Fierce rally falls short in heartbreaking fashion in season opener – McNeese State University Athletics

STEPHENVILLE, Texas – History nearly repeated itself for the McNeese Cowboys here in Memorial Stadium in front of a nation audience on ESPN2.
 
Trailing 26-7 at the half, McNeese scored 16 unanswered second half points and had a chance to tie the game in the end, but Tyler Larco’s 44-yard attempt against a stiff wind had the distance but sailed just right of the upright and No. 21 Tarleton State was able to hold off a fierce McNeese rally for a 26-23 win.
 
McNeese was forced to use its final timeout with 10 seconds to play to avoid a 10-second run-off the clock following a false start penalty. That changed the plans for a play to the endzone without a way to stop the clock.
 
In the spring season of 2021, McNeese trailed the Texans 24-10 at the half and rallied for 21 fourth quarter points to send the game into overtime where the Cowboys won 40-37 in two extra periods.
 
The Texans took a 26-7 lead by halftime, taking advantage of four McNeese turnovers – three fumbles and an interception, scoring 12 points off those miscues including a 31-yard fumble scoop and score late in the first quarter that put TSU up 16-7.
 
The Cowboys came out strong in the second half, both on offense and defense, outscoring the Texans 16-0 in the final two quarters. Tarleton, led by quarterback Victor Gabalis in the first half with 140 passing yards on 11 of 18 throws and a TD, was without its starter in the second half after suffering a thumb injury.
 
Walter Payton Award candidate Kayvon Britton rushed for 164 yards on 25 carries to lead the Texans’ offense.
 
Postgame Notes:
• McNeese outgained Tarleton State 445-339 in total offense with 200 yards rushing and 245 passing.
• The Cowboys’ defense held TSU to just 11 offensive yards in the third quarter and 84 total in the second half.
• QB Clifton McDowell accounted for 312 offensive yards with 245 passing and a team-high 67 rushing.
• The first score of the season came on a 43-yard pass from McDowell to Jamaal Levi that gave the Cowboys a 7-3 lead at 8:16 in the first quarter.
• Trailing 26-16 late in the fourth, McDowell connected with Matthew McCallister on a quick slant with McCallister breaking a tackle and sprinting 80 yards for the score that cut the margin to 26-23 with 4:15 to play.
• McNeese got the ball back after a 3rd-and-2 screen pass attempt by Tarleton was batted down by Masey Lewis which forced the Texans to punt.
• McNeese drove to the Tarleton 27 where it attempted its field goal to tie the game.
• The Cowboys recorded six plays that went for 20 yards or more and 14 plays that gained 10 or more yards.
• Jer’Michael Carter led the receiving corps with four catches and 24 yards while Curtis Deville had 42 yards on two grabs.
• Defensively, Micah Davey led the way with 14 tackles and added a half sack and half tackle for a loss.
• McNeese finished with five sacks in the game, just four fewer than the season total of nine last year.
• Game captains for the Cowboys were Micah Davey, Tristan Driggers, Cole Leclair, and Clifton McDowell.
• Ten players made their first start as a McNeese Cowboy – LB Tristan Driggers, DE Marques White, S Thomas Miles, CB Yusef Leak, DL Simeon Mitchell, QB Clifton McDowell, WR Curtis Deville, WR Jer’Michael Carter, OL William Bressi, OL Elijah Melendez, TE Logan Mauldin.
 
Scoring Summary
1st 11:12 TAR M.James 53 yd FG, 6-12, 02:41, TAR 3-0
1st 08:16 McN J.Levi 43 yd pass from C. McDowell (Larco kick), 8-75, 02:56, McN 7-3
1st 04:09 TAR D. Kelley III 1 yd run (James kick), 10-64, 04:01, TAR 10-7
1st 03:23 TAR K. Kurns 31 yd fumble return (James kick missed), 00:46, TAR 16-7
2nd 07:35 TAR K. Johnson 26 yd pass from V. Gabalis (James kick), 12-83, 04:34, TAR 23-7
2nd 03:10 TAR James 34 yd FG, 6-38, 03:05, TAR 26-7
3rd 00:46 McN Larco 36 yd FG, 10-38, 05:58, TAR 26-10
3rd 09:22 McN Durham 7 yd run (Larco kick missed), 9-72, 00:11, TAR 26-16
4th 04:15 McN McCallister 80 yd pass from McDowell (Larco kick), 1-80, 00:11, TAR 26-23