Despite a 20-point fourth quarter effort and a 315-yard four-touchdown performance from quarterback Tyrik Rollison, No. 24 and No. 1 seed A&M-Commerce came up two points shy of No. 2 seed Angelo State in a 35-33 loss Saturday afternoon in the finale of the Lone Star Conference Playoff at Memorial Stadium.
The Lions, who dropped to 8-3 overall, still have a lot to proud of after claiming the school's first eight-win season since 2001 and the school's first LSC season championship since 1990 -- the program's 21st league title overall. In two seasons under head coach Colby Carthel and his staff, the Lions have tallied 15 wins after going 7-5 in 2013. The two-year total of 15 wins is the most since A&M-Commerce combined to win 16 games with two eight-win seasons in 1991 and 1992.
"I am disappointed in the way we performed tonight, but credit Angelo State for making more plays and deserving the win," Lion head coach Colby Carthel said. "It was still a great season and no matter what we are still Lone Star Conference Champions. The fans, school and community have been great this year, and it was fun to put A&M-Commerce back on the football map. We are still building and still have a long way to go."
After going down 35-13 at the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Lions roared back with three unanswered touchdowns at the tail end of the game in a gambit to tie things up. Rollison caught fire, scoring three of his four touchdowns on the night in the final 14 minutes of the game. His 314 yards and four TDs came on a 26-of-43 throwing performance for the NCAA's leader in passing efficiency.
Rollison in his two-year career with the Lions has aided in the complete rewriting of the offensive record book. The Sulphur, Springs native broke the single-season mark with 3,304 passing yards becoming the first lion in program history to surpass the 3,000-yard mark. He also set the school record for passing TDs with 27, yards per attempt at 10.2, yards per game at 330.4. Three career records fell to Rollison as he now owes the yards per game school record with 306.4 and career completion percentage mark completing 62.9 percent of his passes.
Coupled the Deric Davis's 662 yards through the air, the duo led the Lions to 4,015 yards for a new single-season mark. The team is just eight passes shy of breaking the single-season completion record of 269 caught passes.
Trailing 28-6 midway through the third quarter, Rollison's first score to get things rolling was a 69-yard bomb to senior receiver Seth Smith, who took it to the house to make things 35-20. Smith finished the evening leading all Lions with 10 catches for 170 yards. Rollison scored two more short-yardage touchdowns to Ricky Collins and Joe Bergeron at 8:29 left and 43 seconds remaining bringing the Lions within the two points, 35-33.
Needing a two-point conversion to tie the game, Rollison lofted a pass to the corner of the end zone intended for Ricky Collins. Though Collins caught it, his feet came down out of bounds, nullifying the attempt. After the ensuing onside kick attempt failed, the Rams were able to kneel on the ball, ending the game.
The Lions two-headed rushing attack of Joe Bergeron and Richard Cooper once again ate up yardage, earning a combined 177 yards on 32 attempts for an average of 5.5 yards per carry. However, Angelo State clamped down in the red zone, denying the Lions running backs in scoring situations. A&M-Commerce had the ball inside the five yard line trailing 35-20 with 11 minutes to play, but were stonewalled by the Rams defense following four rushing plays. The scoring opportunity for the Lions was created by a ram fumble at the Angelo State 45-yard line.
Ricky Collins had his typical productive outing, catching five balls for 49 yards and two scores. After his two scores Saturday, Collins came one TD shy of making teammate Vernon Johnson single-season touchdown receiving record of 13 TDs. Johnson tacked on seven more catches for 69 yards. Johnson's seven receptions sent him over his own A&M-Commerce single-season record of 70 receptions from the 2013 season. The tandem eclipsed the 1,000-yard receiving plateau with Johnson covering 1,067 yards on completions, and Collins accumulating 1,075 receiving yards on the season.
Saul Martinez scored the lone points in the first half for the Lions on a pair of field goals, one from 27 yards out with 11:07 on the clock in the second quarter and one from 32 yards out with 6:28 showing in the second quarter. Martinez easily snapped the single-season mark for kicking points as the senior has racked up 124 points. He is 64-of-68 on extra points and 20-of-23 on field goal attempts. Combined with Chase Thrashers two extra points and one field goal, the Lions broke the single-season mark for PATs made with 66. The duos 21 made field goals is also an A&M-Commerce single season record.
All, told the Lions offense has accounted 577 points with 74 touchdowns, 66 kicked PATs, and two, two-point conversions through the air. The Lions 74 TDs this season narrowly surpasses the old record of 73 touchdowns that stood for 62 years set back in 1952.
Charles Woods led the Lions defense with a huge individual night, finishing with 19 tackles, 8 solo tackles, two tackles for loss, and one forced fumble. Woods' 19 tackles was highest tackle total turned in by a Lion in 2014. Ronald Fields also had a big moment, picking off the lone interception of the night for either team to compliment his six tackles on the evening. The INT was Fields' third of the season matching the season output of team Tu'u Liu for tops among the team.