 McNeese State Claims 46-44 Triple-Overtime Win at No. 23 South Dakota State
McNeese State got a road-win over a top-25 team, Texas State downed Texas Southern in the debut telecast of the Southland Conference Television Network and Stephen F. Austin rallied for a win over Southeastern Louisiana in the first conference game of the season.
No. 4 McNeese State 46, No. 23 South Dakota State 44 (3OT)
BROOKINGS, S.D. ? A miracle catch by Steven Whitehead enabled No. 4 McNeese State to go on and grab a 46-44 triple overtime non-conference football victory at No. 23 ranked South Dakota State Saturday.
Whitehead’s catch came in the second overtime with the Cowboys just about out of tries, down 38-31 and facing a fourth-and-21 on the 24 yard line. Derrick Fourroux’s last down pass was tipped by Jimmy Rogers and Whitehead made a diving catch at the 1-yard line.
That gave McNeese a first down and the Cowboys scored three plays later with Fourroux going over from the 5. It tied the score at 38 and enabled the Cowboys to move on to their third victory over the season.
In the final overtime, McNeese had possession first and scored on a 14-yard run by Toddrick Pendland with Fourroux adding on the two-point conversion.
South Dakota State came back to score but its two-point conversion was halted by the Cowboys with Jeremy Haynes and Brant Linde teaming up to toss JaRon Harris for a loss and end the game.
The game was the fourth overtime in Cowboy history and they have won all four to date. It was also the first triple overtime.
“I knew that this would be a 60-minute game,” Cowboy head coach Matt Viator said. “I thought that we did some good things offensively in the first half and then our defense kept us in the game in the second half.”
On the afternoon, Fourroux had a big day as he completed 24-of-38 passes for 297 yards and two touchdowns and he rushed for 102 yard and three scores. His total offense was 399 yards.
Pendland ran for 99 yards and a touchdown while Whitehead caught six passes for 111 yards, had 50 yard rushing and 22 yards in kick returns. Immanuel Friddle caught seven passes for 93 yards.
What had been a good scoring game in the first half developed into a tight affair in the second and then brought on a scoring spree in the overtime. McNeese scored 22 points in the overtime and South Dakota 20 as the game had ended in a 24-24 dead heat.
It was a fairly high scoring first half with both teams producing three touchdowns and the total at the half winding up in a 21 tie.
A 37-yard field goal by McNeese’s Blake Bercegeay could have broken the tie in the closing seconds but his try sailed wide right.
Two of South Dakota’s first half touchdowns came on long plays. The Jackrabbits got the game’s first TD on an 82-yard interception return of a Fourroux pass by Derek Domino.
After the score by South Dakota, McNeese came back quickly, scoring two touchdowns within two minutes of each other to grab the lead but it wasn’t for good. Fourroux drove the Cowboys 77 yards on 10 plays with the payoff coming on a 10-yard pass to Pendland.
On the first offensive play for the Jackrabbits following the Cowboy kickoff, McNeese’s Kenton Alleyne forced fumble with Terrance Freeman recovering on the South Dakota 19-yard line. Fourroux hit a wide open Mangan in the end zone from five yards out for the score.
Again South Dakota tied the score, this time on a 79-yard pass from Ryan Berry to JaRon Harris, the first of two td connections by the pair in the opening half.
McNeese then got a 16-yard touchdown run by Fourroux to regain the lead but the Jackrabbits scored last on a 7-yard pass from Berry to Harris and after Bercegeay had missed his field goal try, the teams were all even, just as they started the game.
In that opening half, McNeese totaled 316 offensive yards to South Dakota State’s 225. Fourroux led the Cowboys with 58 yards rushing and 185 yards passing for 243 total while Steven Whitehead had 26 rushing and 73 on three receptions. He also tacked on 22 yards running kicks for an all-purpose total of 121 yards.
The two field goals were the only points in the second half, one of 27 yards by Bercegeay and one of 21 yards by Peter Reifenrath for the Jackrabbits.
In the overtime the Cowboys first scored on a one yard run by Fourroux, then on a 5-yard run by the quarterback and finally on a 14 yard run by Pendland. Bercegeay booted both PATs and Fourroux added the deciding points on the final PAT.
