NACOGDOCHES, Texas - A near miraculous comeback effort fell two points short, as the University of the Incarnate Word had an apparent tying play nullified by a penalty in a heartbreaking 28-26 road loss to No. 5 Stephen F. Austin in Southland Conference football play Saturday.
With the Cardinals trailing 28-20 with just over 30 seconds to play, quarterback
Emmett Brown threw a back-shoulder pass to
Jacob Emmers, who made a great adjustment at the 30-yard line before running away from four Lumberjack defenders for a 53-yard touchdown, giving UIW a chance to tie the score.
Initially, it appeared they succeeded, as a jump ball to
Price Morgan was hauled in in the back corner of the end zone. Unfortunately, for the Cardinals, the play wasn't clean, as an attempted pick resulted in an offensive pass interference call that pushed the ball back 15 yards.
Now at the 18-yard line, Brown threw short of the end zone, with Lumberjack defenders converging to make the stop. UIW's ensuing onside kick try rolled out of bounds.
Trailing 14-13 at the half, the Cardinals went on a 10-play, 70-yard drive and took a 20-14 lead when backup quarterback
David Rasor converted a fourth-and-goal sneak from the 1-yard line.
UIW then got a
D'Arius Carmouche interception on the next series, but after forcing a turnover on downs, the Lumberjacks proceeded to score touchdowns on consecutive possessions to take a 28-20 lead.
The Cardinals had chances to pull closer before the final possession, but had one drive end on an interception in the end zone, and another conclude with a missed 51-yard field goal.
Brown finished the night with 372 yards passing, 34 yards rushing, two touchdown passes and two interceptions. His other touchdown pass was a 10-yard strike to
Isaiah Champagne in the second quarter.
Jameson Garcia and Emmers led a balanced attack with 86 and 81 yards respectively.
Defensively,
Jeremiah Young had nine tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and three first-half sacks, leaving him one sack shy of a single-game program record.
Christian Barney led the team with 12 tackles while
Jachai Pulley also hand nine.
The loss drops UIW to 2-3 overall with a 1-1 mark in the Southland.
The Cardinals have another matchup against a ranked conference opponent next Saturday, as they will travel to face No. 14 Lamar (4-1, 2-0) at 3 p.m.
