The Lions lost to Abilene Christian 21-17 last Saturday at Shotwell Stadium. This loss is the Lions third straight putting the Lions record at 3-5 against conference teams and 4-6 overall.
“Our guys played hard,” said Football Head Coach Ron Roberts. “We didn’t execute very well, and we’re struggling to have guys to make some plays and make people miss.”
Halfway through the first quarter, a mistake on a snap led to a fumble by junior quarterback D’shaie Landor. The Wildcats recovered the ball on the Lion’s 38-yard line. The Lions’ defense forced the Wildcats to punt on their drive.
The Lions had a successful drive, but it ended with a punt after Landor was sacked by Wildcats sophomore linebacker Bryson Gates.
The Lions were able to get on the board first during the second quarter after a two yard touchdown run by Landor making the score 7-0 with 11:10 left in the first quarter.
After both teams traded turns with the ball on offense, the Wildcats put on a drive that put them outside of the Lion’s red zone. However, two sacks by Lions senior defensive back JQ Sandolph and junior defensive lineman Miki Fangatua forced the Wildcats to punt.
On the final drive of the first half, the Wildcats got to the 15-yard line. But, again two sacks by Sandolph and Fangatua forced the Wildcats to punt.
The Wildcats found the end zone in the third quarter after a 42-yard touchdown run by senior running back Herschel Sims making the score 7-7 with 11:33 to go in the third quarter.
After both teams had a three-and-out, the Lions regained the lead after a 29-yard field goal by freshman kicker Jonathan Tatum was good making the score 10-7 with 2:31 left in the third quarter.
After another Wildcat punt, the Lions senior defensive back Harlan Miller returned the punt for 38 yards putting the Lions in good field position.
Later on that same drive, Landor throws a 15-yard pass to senior wide receiver Chris Briggs for a touchdown. The score was then 17-7 with 14:54 left to go in the game.
The Wildcats answered with a drive that only took two minutes off the clock. Sophomore quarterback Parker McKenzie threw a 14-yard pass to senior wide receiver Monte Green-Avery for a touchdown cutting the lead to 17-14 with 12:56 left in the game.
On the kickoff, senior defensive back Micah Eugene fumbled the ball after getting hit by junior running back Adrian Duncan. The fumble was recovered by the Wildcats, but the Lions defense held on to force a field goal that was missed.
The Lions went three-and-out on their next drive, but when the Wildcats threw the ball, it was intercepted by Eugene with 8:08 left in the game.
The Lions went three-and-out again giving the Wildcats one last chance to win the game.
On a final drive of 18 plays and 80 yards, McKenzie threw to senior tight end Jamie Walker to take the lead.
The Lions Landor threw a Hail Mary pass to Briggs for the final play of the game, but it was incomplete.
Coach Roberts realizes that changes need to be made in order to get out of this losing streak.
“We gotta execute,” said Roberts. “We gotta block the people. We gotta catch the ball when its thrown to us. There’s no play that can be drawn up if we aren’t going to do the right thing.”
The Lions last game of the season will be at home against Nicholls State Thursday, November 19 at 6:00 p.m. This game will also be the senior game where 27 seniors will be honored before the game.