Sept. 18, 2004
Final Stats
Greeley, CO --- In a game that pretty much defined Big Sky football, Idaho State scored five touchdowns in the final 15:14 plus a pair of overtimes to defeat Northern Colorado 49-42, ending the Bears school record home winning streak at 16 and improving the Bengals to 4-0 in overtime with Larry Lewis. The Bengals used touchdowns ranging from weird to to downright bizarre during the comeback.
The winning score came in the second overtime when, opening first, Mark Hetherington threw his fourth touchdown pass of the afternoon, a nine-yarder to Akilah Lacey. With UNC going in for a score, Marcell Lagrone put a bone crushing hit on Jamar Farbes at the 2-yard line, and Farbes fumbled the ball into the endzone, where Ernie James recovered, ending the game.
Neither team scored in the first overtime. UNC took a third down sack back to the 31, and then was short on fourth down. The Bengals then went backwards two yards before Jaret Johnson's kick into the wind from 44 yards was well right.
Idaho State used a remarkable 14-play, 95-yard drive to tie it at 42 with 25 seconds left. ISU got the ball back with 3:39 to go, and converted a huge 4th-and-5 with 1:23 to go on an 8-yard catch by Lacey. Lacey then ended the drive with a 13-yard fade catch for a touchdown.
The Bengals trailed 34-14 late in the third quarter when the comeback began. The Bengals made it 34-21 on a weird play in which Xavier Simms recovered a fumble in the end zone with 14 seconds left in the third. David Beverly seemed to be in the end zone, but he lost the ball in a pile of players. The ball squirted to Simms, who was on the ground for his first career touchdown.
The Bengals then took the lead with two special teams plays 1:08 apart early in the fourth quarter. First, Michael Harris blocked UNC's first punt of the game, and Ernie James recovered it for a 20-yard touchdown. Then after a three and out, the really bizarre play occurred when Sale' Key broke through to block another punt. Punter Chad Harter ran forward and as he was being tackled by Mike Rose, he kicked it low for 19 yards, where the ball was rolling dead at the UNC 39. With the ball rolling dead, Anthony Melvin came over the protect it, and a UNC player who was about to touch the ball instead went to block Melvin. Kenyon Blue, a true freshman, alertly picked the ball up and raced for a bizarre 39-yard touchdown and a 35-34 lead.
That lead was short lived as Bear quarterback Tony Christensen hit Farbes at the side of the end zone for a 40-35 lead, and then UNC got the two-point conversion to make it 42-35. UNC forced an ISU punt, and Vince Jackson, who caught eight passes for 127 yards, looked like he scored on an 85-yard punt return, but the officials ruled him out-of-bounds at the 43. It was a big call as Michael Harris later picked off Christensen at the ISU five yard line, setting up the tying drive.
Both Mark Hetherington and Matt Hagler threw interceptions for UNC touchdowns, and Hetherington threw another that led to a Vince Jackson touchdown for a 34-14 UNC lead. The Bengals responded with their three touchdown barrage.
The result added to the positive outing as ISU was solid on third down, converting 11-of-19, and they were solid with the run, amassing 123 yards on the day, including 90 by David Beverly, after coming in averaging just 20.0 per game. Defensively, the Bengals had three key third down stops deep in ISU territory forcing two field goals and a missed field goal.
The Bengals allowed two interceptions to go back against them for scores for the second straight week. First Matt Hagler, getting a series in the first half, threw a 3rd-and-8 pass right to Wade Sumpter, who rambled 71 yards for a score, making it 17-7. Then, with Hetherington back in, he threw a screen pass that was grabbed by Aaron Henderson for a 13-yard Bear touchdown that made it 24-7.
ISU responded with Key's second touchdown catch, this a 13-yarder in the front corner of the end zone.
NOTES: Neither team punted in the first half. Idaho State lined up for one on the opening drive, but Kyle McQuown faked it for a one-yard run, just short of the marker ... Sale' Key now has a catch in 30 straight games ... Jon Winn earned his first career start at tight end. Backup tackle Mike Havens played several plays as a tight end as well ... Mark Hetherington threw three interceptions, giving him 10 on the season. He threw 10 all of last year ... Both of Ernie James' touchdowns in his career have come against Northern Colorado, as he had a 100-yard interception return for a score in last year's 42-33 ISU win ... Kyle McQuown punted just twice, as did UNC ... the Bears lost a field goal in the third quarter when a five-yard illegal procedure penalty negated a 29-yard Justin Zaitz field goal. He then missed from 34 ... UNC had 121 yards in interception returns ... Hetherington's 60 passes were two short of his career-high of 62, set in week one against San Diego State ... Idaho State's 100 offensive plays were a school record.
