On September 9, Tarleton State football started their first home game with an outstanding comeback. Tarleton State had their fourth all-time matchup against the University of North Alabama (UNA).
The night had a great start when the class of freshmen had their runoff before the football players followed closely behind. At the start of the first half, Tarleton State won the ring toss as they would defend the North end-zone and UNA would receive.
However, UNA intercepted a pass from Victor Gabalis (#11). After the interception, UNA made a touchdown that immediately put Tarleton State at 0-7. About a minute later, UNA scored another touchdown. When people began to hang their heads, Derrel Kelley (#9) made a 12-yard-run touchdown putting the score 7-14. Towards the end of the first quarter, with only 36 seconds left of the clock, Keylan Johnson (#5) made a touchdown leaving the first quarter with a tie.
Before the start of the 2nd quarter, James Hurley showed an appreciation to all of the Tarleton Transition Mentors (TTM) and the Texan Reps. The appreciation goes to all of the hard work that they do throughout the school year with getting students to experience the true feeling of home at Tarleton State University.
About seven minutes left into the second quarter, UNA made another touchdown bringing them ahead at 14-21. Shortly after came another touchdown by UNA with four minutes left of the clock. This left the crowd thinking this was going to be the end streak of wins. At the end of the 2nd quarter, Adrian Guzman (#15) made a field goal leaving the score 17-28.
Out of nowhere, in the beginning of the 3rd quarter, Johnson makes another touchdown by a 64-yard pass from Gabalis. This was made along with a field goal kick made by Guzman, making the score 24-28. This gave the crowd a sense of hope. About nine minutes left of the game, UNA went for a field goal, bringing their score up to 31. However, this did not stop Tarleton State from getting behind.
Another touchdown was made by Johnson, making a tie game. Then again, out of nowhere, Kayvon Britten (#4) made a touchdown, leading Tarleton State 38-31. From the end of the 3rd quarter, many came to question the comeback and whether Tarleton State could stick the landing. When all came to think it was just the end of the scoring, there was still left in the 4th quarter.
With just the start of the last quarter, Johnson made a touchdown leading the game 45-31. Another touchdown soon followed by Robert Rios (#52) who left the score to be 52-31, leaving UNA way behind where there was no catching up now. This led the conclusion of the game to a 2-streak win at Tarleton State.
For more information about Tarleton State football games, go to tarletonsports.com/sports/football.
