ABILENE – ACU head football coach Keith Patterson said Saturday evening that his team is still searching for an identity but felt like they were closing in on it.
If it's playing attacking, turnover-creating defense and opportunistic offense, the Wildcats might be on the verge of putting it together in 2023. That was the formula for success Saturday afternoon at Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium as the Wildcats outscored North Alabama 17-0 in the final 16 minutes of the contest to pull away for a 30-13 win over 10,383 fans in the Wildcats' annual Homecoming contest.
ACU – which had created just four turnovers on defense through the first five games of the season – forced five North Alabama turnovers, including four interceptions, two by junior linebacker
Cirby Coheley. Those five turnovers turned into 13 points as ACU evened its record against UNA at 1-1, but more importantly, put an end to a three-game losing streak. The Wildcats are now 3-3 overall and 1-1 in United Athletic Conference play, with four straight conference contests coming up before closing the regular season Nov. 18 at Texas A&M.
Coheley – who finished with 10 tackles and one pass breakup that could have been a third interception – is the first Wildcat defender to record two interceptions in a game since Jabari Butler picked off two passes in a 15-13 loss to seventh-ranked McNeese State in a Southland Conference game at Shotwell Stadium on Oct. 31, 2015. Coheley is the first ACU player to record two interceptions in a game at Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium since it opened in 2017.
ACU led 13-0 early before North Alabama fought back to tie the score 13-13 in the third quarter. But the Wildcats drove to a
Kyle Ramsey 37-yard field goal to take a 16-13 lead with 1:39 left in the third quarter, a lead they wouldn't relinquish.
The Lions held the ball early in the fourth quarter for more than seven minutes but came up empty after JJ Evans dropped a first-down pass on fourth down deep in ACU territory. ACU needed just three plays and two big pass plays to push the lead to two scores. McIvor hit
Cooper McCasland for 36 yards on a flea-flicker to put the ball at the UNA 30-yard line.
On the next play, McIvor hit
Tristan Golightly at about the 10-yard line, and he fought his way into the end zone. The ball popped loose when he hit the ground, and the pass was initially ruled incomplete. But after review, the officials determined that Golightly had control of the ball when he crossed the plane of the goal line, and the Wildcats had increased their lead to 23-13.
ACU added another touchdown late on a 52-yard Rovaughn Banks run, putting the finishing touches on the Wildcats' fifth straight Homecoming victory.
McIvor finished 12 of 24 for 206 yards and two scores, while Golightly caught three passes for 63 yards and one score. Banks ran for 78 yards on 10 carries.
Elijah Moffett led the Wildcats with 13 tackles, one tackle for loss, and a key fumble recovery in the fourth quarter that led to the Banks touchdown run.
GAME SUMMARY
How They Scored
1Q (3:42) – The Wildcats got on the board first, thanks to a play by junior linebacker
Cirby Coheley, who intercepted a Noah Walters pass the UNA 36-yard line and returned it to the 29-yard line. The drive's biggest play was a 20-yard pass from
Maverick McIvor to
Blayne Taylor, getting the ball inside the 5-yard line. ACU couldn't get into the zone and settled for the field goal by
Kyle Ramsey to put the game's first points on the scoreboard.
Scoring Play: Kyle Ramsey 21 field goal
Drive: 6 plays, 26 yards, 2:12 TOP
ACU 3, North Alabama 0
2Q (5:03) – The ACU offense took advantage of another interception, this time by cornerback
Patrick Jolly, who took one away from Dakota Warfield, setting the offense offense at its 38-yard line. McIvor hooked up with
Tristan Golightly for 10 yards before
Jordon Vaughn had runs of 15, 3, and 2 yards. ACU stalled at the UNA 37-yard line and settled for a field goal from Ramsey.
Scoring Play: Ramsey 54 field goal
Drive: 7 plays, 25 yards, 3:14 TOP
ACU 6, North Alabama 0
2Q (2:40) – After ACU's defense forced a three-and-out, UNA punter Adam Watford shanked a 13-yard punt to the Lions' 38-yard line. On the drive's only play, McIvor found a wide-open
Jed Castles, and the big sophomore tight end caught the ball at the UNA 10-yard line and stepped into the end zone with the game's first touchdown.
