ABILENE — The ACU Wildcats had everything set up perfectly for them to claim the Western Athletic Conference championship Saturday afternoon.
Playing at home at Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium where they hadn't lost all season, the Wildcats — winners of three of their last four games and unbeaten in league play — seemingly had everything going in its favor in pursuit of the program's first NCAA Division I conference title and first league championship since winning the Lone Star Conference in 2010.
But Stephen F. Austin had other ideas as the Lumberjacks outscored ACU 11-0 in the fourth quarter to beat the Wildcats, 24-21, claiming the league title for themselves and ruining ACU's hopes for a bid to the NCAA Division I playoffs.
ACU led 21-13 going into the fourth quarter and drove to the SFA 29-yard line where its drive stalled. Kicker Blair Zepeda's 46-yard attempt was wide right, his second miss from 40-plus yards on the day. SFA responded by marching down to the ACU 29 where Chris Campos hit a 46-yard field goal to cut the Wildcat lead to 21-16 with 8:30 left in the game.
The Wildcats went three-and-out on their next drive, giving the ball right back to the Lumberjacks.
Quarterback Trae Self completed 26 of 37 passes for 397 yards and two scores in his final game as a Lumberjack, but it was his legs that broke the Wildcats' hearts. With ACU clinging to a 21-16 lead and SFA facing a 4th-and-goal from the ACU 12-yard line, Self dropped back to pass, but was forced to scramble out to his right. He eluded two would-be tacklers and tumbled into the front right corner of the end zone to give the Lumberjacks a 22-21 lead with 2:43 left in the game. Self's two-point conversion pass to Moe Wedman was good, giving the 'Jacks a 24-21 advantage.
ACU got the ball back and moved out to its 35-yard line, but Maverick McIvor's fourth-and-5 pass to Kendall Catalon fell incomplete, giving the ball back to SFA. The Lumberjacks ran out most of the final 76 seconds before punting down to the ACU 2-yard line. The game ended after ACU's Davion Johnson was tackled after a couple of laterals on a second-down play, and the Lumberjacks (6-5 overall and 3-1 in the WAC) celebrated a league title.
The Wildcats (7-4 and 3-1) had hoped a win over the Lumberjacks that would have given them the WAC title would have landed them a spot in the FCS playoffs. Instead, their fourth straight loss to SFA – three of those by three points, including Saturday's – put an end to those hopes.
Self and Gipson dominated the second half, hooking up seven times for 162 yards and one touchdown in the second half, including gains of 17, 42, 59, and 17 yards.
McIvor completed 25 of 38 passes for 318 yards and two touchdowns, while senior Kobe Clark – playing in his final game as a Wildcat – caught seven passes for a career-best 168 yards.
GAME SUMMARY
How They Scored
1Q (2:41) – The Wildcats opened the scoring on their second drive of the game when they capped an 8-play, 62-yard drive with a little bit of razzle dazzle on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line. ACU took over on its 38-yard line after the defense held SFA on fourth-and-1, and Maverick McIvor connected with Kobe Clark on a couple of big plays to get ACU into the red zone. After an offensive pass interference penalty pushed ACU back to the 16-yard line, McIvor and Clark hooked up on a ball down to the 1-yard line. After a third-and-goal run was stopped short, the Wildcats dug into their bag of tricks to get on the board. On fourth down, Kendall Catalon went into motion to the right and took a pitch, and then threw to a wide-open Colt Cooper for the touchdown.
   Scoring play: Colt Cooper 2 pass from Kendall Catalon (Blair Zepeda kick)
   Drive: 8 plays, 62 yards, 4:21
   ACU 7, Stephen F. Austin 0
2Q (10:01) — The Lumberjacks' defense forced a punt and the offense took advantage, moving 58 yards on nine plays to a 20-yard touchdown pass from Trae Self to Miles Reed, knotting the score at 7-7 after the PAT from Chris Campos was good. Self completed 5 of 7 passes on the drive, including a 25-yarder to SFA All-American wideout Xavier Gipson, who went over 1,000 receiving yards on the season. After a 13-yard touchdown run by Reed was wiped out by a penalty on SFA, Self went back to Reed on the nest play, and they connected on a 20-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown to knot the game at 7-7.
   Scoring play: MIles Reed 20 pass from Trae Self (Chris Campos kick)
    Drive: 9 plays, 68 yards, 4:00
    ACU 7 Stephen F. Austin 7
3Q (9:46) – After recovering an SFA fumble in the end zone for a touchback on the opening drive of the third quarter, the ACU offense wasted little time in grabbing the lead, moving quickly down the field to the go-ahead touchdown. McIvor hooked up with Clark on a 58-yard pass to the SFA 22-yard line on the first play of the drive, and four plays later, McIvor found Catalon from four yards out for the score that made it 14-7.
