After a 27-year absence, the Vandals were finally back in the FCS playoffs. Their opponents were the 8-3 Lions of Southeastern Louisiana.
With 15 seconds left on the clock, the Lions led 45-42. After an incomplete pass from redshirt freshman quarterback Gevani McCoy, Vandals’ head coach Jason Eck sent out junior kicker Ricardo Chavez. Chavez slipped on the 39-yard attempt, and the Vandal’s great season ended wide left of the uprights.
In the hours leading up to the game, Vandal fans were unsure if McCoy would be starting. However, one of the top QBs in the FCS was taking the snaps.
Despite missing the game against Idaho State, McCoy started just as well as he had all season. He hit redshirt sophomore wide receiver Hayden Hatten for a 35-yard gain. However, SLU freshman defensive back Ian Goodly punched it out and sophomore DB Jack Henderson recovered.
Despite giving up good field position, the Vandals were able to force a three-and-out to get the ball back on their own 28-yard line. McCoy completed two big plays in the air, hitting junior WR Jermaine Jackson for 11 yards and Hatten for 29 yards. Senior running back Roshaun Johnson was then able to pick up 11 yards on the ground, setting Idaho up seven yards from the endzone.
After an offsides call on SLU, Johnson rushed it into the endzone, or at least that’s what everyone, including the Big Sky Conference, thought. After review, it was deemed that Johnson was indeed short by maybe an inch. On the next play, the ball went back into the hands of Johnson, and he dived into the endzone to put the Vandals up 7-0.
The next drive was a long one for SLU. They were able to chunk one to seven yards off every play before a 35-yard completion put the Lions four yards away from the endzone. Despite causing a one-yard loss, redshirt senior defensive lineman Juliano Falaniko was called for unnecessary roughness, giving SLU two yards and a new set of downs. From there, senior QB Cephus Johnson III was able to punch it in and tie the game up.
Before the offense came back out, SLU’s kick went out of bounds, giving the Vandals an extra 10 yards. McCoy hit senior tight end Connor Whitney and Jackson for 10 yards each, placing the ball just short of midfield at the end of the first quarter. Although they had plenty of time to march down the field, the Vandals drew up a deep play for Hatten. The 30-yard reception was followed by a four-yard rush from freshman RB Anthony Woods then a three-yard touchdown run from McCoy to put Idaho up 14-7.
The Lions took a page out of the Vandals’ playbook, taking six minutes off the clock on the next drive. Other than a 21-yard rush by Johnson III, SLU didn’t have a play go further than 10 yards. Sophomore DL Kemari Bailey was finally able to get a big stop for the Vandals, tackling Johnson III for a four-yard loss. That tackle took the energy away from the Lions, but they were still able to hit a field goal, cutting the Vandals’ lead to 14-10.
McCoy started the next drive with a 19-yard completion to Jackson. The next big play would come after three short runs when McCoy hit Hatten for 36-yards. A roughing the passer call was made, giving the Vandals an extra six yards. From there, it was a simple handoff to Woods for a five-yard touchdown to put Idaho up two scores.
It looked like Idaho would be able to quickly get SLU off the field again, but Johnson III was able to gain 11 yards on third-and-10 to keep the drive alive. The next big play would be a 23-yard completion to put the Lions 11 yards away from the endzone. They were easily able to get the touchdown, making it a four-point game at the end of the half.
After each team ended a drive with a punt, the Lions were looking to take the lead. They were able to chunk exactly five minutes off the clock, ending the drive with a 19-yard trick play touchdown as senior RB Jessie Britt received the pitch and hit wide open senior WR Nick Kovacs in the endzone. The impressive play put SLU up 23-21 with 5:46 remaining in the third quarter.
Woods was able to run for a huge 25-yard gain on the next drive, but it would end up not being worth it. On first-and-ten, senior DB Donniel Ward-Magee intercepted McCoy’s pass in the endzone, getting a touchback and placing the ball on the SLU 20-yard line.
Luckily for Idaho, SLU scored quick. There was just over one minute remaining in the third quarter when the interception happened, and the Lions only took 44 seconds off in the fourth. The touchdown put SLU up 31-21, and some Idaho fans thought it was the end.
Jackson must have felt the doubt from 2,400 miles away. He caught the kick at the five-yard line and decided to run it. Luckily the rest of the players on special teams felt the doubt as well as their blocks allowed Jackson to run 95 yards for the kick-return touchdown.
“The speed on kick returns is different, you’ve got to adjust to it,” Jackson said. “You’ve got to keep your head on a swivel.”
Jackson’s awareness had doubters quickly changing their minds as the Vandals were right back in it.
Bailey was once again the man in the backfield saving the Vandals. He sacked Johnson for a two-yard loss, forcing the Lions to punt. Jackson didn’t return the punt for a touchdown, but his counterpart Hatten did receive it. McCoy aired the ball 34 yards down field to his favorite touchdown receiver, putting Idaho back ahead 35-31 with 9:15 remaining.
Johnson completed two huge passes during the next drive, one for 24 yards and one for 26-yards. The two double-digit passes led to a Lions touchdown, putting them back up with 5:05 to go.
Just two plays into the next drive, SLU took away pretty much all of the energy Idaho had left. Sophomore DB Zy Alexander intercepted McCoy and ran the ball back for a 48-yard pick-six, giving the Lions a 45-35 point lead with four minutes remaining.
At the beginning of the next drive, Alexander picked McCoy off again, but a roughing the passer call was made, giving Idaho the ball back 15 yards up field. After a holding penalty backed the Vandals up 10 yards, McCoy and Jackson decided to put the fate of Idaho’s second round aspirations into their own hands. McCoy aired the ball up to Jackson, and Jackson took it 70 yards to the endzone to make it a three-point game with 3:23 remaining.
The Lions were looking to put the game away, but Idaho’s defense had other plans. On third-and-11, senior linebacker Fa’avae Fa’avae stopped Johnson III. Then, junior punter Austin Dunlap muffed the punt, giving Idaho the ball 42 yards from the endzone.
McCoy hit Hatten for 15 yards, a few short plays happened, then Idaho got another 15 yards due to a facemask call, but it wasn’t quite enough. A week of rain leading up the game, and rain throughout it, made it a very slick turf for Chavez to kick on. He slipped on his second attempt (he made the first, but SLU called a timeout before the snap), and the Lions took the game 45-42.
“Looking back, if I had to do it over again, I probably would’ve, during that timeout, called a play,” Eck said. “A quick read where if it’s open, see if we can get a little closer for the kick.”
Despite the tough loss, it was a great season for the Vandals, especially Chavez. He went 48/48 on point-after attempts and 15/20 on field goal attempts.
McCoy had the second-best passing percentage in the Big Sky, completing 204/298, or 68.5%, of his passes. His 27 touchdowns are currently the most in the Big Sky.
There was no better wide receiver duo than Hatten and Jackson. They are currently first in second in receiving yards in the conference with 1,209 and 1,049 yards respectfully.
Leading the team in rushing were Woods and Johnson. Woods ended the season with 872 rushing yards while Johnson ended with 12 rushing touchdowns.
The leader on defense was Fa’avae. He is currently tied for most tackles in the conference with 111. Leading in sacks was Bailey with five. Sophomore DBs Murvin Kenion III and Tommy McCormick, along with redshirt junior LB Paul Moala, led the team in interceptions, each having four.
Although the season didn’t end in Frisco, it ended with a recharged fan base and a 7-5 record. The Vandals will continue to put in the work in to improve for next season while the seniors with no eligibility left look towards their future careers in the NFL, or wherever else their degree leads them.
James Taurman-Aldrich can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @jamesaldrich10