Scoring Play: Jed Castles 38 pass from Maverick McIvor (Ramsey PAT)
Drive: 1 play, 38 yards, 0:08 TOP
ACU 13, North Alabama 0
2Q (0:10) – The Lions got on the scoreboard just before the end of the half with their best drive of the game as they moved 75 yards on 10 plays to a score to cut ACU's lead to one score. The drive's biggest play came with just a little less than one minute remaining, and UNA facing third-and-9 on its 37. After an ACU timeout to conserve time in case the Lions failed to get the first down, UNA quarterback Noah Walters hooked up with Dakota Warfield for a 23-yard catch-and-run to the ACU 40-yard line. Walters then connected with AJ Fields for 24 yards down to the ACU 16-yard line, putting the Lions in position to score. Four plays later – on third-and-goal from the 6 – Walters hit Takairee Kenebrew in the back corner of the end zone for a touchdown.
Scoring Play: Takairee Kenebrew 6 pass from Noah Walters (Sam Contorno kick)
Drive: 10 plays, 75 yards, 2:30 TOP
ACU 13, North Alabama 7
3Q (6:17) – The Lions got the ball first to start the second half and took off more than half the third-quarter clock on their second straight touchdown drive. The Lions put together an 18-play, 75-yard drive that took 8:43 off the game clock and ended with a touchdown pass from Walters to Kenny Rawls. The Lions ran the ball 13 times for 55 yards on the drive but needed a short TD pass to end the drive with a score. Sam Contorno hit the PAT to give UNA a 14-13 lead, but ACU was flagged for being offsides on the play. UNA took the penalty and moved the ball to the 1-yard line but inexplicably didn't decide to go for 2 points. Instead, UNA head coach Brent Dearmon decided to kick PAT again and saw Contorno's line drive kick go wide left to leave the game tied at 13-13.
Scoring Play: Kenny Rawls 3 pass from Walters (Contorno kick failed)
Drive: 18 plays, 75 yards, 8:43 TOP
ACU 13, North Alabama 13
3Q (1:39) – The Wildcats took their only drive of the third quarter for points as Ramsey booted his third field goal to give ACU a 16-13 lead. The two biggest plays were a 20-yard pass from McIvor to Taylor and a roughing the passer penalty on UNA that gave the Wildcats a first-and-10 at the UNA 21-yard line. Three plays later, Ramsey trotted out and banged home a 37-yard field goal to give the lead back to the Wildcats.
Scoring Play: Ramsey 37 field goal
Drive: 9 plays, 42 yards, 4:38 TOP
ACU 16, North Alabama 13
4Q (6:18) – The Lions held the ball early in the fourth quarter for more than seven minutes but came up empty after JJ Evans dropped a first-down pass on fourth down deep in ACU territory. ACU needed just three plays and two big pass plays to push the lead to two scores. McIvor hit
Cooper McCasland for 36 yards on a flea-flicker to put the ball at the UNA 30-yard line. On the next play, McIvor hit
Tristan Golightly at about the 10-yard line, and he fought his way into the end zone. The ball popped loose when he hit the ground, and the pass was initially ruled incomplete. But after review, the officials determined that Golightly had control of the ball when he crossed the plane of the goal line, and the Wildcats had increased their lead to 23-13.
Scoring Play: Tristan Golightly 30 pass from McIvor (Ramsey PAT)
Drive: 3 plays, 4672 yards, 1:19 TOP
ACU 23, North Alabama 13
4Q (3:49) – The Wildcats' defense forced a fumble at midfield that was recovered by
Elijah Moffett, and two plays later, the offense found the end zone once again. After a short run by running back Rovaughn Banks on first down, he broke through the line on second down and went 52 yards virtually untouched for the final touchdown of the afternoon.
Scoring Play: Rovaughn Banks 52 run (Ramsey PAT)
Drive: 2 plays, 55 yards, 0:56 TOP
ACU 30, North Alabama 13
KEY STATS
• Before Saturday, the last time ACU's defense had four interceptions in a game was Nov. 1, 2014, when ACU beat Central Arkansas, 52-35, in a neutral-site Southland Conference game at Clark Stadium in Plano. Jonathan Epps had two interceptions – including one returned 68 yards for a touchdown – and Terry Ausborne and Justin Stephens each had one interception in the game.
• Before Saturday, the last time the Wildcats forced five turnovers in a game was Oct. 31, 2015, in a 15-13 loss to seventh-ranked McNeese State in a Southland Conference game at Shotwell Stadium on Oct. 31, 2015.
TURNING POINT
ACU led 16-13 early in the fourth quarter and got the ball back after the second interception of the day by linebacker
Cirby Coheley. But the offense went three-and-out in only 20 seconds, turning the ball back to the Lions with 14:41 left in the fourth quarter. The Lions moved 57 yards on 15 plays – their third drive of the game of at least 10 plays – and got down to the ACU 33-yard line, where they faced fourth-and-5. UNA quarterback Noah Walters threaded a ball through three ACU defenders into the gut of JJ Evans, who dropped the ball, turning the ball over to ACU. The Wildcats needed three plays to score to go ahead 23-13 on their way to a 30-13 win.
