For the second straight week, the 'Roos used three second half interceptions and a blocked field goal to mount a come from behind victory, this time topping Howard Payne University 19-16 to improve to 2-2 overall this season. Delmas Hoye picked off a pair of passes and Shane Hodge blocked a last second field goal attempt to secure the win.
Defense was the name of the game throughout the day, as neither team was able to muster much offense early on. Howard Payne went 70 yards in 12 plays on the team's opening possession and got a four yard touchdown run by quarterback Richard Young to go on top 7-0 early, but after that the teams slugged things out defensively for the rest of the half.
The only other points in the opening half came on a 25 yard field goal by Javi Reynoso with 12 seconds left in the first quarter to make it 7-3, as the 'Roo defense held the Jackets to just 13 rushing yards and 99 yards total, while Austin College struggled to get much going on offense as well, with just 116 yards of total offense as the teams went into the break with HPU clinging to a four point lead.
Austin College grabbed an early lead in the second half thanks in large part to a pair of Howard Payne penalties. After Kevin Ray returned a short kickoff 34 yards to start the half, the Jackets were flagged for holding to tack on 10 additional yards, and with the 'Roos facing third and 10, HPU was called for pass interference to keep the drive alive. Four plays later, Noah Jesko found Gabe McCarthy for a 14 yard touchdown strike to make it 9-7 after Reynoso's point after attempt was blocked.
The lead didn't last long however, as Young found Colby Mica for a 53 yard touchdown connection to make it a 13-9 game after Joshua Martinez missed the extra point with 6:20 left in the third quarter. Martinez would tack on three more points for the Jackets before the end of the quarter, hitting a 22 yarder to send Howard Payne into the fourth quarter leading 16-9.
Howard Payne seemed to be on the verge of taking control before Hoye's interception and 21 yard return set up a 31 yard field goal by Reynoso to cut it to a 16-12 game with 11:20 left in the game, and midway through the final quarter, Hoye came up with the biggest play of his young career when he picked off a tipped pass at the Austin College two yard line and returned it 75 yards, setting up what would ultimately become the game winning possession for Austin College.
With the 'Roos facing third and nine, Jesko found Kyle Crawford for a 15 yard completion and three plays later Jesko connected with Mitch Trentman for a 10 yard scoring strike to make it 19-16 with 4:11 remaining. After the teams traded punts on the next two possessions, Howard Payne would take possession at their own 44 yard line with 1:36 remaining and drove down to the Austin College 18 before a critical holding call backed the Jackets up to the 28 yard line, and with four seconds remaining Shane Hodge came around the edge and got a hand on the Martinez field goal try to seal the win for Austin College.
Austin College finished the game with just 221 yards of total offense, with Jesko completing 12-of-27 passes for 126 yards, two touchdowns and a pick, and Madison Ross carried 13 times for 51 yards. Trentman finished with three catches for 53 yards and a score and Crawford added four receptions for 34 yards.
Brooks Ward led a Kangaroo defense that piled up 13.0 tackles-for-loss, 3.0 sacks, three interceptions, and nine quarterback hurries, with Ward making 14 stops. Colter Headrick added 10 tackles and Hoye finished the game with six stops and two picks. Jantzen Foster made nine tackles, including 1.5 sacks.
Young led Howard Payne offensively, completing 27-of-42 passes for 284 yards with most of that coming from Mica, who made 10 catches for 196 yards. Zarron Dove carried 19 times for 82 yards, and the Jackets were led defensively by Adrian Hopkins, who made 12 tackles.
Austin College heads out on the road next week when they travel to Georgetown to take on Southwestern University with kickoff set for 3:00 p.m.