Wildcats drop second straight
ACU decked by Savages, 42-24; Badon has record-setting day
DURANT, Okla. – Southeastern Oklahoma State scored two touchdowns in a 14-second span of the third quarter Saturday afternoon and took advantage of a bushel of ACU Wildcat mistakes in a 42-24 win over ACU in a Lone Star Conference crossover game at Paul Laird Field.
The Wildcats' second straight loss drops them 2-3 overall and 2-2 in the LSC, while the Savages improve to 3-2 and 2-2. ACU will return to LSC South Division play next Saturday at 7 p.m. when it goes to San Angelo to take on rival Angelo State, which entered Saturday's play at 5-0 on the season.
The loss ruined a record-setting day for ACU sophomore wide receiver Jerale Badon, who finished the afternoon with 13 catches for 205 yards and one touchdown. He tied the school record for most catches in a game, and his yardage total is the sixth-best single-game total in school history. Badon – who recorded the first 100-yard receiving game of his ACU career on Saturday -- also had a 71-yard pass to Andrew Hansen on the Wildcats' second drive of the game, which set up the first touchdown of the game.
Quarterback Billy Malone finished 24 for 36 with 343 yards and three touchdowns: a 4-yarder to Caleb Stone, a 6-yarder to Clinton Farrell and a 55-yarder to Badon.
Saturday's game was a close one at the half with the Savages holding a 14-10 lead, thanks to a pair of touchdown runs by Sean Cooper, who finished the game with 173 yards and three scores (one on a 32-yard reception). But four key plays in the final 30 minutes turned the tide in the favor of the Savages.
After ACU's defense held the Savages on the first drive of the second half, ACU moved quickly to the SOSU 31-yard line, thanks in part to a 39-yard pass from Billy Malone to Jerale Badon. But on the next play, redshirt freshman running back Taber Minner fumbled at the end of a six-yard run, turning the ball over to the Savages.
Southeastern responded with a six-play 65-yard touchdown drive that culminated in a 10-yard touchdown pass from Justin Pitrucha to Shawn Lawrence, pushing the Savage lead to 21-10 with 7:30 to play. After a pair of penalties on each team to start ACU's next drive, redshirt freshman quarterback Nick Bird – who saw his most playing time of the season – threw an interception that was returned 40 yards for a touchdown by Ataymian Skinner to increase the Savage advantage to 28-10 with 7:16 left in the third quarter.
The Wildcats, though, responded with a nice drive that pushed the ball down to the SOSU 20-yard line where ACU was lined up with first-and-10. However, ACU couldn't put points on the board as it was stopped on fourth-and-five from the 15-yard line.
The ACU defense forced a punt on the Savages' next possession and ACU took over at its own 28-yard line. Fifteen plays and 72 yards later, Malone completed the drive with a 6-yard scoring strike to Farrell on fourth-and-goal from the SOSU 6-yard line. The 2-point conversion run failed, leaving ACU trailing 28-16 with 12:08 to play.
The Wildcats appeared to be gaining the momentum after their defense forced a three-and-out on the Savages' next series. However, that's when the third key play of the second half gave the Savages a first down. ACU was flagged for illegal participation on the punt, a penalty that gave the Savages a first down on the ACU 31. Three plays later, Pitrucha hit Cooper with a 32-yard scoring pass on third-and-11, pushing the lead to 35-16 with 9:07 to play.
The two teams then traded punts, and ACU took over the football with 5:21 to play on its own 45-yard line. The Wildcats wasted little time in putting points on the board as Malone hit Badon with a 55-yard scoring strike on the first play of the drive. Malone then hit Jonathan Ferguson with the 2-point conversion pass to make it a 35-24 game with 5:10 left in the game.
And that's when the game finally turned all the way in the favor of the Savages.
It appeared as though Badon had recovered the ensuing onside kick on the ACU 49-yard line, which would have given the Wildcats the football with plenty of time left on the clock. However, after a lengthy on-field discussion, the officials ruled Badon had actually recovered the ball on the ACU 44-yard line, meaning the ball didn't go the required 10 yards and giving the ball to the Savages.
Southeastern took advantage of the break to move 44 yards in five plays to an 8-yard pass from Pitrucha to Jeremie Berry to make it 42-24 with 3:15 to play. The Wildcats moved inside the SOSU 20-yard line on its final drive, but turned the ball over on downs with less than one minute to play.
