Exciting start: McNeese opens with 2OT victory over Tarleton St.
David Berry, Special to the American Press
STEPHENVILLE, TEXAS — A worldwide pandemic, two devastating hurricanes, and 448 days between football games.
A mere two-touchdown deficit wasn’t going faze the McNeese State football team.
Senior quarterback Cody Orgeron ran for the game-winning touchdown in double overtime to complete the comeback and give McNeese the 40-37 win over Tarleton State on a frigid Saturday night in Memorial Stadium.
It was McNeese’s first overtime game since losing at Northwestern State in the 2018 season.
With his father, LSU head coach Ed Orgeron, in attendance, Cody Orgeron shook off shaky pass protection for most of the night to deliver when the Cowboys needed him most. Orgeron finished with 278 yards of total offense (170 yards passing, 108 yards rushing) and five total touchdowns (three passing, two rushing).
Special teams played a key part in giving McNeese an early 10-0 lead. First, the Cowboys got on the scoreboard thanks to a 21-yard Jacob Abel field goal.
After getting the ball back and being forced to punt, punter Bailey Raborn hit a 53-yard punt that Tarleton punt returner Kaylon Horton could not field. Horton muffed the punt and Cowboys long snapper Trey Vondenstein recovered the fumble.
Three plays later, Orgeron found wide receiver Josh Matthews on an end zone fade for a 13-yard touchdown pass.
Tarleton responded on the next drive with its best offensive possession to that point and scored its first points as a Division I program when Adrian Guzman converted a 38-yard field goal to cut McNeese’s lead to 10-3.
Late in the first quarter, the Cowboys had the chance to go up two scores thanks to a solid offensive drive that started at their own 30 and drove inside the Tarleton 10-yard line. But on fourth down, McNeese elected to go for the first down instead of kicking a field goal, and the Texans’ defense stood tall, stopping Cowboys running back J’Cobi Skinner in the backfield for a loss of 5 yards.
That seemed to be the turning point. Although the both teams’ offenses struggled for most of the first half, Tarleton tied the score in the second quarter when running back Ryheem Skinner scored on a 4-yard touchdown run.
Although the game went into halftime tied at 10, that was the start of 24 consecutive Tarleton points to take the lead and put the Texans in position to potentially win the game comfortably.
Down 24-10, McNeese managed to crawl back to within a touchdown after a 5-yard Orgeron touchdown run. But Tarleton came right back, responding with a 13 play, 83 yard drive, capped by a 1-yard Braelon Bridges touchdown run, his second of the game, to give the Texans a 31-17 lead.
But McNeese did not go down easily, scoring a touchdown with just under 3 minutes remaining when Orgeron found wide receiver Mason Pierce for a 26-yard touchdown pass. After recovering the ensuing onside kick, the Cowboys drove down the field, converting a key fourth down deep in Tarleton territory to keep hope alive. Then, Orgeron threw a touchdown pass to Trevor Begue, who made a nice one-handed catch to tie the score at 31 and send it to overtime.
In the first overtime, the two teams traded field goals. In the second overtime, Guzman hit a 45-yard field goal, his third of the game.
When it was McNeese’s turn to go on offense, Orgeron ran two quarterback draws, and on the second one, found daylight around the left side and scampered in for the winner score.
McNeese will be off next week before opening the Southland Conference portion of its schedule at home against Incarnate Word on Feb. 27.
Special to the American Press
Special to the American Press
Special to the American Press