POST-GAME NOTES
• ACU sophomore placekicker
Kyle Ramsey put his name in the record book Saturday afternoon with his 54-yard field goal, giving ACU a 6-0 lead with 5:03 left in the first half. Ramsey is the first placekicker in ACU history with four field goals from at least 50 yards in the same season. He and former placekicker Morgan Lineberry (2009-12) are the only kickers in ACU history with four field goals from at least 50 yards in a career.
• It's only appropriate for an ACU placekicker to set a record on Homecoming when Ove Johansson kicked his still-standing world-record 69-yard field goal against then-Texas A&M-Commerce. That field goal from Johansson was on Oct. 16, 1976, at Shotwell Stadium and part of a 17-0 win over the Lions. Johansson passed away two weeks ago, on Sept. 30, in Amarillo.
• ACU's 1973 NAIA Division I national championship gathered this weekend to celebrate 50 years since that team captured the program's first of two national championships. At least 30 members from that team were at the ACU Sports Hall of Fame celebration dinner Friday night when teammates Richard Williams and Jan Brown were each inducted into the hall and then recognized on the field during the first half of Saturday's game.
• With their victory over North Alabama, the Wildcats improved to 58-35-1 on Homecoming and have won five straight contests since 2019 (the scheduled 2020 game against West Texas A&M was canceled because of COVID).
QUOTING HEAD COACH KEITH PATTERSON
… on ACU's fourth-quarter performance: "That's nothing more than a mindset, which we emphasized all week long beginning on Sunday. We won the fourth quarter against North Texas (two weeks ago), and we won it today against North Alabama. We've talked about finishing, and that's been a big emphasis in practice. One other thing we talked about was possession of the ball. We didn't turn it over and forced them into five turnovers, and those were big keys to the win."
… on pulling out a tough win: "We needed to win a game like that. We needed to grind it out. It wasn't pretty in the first half, and you don't get points for style points. We're still searching for our identity, but I think a little bit of that was shown today. We've simplified some things defensively (because) we were probably doing too much early in the year. I thought we started showing some positive signs in the last three quarters against North Texas. Offensively, we're still searching a little bit, but we'll figure it out. I'm very proud of our players; that was a big win."
… on Cirby Coheley's performance: "He was a tight end in football and played shortstop on the baseball team (at Iowa Park High School), so he's got good hands. He's a really good athlete and maybe the most improved player on our football team. He had an incredible game and is very proud of the player he's become."
… on Kyle Ramsey's 54-yard field goal: "At first, I was just going to punt it, and then I started looking at it and literally thought of Ove and his field goal on Homecoming, and I thought, why not? He's got great confidence. It's crazy. I don't know that I've seen a more even-keel person in my life. He's a very impressive guy, and he just exudes confidence. He's calm, confident, and an incredible player, and I'm so glad he's here."
QUOTING LINEBACKER CIRBY COHELEY
… on simplifying the ACU defense: "All the credit for what I did (today) is due to the defensive line. Those guys battle and take on double teams and made it so simple. When you've got a simple game plan, it's easy to make plays, and that's what I did."
QUOTING PLACEKICKER KYLE RAMSEY
… on his remarkable consistency (9 for 9 on field goals and 21 for 21 on PATs in 2023): "The biggest part of being consistent is just trying to kick the same ball every time, no matter if it's an extra point or something of 50 yards or more. It's about kicking the same ball each time and trusting the guys who work with me to do their job like they do every time. It's about trusting that (long snapper) Dustin (Inness) is going to snap it perfectly and (holder) Grant (Nickell) is going to hold it perfectly, and then I just have to do my job."
… on the confidence his head coach has in him: "That's something I really appreciate. It's great to have a coach and a team to trust me to go out and make those kicks."
UP NEXT
The Wildcats will renew their rivalry with Stephen F. Austin next Saturday when they take on the Lumberjacks in a United Athletic Conference contest at Homer Bryce Stadium in Nacogdoches at 4 p.m. The Lumberjacks lead the all-time series, 12-11, but only recently took the series lead away from ACU. SFA has won seven of the 10 meetings between the teams since ACU moved to NCAA Division I FCS football in 2013. ACU won the first two games after that move (in 2014 and 2015), but since then, the 'Jacks have won seven of nine in the series, including the last three.