Defensively for the Cowboys, Allen Nelson led the way with 12 tackles while Deron Minor had 11 and Linde had nine. Terrance Freeman had two sacks and Kenton Alleyne had two tackles for a loss.
Stephen F. Austin 48, Southeastern Louisiana 45
NACOGDOCHES, Texas ? Cory Long booted a 23-yard field goal with 6.1 seconds left and Stephen F. Austin rallied from a 21-point halftime deficit to stun Southeastern Louisiana, 48-45, in the Southland Conference opener for both teams Saturday at Homer Bryce Stadium.
Jeremy Moses completed 24-of-50 passes for 319 yards and four touchdowns as SFA (2-3, 1-0 SLC) rebounded from a disappointing 50-48 loss to South Dakota State a week ago. Southeastern, which was looking to win its SLC opener for the second straight season and its first league win on the road since defeating SFA in 2005, fell to 3-3 overall and 0-1 in the SLC.
Cornell Tarrant scored on a 1-yard run with 3:46 in the third quarter for SFA before the Lumberjacks added a safety with 14:10 remaining on a blocked punt by Rainey Sternes that cut the lead to 45-30.
The Lumberjacks built on their momentum on the following drive as Jerrell Barnett intercepted Babin ? the first pick thrown by the Lions’ signal-caller in 182 attempts this season ? at the SFA 33.
Moses drove SFA down the field, working his way through the Southeastern defense for a 31-yard scoring pass with 7:03 left.
The Lumberjacks took advantage of a low snap on a punt as Cody Samples was downed at the SLU. Two plays later, Tarrant scored on a nifty run off the left side, bouncing off a Lion defender and diving into the end zone for his second touchdown with 3:45 left. SFA tied the game Moses hit Edison on the two-point conversion
Brian Babin completed 30 of 42 passes for 272 yards and four touchdowns, all in a wild first half as Southeastern built a 42-21 lead at halftime. Jay Lucas gained a season-high 93 yards on 19 carries and added a game-high nine catches for the Lions, which gained 285 yards in the opening half before being held to 63 in the final 30 minutes.
Chris Wilson and Simmie Yarborough each caught a pair of touchdown passes as Southeastern scored on its first three offensive possessions and added a 38-yard interception return by Marquis Powell for a 28-7 first quarter lead.
The Lions scored after forcing SFA to punt on its opening possession when Babin found Chris Wilson for a 61-yard touchdown to cap off a three-play, 79-yard drive. Three plays later, the Southeastern defense got involved as Powell intercepted a deflected pass and scored his second touchdown in three games to put the Lions ahead, 14-0, with 11:20 left in the first quarter.
After forcing an SFA punt, the Lions drove 50 yards in nine plays as Babin hit Wilson in the back of the end zone for a 21-0 lead.
Babin got into the scoring column for the second consecutive week as he capped a five-play, 50-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown sneak. The junior hit Wilson for a 23-yard gain to the SFA 1 before scoring his first career rushing touchdown one play later.
A roughing the kicker penalty by the Lions kept an SFA drive alive and the Lumberjacks took advantage as Jeremy Moses found Marcus Taylor in the left corner of the end zone for a 13-yard TD strike to cut the lead to 28-7 with 1:25 left in the first quarter.
SFA forced Southeastern to punt, but Quinten Pierre forced a Contrevious Parks’ fumble and Brian Reynolds recovered at the SFA 31. The Lions were unable to capitalize on the turnover as Jeff Turner missed a 43-yard field goal, but the Southeastern defense held SFA to a three-and-out on the following possession.
Tim Knicky forced a fumble on the ensuing punt and Jabara Williams recovered as the SLU 29. Three plays later, Moses hit Dominique Edison on a 25-yard TD pass with 6:26 remaining to cut the Southeastern lead to 28-13. Edison finished with six catches for 173 yards and a pair of touchdowns for the Lumberjacks, which improved to 2-1 at home after going 1-10 the past two seasons.
Jasper Ducksworth’s 48-yard kickoff return and additional 15-yard penalty quickly put Southeastern in SFA territory and the Lions answered as Babin hit Simmie Yarborough on a 19-yard TD pass for a 35-13 lead.
But the Lumberjacks answered after getting a long return and penalty in the process. Moses threw his third touchdown of the half as he found Edison behind the Southeastern defense to complete a 45-yard scoring pass before connecting with Aaron Rhea for the two-point conversion to get SFA to within 35-21.
