SOUTH ALABAMA 13,
GEORGIA STATE 10
MOBILE, Ala. -- Gavin Patterson kicked a 30-yard field goal with two seconds remaining to lift South Alabama to its first Sun Belt Conference victory and a 13-10 win over Georgia State on Saturday night.
With the game tied 10-10, South Alabama's Finess Middleton sacked Aaron Winchester for an 11-yard loss, which then forced Georgia State punter Brandon Wright to kick from his own end zone with 57 seconds left. Wright punted only 18 yards and out-of-bounds at the Panthers 31.
South Alabama (4-4, 1-4) drove 18 yards in six plays, and Georgia State (2-6, 1-3) called two timeouts to try and ice Patterson before his game-winning kick split the uprights.
Demarcus Kirk ran for a 2-yard score and the Panthers led 10-3 late in the third quarter. Dallas Davis led a 92-yard drive, highlighted by his 14-yard completion to Gerald Everett on a fourth-and-11, and Tyreis Thomas' 2-yard run to make it 10-10 midway through the fourth quarter.
SOUTHLAND
MCNEESE STATE 33,
ABILENE CHRISTIAN 14
LAKE CHARLES, La. -- James Tabary passed for 275 yards and two touchdowns, Justin Pratt rushed for two more and McNeese State beat Abilene Christian.
Tabary hit Lawayne Ross on a 13-yard screen pass for a second-quarter score, then capitalized on Jermaine Antoine's fourth-quarter interception of a Dallas Sealey pass by hitting Benjamin Jones for a 16-yard TD.
Pratt capped the Cowboys opening drive with a 4-yard scoring run and scored on a 1-yard run in the third quarter.
The Cowboys (5-4, 4-3 Southland) outgained the Wildcats 379-244 total yards and got five sacks, the most in a game this season. Gunnar Raborn kicked field goals of 27 and 37 yards.
Dylan Douglass recovered a first-quarter fumble by Ryan Ross and Sealey hit Troy Grant on a 13-yard pass two plays later for Abilene Christian (1-8, 1-6). Tracy James scored on a 1-yard run in the fourth quarter.
NICHOLLS 31,
NORTHWESTERN STATE 14
NATCHITOCHES, La. -- Chase Fourcade threw three touchdown passes to C.J. Bates and added a rushing score, helping Nicholls handle Northwestern State.
Nicholls (4-4, 4-2 Southland) pulled away in the third quarter on touchdowns from Fourcade to Bates of 2 and 74 yards to put the Colonels in front 28-14.
After De'Mard Llorens' 34-yard run gave Northwestern State a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter, Fourcade found Bates for a 24-yard TD early in the second to even the game at 7. Fourcade later capped a 20-play drive with a 1-yard scoring run to put Colonels in front 14-7, but Northwestern State tied it at 14 on Brooks Haack's 56-yard pass to Bobby Chan-Chan.
Bates' three touchdowns and 179 receiving yards were career bests. He had 10 catches.
Llorens had 115 yards on 16 carries for Northwestern State (1-7, 0-6).
STEPHEN F. AUSTIN 42,
INCARNATE WORD 19
SAN ANTONIO -- Zach Conque ran for three touchdowns and threw for three more as Stephen F. Austin evened its record in the Southland Conference with a 42-19 victory over Incarnate Word.
Conque got the Lumberjacks rolling in the second quarter, running for a pair of touchdowns. After the Cardinals kicked an 18-yard field goal to make it 14-6 to start the second half, Conque dashed 17 yards for a score, then took to the air to find De'Quan Ruffin with a 32-yard touchdown to make it 28-6 after three quarters.
Conque hit Trae Hart with a 53-yard strike in the fourth quarter and capped the scoring with a 40-yard strike to Tamrick Pace.
Stephen F. Austin (4-4, 3-3) rushed for 321 yards and collected 564 yards of total offense.
Junior Sessions scored from a yard out and Taylor Laird tossed an 11-yard touchdown to Jordan Hicks for Incarnate Word (1-7, 1-5).
SAM HOUSTON STATE 66,
TEXAS SOUTHERN 17
HUNTSVILLE, Texas -- Jeremiah Briscoe passed for 325 yards and five touchdowns in little more than a half as unbeaten Sam Houston State sprinted away from Texas Southern 66-17, its best start since 1964.
Briscoe completed 19 of 26 passes with three touchdown strikes to Davion Davis and one each to Yedidiah Louis and Tyler Scott. The Bearkats, top-ranked in the FCS coaches poll, built a 28-0 lead in the first quarter. Sam Houston State is 8-0 for the second time in program history and trails the 1956 squad that began 10-0.
Briscoe and the Bearkats started with a bang, as he found a streaking Davis (six catches, 184 yards) for a 79-yard score just two minutes in. None of Sam Houston's first eight scoring drives lasted longer than 1:43 and three were under a minute.
Brad Woodard scored both touchdowns for Texas Southern (3-5) on runs of 61 and 1 yards.
HOUSTON BAPTIST 24,
LAMAR 17
BEAUMONT, Texas -- Tony Dawson threw for 193 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for another 73 yards to lead Houston Baptist to a 24-17 victory over Lamar to stop a four-game slide.
Lamar had a 10-7 lead at the break, but Alec Chadwick hit a 33-yard field goal to tie the game early in the third. Dawson hit Mev Ajdin on a 31-yard scoring strike to give Houston Baptist (3-5, 2-4) its first lead, 17-10 with 5:21 remaining in the third.
Dawson started the fourth by tossing a 44-yard scoring pass to Isaiah Hall to go up 24-10.
Lamar's Adam Morse hit Dewan Lee Thompson from the 8 to trail by a touchdown with 7:57 left. Lamar (3-5, 3-3) got the ball back and drove to HBU's 16 but could not punch it in.
Sports on 10/30/2016