East Central kicker Matt Berrey made his second 37-yard field goal of the night with five seconds to lead the visiting Tigers to a 36-33 win over Texas A&M University-Commerce at Memorial Stadium on Saturday night. The win by the Tigers clinched a share of the Lone Star Conference North Division title for ECU with Northeastern State, who defeated Eastern New Mexico earlier in the day 43-40.
After A&M-Commerce had tied the game at 33 with 44 seconds to go, the Tigers marched down the field on a four play, 31-yard drive to set the stage for the game-winning field goal by Berrey.
The Tigers took the ensuing kickoff back 28 yards to the ECU 48. With all three time outs, quarterback, Tyler Vanderzee completed three-straight passes to move the Tigers into field goal position before the game-winning kick.
Vanderzee ended the game with a career-best effort, completing 28 of 45 passes for two touchdowns and 435 yards to lead the Tigers offense. ECU outgained the Lions by a 530 to 311 margin in the win.
Lions' quarterback Adam Farkes completed 17 of 34 passes for a touchdown and he ran six times for five yards and a touchdown.
With the win, East Central raises its to record to 5-5 on the season and 5-1 in the LSC North. The loss drops A&M-Commerce to 3-7 overall and 2-4 in the LSC North.
A&M-Commerce got on the board on its second drive of the game when junior Marcus Graham plowed his way in from three-yards out for an early 7-0 lead.
The Tigers came back on its drive and cut the deficit to 7-3 when Berrey made his first 37-yard field goal of the night.
ECU went ahead, early in the second quarter when Vanderzee completed an eight-yard touchdown pass to Chris Espinoza to wrap up a 11 play, 95-yard drive. During the drive, the two were in sync as they completed a 27-yard and a 16-yard completion.
The Tigers added to the lead when Vanderzee and ECU went down the field on an eight play, 76-yard drive, ending with a five-yard touchdown run by John Gaines for a 17-7 lead in the second quarter. They added to their lead when Vanderzee and Espinoza connected on their second touchdown pass play of the night to extend the margin to 24-7 on the first drive of the third quarter.
The Lions came back with a nine-play, 66-yard drive that ended with a one-yard touchdown run by Farkes. The Tigers special teams unit blocked its first of three kicks and returned it for two points to make the margin, 26-13.
On the next possession, A&M-Commerce scored its sixth defensive touchdown of the season when freshman defensive lineman Tevin Moore picked off a Vanderzeee pass and ran it in from 31 yards out. The Tigers blocked the extra point – its second of the contest – putting A&M-Commerce behind seven, 26-19.
ECU nearly added to its lead on their next drive but a 44-yard field goal attempt by Berrey hit the cross bar. A&M-Commerce came back and marched down the field only to see the Tigers' block its third kick of the night.
Both teams exchanged punts until the Lions' defense scored its second touchdown of the game and seventh on the season when A.J. Billings forced Vanderzee to fumble on an option play, picked it up and ran it in from 25-yards. Reigning LSC North Division Special Teams Player of the Week Ahmed Abo-Mahmood made the extra-point to tie the game at 26 with 8:40 to play.
The Tigers came right back and the duo of Vanderzeee and Espinoza haunted the Lions, again. Facing a 3rd and 21, the two connected for a first down play and four plays later, Gaines scored his second touchdown of the game. The touchdown put ECU ahead, 33-26 with just under five minutes to play.
Playing in his final home game, Farkes (pictured to the left; photo by Grayson Graves) engineered a special comeback, taking the Lions on a 17 play, 75-yard drive to tie the game. Facing 4th and 20, he completed a 22-yard pass to Jillian Hayes to continue the drive. Next, with 53 seconds left in the game and 4th and five, Farkes bounced off teammate David Sudderth and found an open Jillian Hayes for the game-tying touchdown.
The heroics were short lived as Vanderzee and the Tigers spoiled the senior day festivities with the game-deciding drive. Ironically, his first two completions of the drive went to Jason Stephenson, who hails from nearby Greenville, before he hit Zack Patterson for a 15-yard completion to set the stage for the game-winning field goal.
Next up for the Tigers is a trip to Canyon, Texas, where they will face West Texas A&M and the Lions will travel to San Antonio, Texas and face LSC newcomer Incarnate Word in its inaugural meeting.
