Ariy-El Boynton

Four fourth quarter touchdowns, a field goal and one magnificent comeback. Oh, my!

The SDSU football team came into Texas and played poorly in the opening half. They found themselves down 24-6. In the second half, it was 34-6.

But the resilient Jackrabbit team has been behind before under head coach John Stiegelmeier. The SDSU Jacks never gave up and used a 24-point second half advantage to beat Stephen F. Austin 50-48 at Homer Bryce Stadium on Sept. 27.

With one play left, SDSU had the choice: run or pass. The head coach asked his offensive coordinator if they could score with the pass or the run. The coordinator did not respond, but perhaps, they both knew what SDSU’s football philosophy was. The offense put the ball on the ground.

SDSU sophomore Kyle Minett took an option pitch from quarterback Ryan Berry from the two-yard line. Two Lumberjacks were in position to tackle the SDSU ball carrier. But Minett would not be denied, and he made his way into the end zone to secure the victory for SDSU.

The officials told the SDSU bench that even though the Jackrabbits were ahead by two points with no time on the clock, one more play was needed. The extra point still counted per FCS football rules. Knowing that they had the win in the bag, SDSU just took a knee on the ball and celebrated the non-league win.

Coach Stiegelmeier admitted that his assistants had a cooler mind than him when the referees told them about the required rule to go for the extra point.

Early on, it did not appear that SDSU would be celebrating, as the SFA Lumberjacks (1-3) were clicking on all cylinders. Sophomore SFA quarterback Jeremy Moses was hitting receivers all over the field.

On the game, eight SFA receivers caught balls from Moses. Duane Brooks led all SFA receivers with nine catches and 107 yards. Tyron Ross had six catches for 55 yards on two scores. Stephen F. Austin’s Tyrel Williams, Aaron Rhea and Dominique Edison all had touchdowns for the Southland Conference team.

Moses completed 34 passes out of 51 tries for 370 total yards with five total touchdowns.

In the early going, the Lumberjacks’ defense was stellar, holding SDSU to only two Peter Reifenrath field goals in the first half.

In the second half, it was a tale of two halves as the SDSU offense started to click. Berry threw touchdowns to Glen Fox and JaRon Harris. Berry added a touchdown run.

Minett added three touchdowns including the game-winning score. For his efforts, he was named the Missouri Valley Football Conference Offensive Player of the Week.

This was the first time that SDSU earned a Valley Football individual award. Minett ended with 103 yards. He had rushed for 100 yards three times before.

Up next for SDSU is No. 4 ranked McNeese State (La.) in the 95th Hobo Day game. Kickoff is scheduled at 2 p.m. on Oct. 4 at Coughlin -Alumni Stadium.