    Scoring play: Kendall Catalon 4 pass from Maverick McIvor (Blair Zepeda kick)
    Drive: 5 plays, 80 yards, 2:04
    ACU 14, Stephen F. Austin 7
3Q (6:13) – On SFA's ensuing drive, the Lumberjacks moved down the field behind Self, who was 4 for 4 on the drive for 70 yards, including a 42-yard completion to Gipson and a 3-yard scoring strike to Gipson. However, Anthony Egbo Jr. blocked the PAT try by Chris Campos, leaving ACU in front, 14-13.
    Scoring play: Xavier Gipson 3 pass from Trae Self (kick blocked)
    Drive: 8 plays, 75 yards, 3:33
    ACU 14, Stephen F. Austin 13
3Q (4:41) – On the next drive, the Wildcats stretched their lead to eight points behind McIvor's right arm. He completed an 18-yard pass to Terrance Golightly on the first play, and then the Wildcats drew a pass interference penalty on SFA, moving the ball to the Lumberjacks' 40-yard line. After hitting Clark for eight yards, McIvor found Colt Cooper from 32 yards out for the touchdown, and after Blair Zepeda's PAT, the Wildcats' lead was 21-13.
    Scoring play: Colt Cooper 32 pass from Maverick McIvor (Blair Zepeda kick)
    Drive: 3 plays, 73 yards, 1:31
    ACU 21, Stephen F. Austin 13
4Q (8:30) – After Zepeda missed a 46-yard field goal attempt early in the fourth quarter, the Lumberjacks took possession and moved to the ACU 29-yard line where the drive stalled. However, Chris Campos booted a 46-yard field to cut the Wildcats' lead to 21-16.
    Scoring play: Chris Campos 46 field goal
    Drive: 9 plays 42 yards, 3:44
    ACU 21, Stephen F. Austin 16
4Q (2:43) – After the SFA defense forced an ACU three-and-out, the Lumberjacks set out on the game-winning drive from their 35-yard line. On fourth-and-3, Self found Gipson for 12 yards to the ACU 26 to keep the drive alive. On third-and-goal from the 8, Self dropped the snap and fell on it for a loss back to the 12-yard line, setting up the potential game-winning play for both sides. On fourth-and-goal, Self was able to elude two ACU defenders and stumble his way into the end zone to give SFA the lead. His two-point conversion pass was good, and the Lumberjacks had the game-winning points.
   Scoring play: Trae Self 12 run (Self 2-point pass to Moe Wedman)
    Drive: 12 plays, 65 yards, 4:46
    ACU 21, Stephen F. Austin 24
KEY STAT
The Wildcats – who entered the game averaging 151.6 yards per game on the ground – ran the ball just 11 times for 0 (zero) yards in the first half. ACU finished the game with 44 yards on 16 carries.
POST-GAME NOTES
• With his 318 yards passing, Maverick McIvor finished the season with 2,212 yards, despite missing two games because of injury. McIvor is the fifth quarterback in ACU's NCAA Division I era to throw for at least 2,000 yards in a season, joining John David Baker (3,376 yards in 2013), Parker McKenzie (3,084 yards in 2014), Dallas Sealey (2,773 yards in 2016), and Luke Anthony (3,019 yards in 2018 and 2,525 yards in 2019) on the list.
• McIvor's total marks the 28th time an ACU quarterback has thrown for at least 2,000 yards in a season in ACU's 101 seasons of intercollegiate football. He is also the 14th quarterback in ACU history to throw for at least 2,000 yards in a season, joining Jim Lindsey, Clint Longley, Jim Reese, John Mayes, Loyal Proffitt, Rex Lamberti, Colby Freeman, Billy Malone, Mitchell Gale, Baker, McKenzie, Sealey, and Anthony on that list.
• Senior wide receiver Kobe Clark finished the day with seven catches for 168 yards, giving him 269 career catches and extending his school record to 34 catches over former record-holder Jerale Badon. He finished third all-time in receiving yards with 2,975, passing Clyde Gates (2,885 yards from 2007-10) for third place behind only Badon (3,311 yards from 2004-07) and Taylor Gabriel (3,027 yards from 2010-13) on the all-time list. Clark's streak of games with a touchdown reception ended at five, leaving him with 23 career touchdown catches, good for sixth on ACU's all-time list.
#GoWildcats
