SAN ANTONIO — Demetre Baker ran 25 yards for a touchdown on South Alabama’s first play of the second overtime Saturday, and the Jaguars beat UTSA 30-27 to end a two-game losing streak in the first overtime game in program history.
The game reached overtime only because Randon Carnathan blocked a 26-yard UTSA field goal attempt with three seconds left in regulation. The win was South Alabama’s third straight road game and improved the Jaguars to 3-2.
Early Exchanges
After forcing a UTSA punt on the game’s first series, South Alabama opened the scoring with a 12-play, 78-yard drive that took 7:24. C.J. Bennett’s 35-yard pass to Lamontis Gardner sparked the possession, and Kendall Houston finished it with a 1-yard touchdown run.
UTSA tied the game on the first play of the second quarter, a 50-yard pass from quarterback Soza to Okotcha. South Alabama answered as Bennett hit Gardner for 11 yards and Kevin Helms for 32, and Jordan Means kicked a 48-yard field goal for a 10-7 lead. The Roadrunners matched that with a 48-yard field goal of their own after their drive stalled at the Jaguar 31.
UTSA took the lead late in the half after Houston was hit in the backfield and fumbled near midfield. Soza connected with Kam Jones for 51 yards to the South Alabama 1, and Okotcha scored on the next play for a 17-10 lead with 2:54 left in the half.
Jereme Jones returned the ensuing kickoff 55 yards to the UTSA 26, and a personal foul on the tackle moved the ball to the 13. South Alabama could not capitalize. After a lost yard, an incompletion and a false start, Bennett’s pass toward the end zone on third-and-16 was intercepted, and UTSA ran out the clock to lead 17-10 at halftime.
Jaguars Tie It in the Third
South Alabama’s first possession of the second half ended in a punt after a timeout and another false start. The defense forced a three-and-out, and the Jaguars started their next drive at their own 24 after a holding penalty on the punt.
Bennett completed passes of 17 yards to Bryant Lavender and 18 yards to Gardner to cross midfield. An intentional grounding penalty left South Alabama facing third-and-21 at its own 49, but Bennett found Jereme Jones for 30 yards to the UTSA 21. Baker ran the rest of the way to tie the game at 17 with 8:09 left in the third quarter.
UTSA drove into South Alabama territory on its next possession, converting a third down with a 21-yard play and a fourth-and-1 with a 16-yard pass. The Jaguar defense forced a Soza fumble at the 10, and Charles Harris recovered.
Blocked Kick Saves the Jaguars
Neither team scored in the fourth quarter. A Scott Garber punt was downed at the UTSA 1, and a bad snap later pushed the Roadrunners back to their own 3 facing third-and-32 before they punted.
UTSA took over at its own 24 with 4:18 remaining and worked the ball and the clock downfield, reaching the South Alabama 21. A pass interference call on Gabe Loper, starting in place of the suspended Damond Smith, put the ball at the Jaguar 6 with 1:12 to play.
Jake Johnson sacked Soza for a six-yard loss, and Okotcha ran for three yards to the 9. UTSA called timeout with three seconds left to set up the potential game-winning kick, and coach Joey Jones used South Alabama’s final timeout to try to ice the kicker. Carnathan blocked the 26-yard attempt, sending the game to overtime.
Two Overtimes
South Alabama had the ball first and kept it on the ground. Baker ran for 10, 2 and 12 yards to reach the 1, and Ellis Hill scored. Means’ extra point made it 24-17.
UTSA answered with a 30-yard touchdown pass from Soza to Kam Jones and the extra point to force a second overtime.
In the second overtime, Johnson dropped Okotcha for a loss on first down, and Montavious Williams hurried Soza into an incompletion on third down. Ianno kicked a 43-yard field goal to give UTSA a 27-24 lead. Baker then broke his 25-yard touchdown run on South Alabama’s first snap to win the game.
By the Numbers
UTSA outgained South Alabama 409 yards to 351 and held the ball for 33:51 to the Jaguars’ 26:09. The Roadrunners had a 263-196 edge through the air, while South Alabama outrushed UTSA 175-146.
- Baker led all rushers with 88 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries.
- Houston ran 19 times for 74 yards and a touchdown.
- Bennett completed 11 of 17 passes for 176 yards with one interception.
- Gardner led South Alabama receivers with four catches for 70 yards.
- For UTSA, Soza completed 15 of 22 passes for 263 yards and two touchdowns and led the Roadrunners with 70 rushing yards on 15 carries. Kam Jones caught five passes for 103 yards and a touchdown.
What They Said
“We have a fighting spirit about us,” Joey Jones said. “It looked kind of bleak there for a minute when they had the ball down on the five-yard line. But we rushed through and sacked the quarterback and we block a kick, so they never quit. It was a big win for our program. We lost two games on the road, and to have another road game right behind them and to come back and win was real big for us.”
Jones also credited the Roadrunners, a first-year program. “I want to congratulate UTSA. I thought they came out and played a tremendous game — it was a big game for them,” he said. “The crowd was into it; it was that typical home atmosphere. They had a great game plan and great coaching, and probably deserved to win the game in some ways. But on the other side of it, we said at halftime we were not going to quit.”
“We came prepared and had a good game plan. Good things happen when you fight your tail off,” Baker said. “Their defense was big and solid. I didn’t think they were very fast sideline-to-sideline, but they were much bigger physically.”
“For a first-year program, they are a heck of a team,” linebacker Jake Johnson said. “They had some great players and had a good game plan against us. I’m glad we came out on top. We had a few mistakes here and there, but that is all correctable. I’m just glad we got out of Texas with a win.”
Homecoming Next
South Alabama returns to Mobile for its first home game in five weeks, hosting Tennessee-Martin for homecoming at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m., earlier than usual, to accommodate a live broadcast on UTV44, Comcast Sports Southeast and ESPN3.com.
