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CEDAR CITY — In the second week of UAC play, Southern Utah hosted No. 14 Tarleton State and fought to a 38-37 finish in favor of the Texans.
The game carried into overtime and lasted nearly four hours. Last year's game between the two teams also resulted in a 1-point difference, but the Thunderbirds were the victors.
It was Southern Utah's second time welcoming a nationally-ranked team into Eccles Coliseum this season, and both games were decided by a single score.
After Southern Utah took a late lead, the Texans had three minutes left to take the lead or tie the game. Tarleton State worked their way to the Southern Utah 15-yard line, but the Thunderbirds defense didn't let them get any further.
Placekicker Adrian Guzman was given a shot at redemption after a previously missed field goal, and he drilled it to tie the game.
Southern Utah had just one minute left on the clock to win in regulation, but on the very first play, Bronson Barron's pass ended up in the arms of AJ Owens, giving Tarleton State possession on the 27-yard line.
The Thunderbirds defense held strong again and forced another field goal attempt, but Guzman missed the game-winning kick attempt to send the game into overtime.
In overtime, running back Kayvon Britten scored his third touchdown of the evening to put the Texans on top, and the Thunderbirds were faced with a do-or-die situation.
Barron and his offense were up to the challenge, and he threw to a wide-open Joshua Acord for the score. Rogers, however, was not up to the challenge and missed the extra point, hanging his head as Tarleton State celebrated the 38-37 win on the Thunderbirds logo.
"Whether you're home or on the road, you can't spot a good football program 21 points," Fitzgerald said. "We were fortunate to have an opportunity to win it at the end after such an abysmal start. As disappointed as I am in the start of the football game, I'm pretty proud of the way our guys did fight back in the second half."
Tarleton State asserted its dominance early by scoring on the opening drive. A 48-yard Johnson reception put the Texans in Thunderbirds territory, where Britten took over and rushed for four consecutive plays before finding the end zone to give his team the early lead.
Britten scored another rushing touchdown in the first quarter to put the Texans up 14-0, all before Southern Utah had even crossed midfield. When the Thunderbirds did reach enemy territory, Barron threw an interception in the end zone to Tarleton's Blake Smith.
The interception let the Texans offense back on the field and back on the scoreboard. This time, quarterback Victor Gabalis called his own number and capped off the drive with a 5-yard rushing touchdown.
When the Thunderbirds finally answered, the score was set up by two defensive pass interference calls committed by the Texans. The penalties, mixed with four Targhee Lambson carries, put the Thunderbirds on the Tarleton State's 27-yard line, allowing Barron to connect with Shane Carr in the end zone to make it 21-7.
Southern Utah continued to fight back and eventually took a 31-28 late in the game after Lambson scored on a go-ahead touchdown and converted the ensuing 2-point try.
Thunderbirds head coach DeLane Fitzgerald said he was disappointed, but it was his team's highest-scoring game of the year, which gave him enough to smile about in the end.
"What we did in the second half was proof that we're capable," he said. "We're capable of being good on defense the whole game, we're capable of being good on offense the whole time; we proved that we are capable."
But it took Fitzgerald's players some time before they reached that point.
Now at 2-4 on the season, Southern Utah will host another UAC opponent next week in Eastern Kentucky for an afternoon homecoming matchup.
