The Howard Payne Yellow Jackets overcame an 11-point first-quarter deficit, rallied again late in the fourth quarter, then held off the Texas Lutheran Bulldogs on the final snap of the game for a 31-27 victory in American Southwest Conference football action Saturday afternoon at Gordon Wood Stadium.
With four seconds left and the ball at the 8 yard line of Howard Payne (6-2, 3-2), Texas Lutheran (1-7, 0-5) quarterback Caden Bosanko’s pass to Joshua Muncrief fell incomplete as the Yellow Jackets hung on to ensure a third consecutive winning season.
The Yellow Jackets fell behind, 27-24, on a 45-yard field goal by TLU’s Joaquin Rodriguez with 3:01 left. Rodriguez booted a 46-yard field goal with 9:05 to go in the contest to even the score at 24.
Down three with under three minutes remaining, Howard Payne responded by marching 83 yards in nine plays and 2:24, as Landon McKinney hooked up with Gus Charles on the game-winning 6-yard pass, pushing the Jackets in front, 31-27, with 36 seconds left in the contest.
Howard Payne finished with 452 yards of total offense, with 450 coming through the air. McKinney completed 34 of 45 passes with three touchdowns and one interception. Deon Collins led HPU with eight grabs for 118 yards and a touchdown, Charles hauled down four catches for 105 yards and scored once, Casey Dufner finished with three receptions for 92 yards with a trip to the end zone, and Jordan Carroll grabbed seven catches for 89 yards.
TLU generated 444 yards – 293 through the air and 151 on the ground – with one turnover as Bosanko completed 25 of 36 passes with a touchdown, and rushed for a team-best 71 yards and one score. Jacob Wallace caught a team-high nine passes for 119 yards and Weston Guzman finished with two catches for 49 yards with a trip to the end zone.
Howard Payne’s defense was led by K.J. Kelley’s 17 tackles, 13 from Jacob Korrodi, and seven from Peyton Lowe. KC Cornelius picked off a pass and Trevonn Williams-Franklin tallied a sack.
The Bulldogs led 11-0 after the first quarter as Rodriguez booted a 35-yard field goal and Guzman caught a 36-yard touchdown pass from Bosanko, and Jared Meier added the two-point try.
Howard Payne rallied to grab a 14-11 lead with 9:50 left in the first half as Dufner caught a 61-yard touchdown toss from McKinney, then McKinney scored on a 1-yard plunge.
With 5:30 left in the first half, Rodriguez kicked a 29-yard field goal as the game was tied at 14 at halftime.
The Yellow Jackets grabbed a 17-14 edge on a 32-yard Michael Fields field goal just 1:59 into the second half. TLU then surged in front, 21-17, on a 1-yard dive by Bosanko at the 8:01 mark of the third period.
Howard Payne regained a 24-21 lead with 5:12 left in the third quarter on a 53-yard touchdown pass from McKinney to Collins.
The Yellow Jackets are on the road for the last time in 2023 when they venture to Sul Ross next week, which dropped a 24-10 decision to East Texas Baptist Saturday afternoon.
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| American SW Conference |
Conference Wins |
Conference Losses |
Overall Wins |
Overall Losses |
|
| Hardin-Simmons | 5 | 0 | 7 | 1 | |
| Mary Hardin-Baylor | 4 | 1 | 4 | 4 | |
| East Texas Baptist | 4 | 1 | 5 | 3 | |
| Howard Payne | 3 | 2 | 6 | 2 | |
| McMurry | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | |
| *Sul Ross | 2 | 3 | 3 | 5 | |
| Austin College | 0 | 5 | 1 | 7 | |
| Texas Lutheran | 0 | 5 | 1 | 7 |
* Not eligible for ASC Championship due to reclassification
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Week 9 Games (Oct. 26-28)
Howard Payne 31, Texas Lutheran 27
Hardin-Simmons 24, Mary Hardin-Baylor 14
East Texas Baptist 24, Sul Ross 10
McMurry 51, Austin College 13
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Week 10 Games (Nov. 2-4)
Howard Payne at Sul Ross
East Texas Baptist at Mary Hardin-Baylor
Hardin-Simmons at Austin College
McMurry at Texas Lutheran