Babin calmly led the Lions down the field on the next possession, capping off a seven-play, 65-yard drive with a 5-yard scoring pass to Yarborough for a 42-21 lead with 20 seconds left in the half.
Southeastern returns to action on Oct. 18 when it battles in-state rival Northwestern State for Homecoming.
Texas State 63, Texas Southern 39
SAN MARCOS, Texas - Bradley George came in as quarterback for the Bobcats and connected on three touchdown passes as Texas State beat visiting Texas Southern, 63-39. The Bobcats had nine touchdowns to rally a highly motivated offense. Improving their record to 3-2, Texas State had their highest point total since last season against Stephen F. Austin.
Karrington Bush opened up the game with a 59-yard kickoff return to get the Bobcats pumped up and reared to go.
Cameron Luke caught a 34-yard pass from quarterback Clint Toon to put the Bobcats on the board first and take an early lead with 13:15 to go in the first. The Bobcats went four plays in 1:45 to score the touchdown.
Texas Southern attempted a field goal at the 8:44 mark but the ball went wide right, leaving the score at 7-0 in favor of the Bobcats.
Texas Southern's Andrew Thomas caught a 21-yard touchdown pass from Tiger quarterback Bobby Reid with 4:17 left in the fourth quarter to tie the game seven all.
Alvin Canady rushed for 38 yards to give the Bobcats a 14-7 lead. After a roughing the passer flag on the defense, Texas State was able to get another try at an extra point as it was good.
A forced fumble by Brian Williams was recovered in the end zone by defensive back Derek Lopez two minutes into the second quarter. It gave the Bobcats the ball at their own 20 to start the next drive. Toon's pass was intercepted by Texas Southern two minutes later to give the Tigers the ball on the 12-yard line after a late hit call on the Bobcats. The Tigers scored two plays later to bring the game to a 14-14 tie.
Bradley George came into the game for the Bobcats as he connected with a wide open Blake Burton on a 39-yard pass with 7:47 to go in the second to score the Bobcats third touchdown of the night. The touchdown was Burton's first of the season and third of his career; making it his longest touchdown catch.
Luke connected again, this time with George, as he scored his second of the night as Luke scored a 70-yard touchdown pass for his second of the game at the 5:55 mark before the half.
Texas Southern scored a touchdown to come to within eight points of the Bobcats. They went for a two-point conversion, but were stopped at the two-yard line on a tackle by T.P. Miller.
Darren Dillard added to the Bobcat points as he caught a 22-yard pass from George, for the Bobcats fifth touchdown of the night.
After a failed field goal attempt by both teams in the low minutes, they entered halftime with the Bobcats up, 35-20.
Stan Zwinggi got things started in the second half as he had a 39-yard touchdown run at the 11:22 minute mark for his second touchdown of the season, to spread the Bobcat lead to 22.
Bush got on the touchdown route as he bypassed the Tiger defense to run for a 63-yard touchdown. His touchdown brought the Bobcat lead to, 49-26. He scored the next Bobcat touchdown on a 49-yard run as he battled his way through the defense for another Texas State score.
The Texas State defense stopped the Tigers twice on a two-point conversion attempt. Defense came up big as Courtney Smith had 13 tackles (nine solo) to lead the defense, including two-tackle for loss (TFL), a forced fumble, a pass break-up and a sack for 12 yards. Smith leads the team in tackles with 41 stops.
Six different Bobcats scored in tonight's match-up against Texas Southern, making a team wide scoring affair.
Bush had 98 yards on two kickoff returns. He finished the game with 219 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns.
Texas State led the Tigers in rushing yards 334-481, but was behind in passing as the Tigers had 481 to their 334. The Bobcats were a perfect 9-9 on PAT's and 0-1 in field goal attempts.
The Texas State football team will hit the road next week as they begin Southland Conference action on the road in Lake Charles, La. at Southeastern Louisiana. Game time is set 7 p.m.
Thursday Results
Nicholls State Falls at Northern Iowa, 34-14
Next Week’s Schedule
Sam Houston State at Central Arkansas * (SLC TV), 6 p.m.
Nicholls State at Northwestern State*, 6 p.m.
Kentucky Wesleyan at Stephen F. Austin, 6 p.m.
Texas State at McNeese State, 7 p.m.