With the No. 4 seed Tarleton State (4-5) on the Lion 2-yard line, the No. 1 seeded A&M-Commerce (8-2) stood strong on the shoulders of Leo Migo, who recorded his career-high 14th tackle, on a goal line stand sealing the 56-49 win for the Lions and keeping the team's NCAA playoff hopes alive.
"It was a great play there at the end and there were a lot of great plays throughout the night," A&M-Commerce head coach Colby Carthel said. "It was a tremendous team win – offense, defense and special teams. It was not clean all night, but we found a way to win. It was championship team effort tonight."
With the Lions up 56-49 late in the game, the Texans attempted a game-tying drive, and after a multitude of successful plays, Tarleton State found itself on the six-yard line with 1.5 seconds left in the game. TSU threw an incomplete pass into the end zone as time expired, but a pass interference penalty on the Lions meant the Texans gained a stay of execution, which gave them a first down on the Lions two-yard line with no time remaining. TSU ran the ball up the middle, where a waiting Migo wrapped up closed the gap with a game-saving tackle. A&M-Commerce entered the contest as the NCAA's leader in tackles for loss and accounted for 10 on the night against the Texans.
After getting bottled up early in the game, Bergeron wound up with one of the best games of his career, finishing with a career-high 140 rushing yards on a career-high twenty carries for three touchdowns, averaging seven yards per carry. His final touchdown of the game, a seven-yard scamper with 4:07 remaining, proved to be the game-winner. Richard Cooper chipped in with 16 carries and 84 yards, in addition to a 47-yard kickoff return in the second half.
The Lions passing attack broke the school record on Saturday for passing yards in a season, reaching 3,700 total yards between quarterbacks Tyrik Rollison and Deric Davis. That breaks the old mark of 3,634, set last year, and is only the third time in the extensive A&M-Commerce school history that the Lions have passed for over 3,000 yards on a season. Rollison was responsible for a chunk of Lion offense, completing 16-of-26 passes for 365 yards and three scores, all three of which were TDs from deep range.
The first came in the first quarter, when Rollison went deep to Vernon Johnson on a 55-yard touchdown to tie the game at 7-7. Later in the first half, Rollison would turn his attention to Ricky Collins for a 46-yard score, again tying the game at 14-14. His final touchdown was perhaps the best of them all, as Rollison again hooked up with Collins for a long strike. Collins caught the ball, then sprinted over 45 yards past two TSU defenders for what wound up being a 77-yard strike for the TD. The 77-yard score was the longest scoring play from scrimmage on the season for the Lions. Collins finished with five catches for with a career-high 160 yards, tied his career-high 2 scores, and a two-point conversion that came after Joe Bergeron's game-winning touchdown on a pass from Deric Davis.
Collins was not the only Lions receiver to go off for a big game. Vernon Johnson ended the night with six catches, 98 yards, and two touchdowns. Johnson's second touchdown of the night came at the beginning of the second half, after a quick drive with the Lions 28-21. Coach Colby Carthel installed the truck package from five yards out, and Deric Davis found Johnson open in the end zone to tie the game at 28.
After stopping Tarleton State on third down midway through the third quarter, Ronald Fields blocked a 37-yard field goal attempt. Ransom Cook scooped the ball up and ran it back 80 yards for the touchdown, giving the Lions their first lead of the night at 35-28. On the ensuing kickoff, Carthel dialed up an onside kick after a TSU personal foul put the ball at the 50-yard line. Linebacker Daniel Roland came up with the ball when the pile cleared and the dust settled. Bergeron plunged into the end zone from 10-yards out extending the Lion lead to 41-28. After forcing a Texan punt, the Lions completed the 27-point momentum shifting swing on Collins' 77-yard catch-and-run capping off the 27-point momentum-swinging open to the third quarter.
However, the Texans fought back by ending the quarter with two scores, a one yard Zach Henshaw run and a Jabari Anderson 27-yard run, to cut the margin down to six points, 48-42, at the end of the third quarter.
The Texans seemed to regain the momentum after picking off their second pass of the game halting a Lion scoring drive. Tarleton State promptly drove down the field with an 11-play 76-yard drive capped off by a 10-yard strike from Zed Woerner to Bubba Tandy to give the Texans a 49-48 lead with 8:24 left to play. Tandy and Le'Nard Meyers were outstanding on the perimeter for the Texans accounting for 279 receiving yards and three TDs. Meyers led the way with 15 catches for 145 yards and one score, while Tandy accounted for seven catches and 134 yards and two TDs.
The Lions answered the bell call, picking themselves up off the mat and churning up yardage that would ultimately prove to be the game-winning drive. After a penalty on the kickoff that backed the Lions all the way down to their own six-yard line, the running back tandem of Cooper and Bergeron went to work. Eight of the 11 plays that moved the ball down the field were runs with the duo splitting the load evenly. Rollison was instrumental on the drive as well completing three of his four passes. With the game and a possible NCAA playoff berth on the line and the Lions facing 3rd and 10 from their own 30, Rollison stepped up in the pocket and connected with Cooper out of the backfield for a 18-yard gain to move the chains. Two plays later, Rollison found Johnson for 16-yards down to the Tarleton State 37-yard line. The 11-play 76-yard drive that took up 5:20 off the clock ended on a Bergeron 7-yard run to give the Lions a 54-49 lead. With the crucial two-point conversion looming, Davis and the truck package again punched it on a sweep pass to Collins for the conversion and setting the Lion defense for the heroic stand.
Other Lions defensive stalwarts included Pablo Vasquez, who accounted for 10 tackles, Kevin Mederias, who picked off his second pass of the season, Tyree Barton and Charles Tuaau, who recorded one sack each.
The Lions advance to host the LSC Playoff Championship next Saturday, November 15 at 4 p.m. at Memorial Stadium, against No. 2 seed Angelo State who defeated No. 3 seed Midwestern State 41-36. The Lions will need a win in the game to keep their NCAA Playoff hopes alive.