In back-to-back losses that cost UNO a chance to return to the NCAA Division II football playoffs, the Mavericks needed somebody — anybody — to step forward and make a game-turning play.
In Saturday's 31-28 overtime win against Pittsburg State, Mav players had to get in line.
As a result, a losing season has been avoided, the faint flicker of a postseason bowl game remains burning and UNO was able to celebrate wildly on Senior Day before 2,412 at Caniglia Field.
“We didn't worry too much about all that other stuff,” University of Nebraska at Omaha coach Pat Behrns said. “It was more important to just go out there and find a way to win this game. And the thing I liked about it is that there's a whole bunch of different people involved in it.”
UNO (6-4, 5-3 Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association) forced Pitt State (5-5, 3-5) to settle for a field goal on the first possession of overtime, then won it as quarterback Greg Wunderlich and tight end Mike Higgins connected for their third touchdown of the day. Higgins was wide open on a 6-yard play-action pass to the back corner of the end zone.
“We knew they were biting hard on the zone,” Higgins said. “And the corner bit hard to try to cover the cutback and there was nobody back there. Then Greg made a great throw under pressure.”
The Mavericks will end the regular season next Saturday at 1:30 p.m. against Missouri Western (8-2, 6-2) in St. Joseph. UNO's Dec. 5 bowl possibilities are the Kanza Bowl in Topeka, Kan., or the Mineral Water Bowl in Excelsior Springs, Mo.
UNO's list of heroes didn't stop with Wunderlich and Higgins. Freshman tailback Levi Terrell had perhaps his most impressive game yet — averaging 7.1 yards per carry while picking up 199 yards — before missing the final three plays of regulation and the overtime with a sprained ankle.
Senior defensive end Ben Vanderslice had 10 tackles, including 2½ for losses, and forced a fumble on a sack. Senior nose guard Zac Keller also had 10 tackles, and he blocked a field-goal try, recovered a fumble and had a key quarterback sack. Keller's sack came as the Gorillas, trailing 25-22, were moving into position to potentially win the game at the end of regulation.
“We knew we just had to keep them out of the end zone,” Vanderslice said. “We even thought we could block the field goal, because we'd gotten one earlier.”
On second-and-2 from the 10-yard line, Keller sacked quarterback Jeff Smith for a 4-yard loss.
“I just told myself that I wasn't going to be stopped,” Keller said.
On the next play, wide receiver Kendall Fisher had his hands on a Smith pass in the end zone, but cornerback Bruce Harris' hit jarred the ball free.
“It's amazing how this game comes down to people making plays,” Behrns said.
Jared Witter lined up for a 31-yard field goal with 8.1 seconds left and, after two UNO timeouts, knocked it through to force overtime.
“That was a hard-fought game for a couple of 5-4 teams,” Pitt State coach Chuck Broyles said. “I'd think both programs would feel good about the fight today. But UNO is going to feel a little better than we do because they got three more points.”
In overtime, Pitt State couldn't pick up a first down as Smith sailed a third-down pass well off target.
“We did so many good things, but then we got third-and-4 and I'm not sure where Jeff was throwing that one,” Broyles said.
Witter set up for a 34-yard field goal. UNO's Evan Martin broke free up the middle but somehow didn't block it, and the Gorillas took a 28-25 lead.
Two runs by Bryce Hawthorne picked up 9 yards, then Wunderlich completed a 4-yard pass to Higgins. A roughing-the-passer penalty put the ball at the 6 to set up the game-winning touchdown on the next play.
“They came with a blitz, and Greg saw it coming,” Behrns said. “He got a lot more depth than he normally would have and timed it up perfect.”
Wunderlich completed 17 of 30 passes for 244 yards. Higgins caught six for 83. Terrell, in just his sixth game, surpassed 1,000 yards rushing on a 39-yard touchdown that gave UNO a 15-14 lead early in the third quarter.
Vanderslice (sack and forced fumble) and Keller (recovery) created a turnover that gave UNO the ball at the Gorilla 39, setting up a 9-yard scoring pass to Higgins, who cartwheeled into the end zone for a 22-14 lead.
Pitt State's Cardell Clemons was pinned inside the 15 on the ensuring kickoff return, but he made a succession of nifty moves to bring the ball all the way back to the UNO 41. Terrance Isaac, who rushed for 172 yards, scored his third touchdown four plays later from 5 yards out, then tied the game 22-22 on a 2-point conversion run with 41 seconds left in the third quarter.
An interception by linebacker A.J. Williams gave UNO the ball at its 28 with 6:49 left in regulation, and a 17-yard gain by Terrell and 22-yard pass to Higgins helped get the ball to the Pitt State 18. But Terrell went out with an apparent ankle injury, then Wunderlich mishandled a snap from the pistol, leading to a 7-yard loss. After a pass for no gain, the Mavs settled for Greg Zuerlein's go-ahead 42-yard field goal with 2:51 left for a 25-22 lead.
“The big thing today is that we were able to put bad things behind us and look forward to making the next play,” Wunderlich said.
Pittsburg State (5-5, 3-5) 7 7 8 33—28
At UNO (6-4, 5-3) 6 3 13 36—31
First Quarter
UNO: Mike Higgins 5 pass from Greg Wunderlich (Greg Zuerlein kick failed), 11:05. Drive: 80 yards on nine plays in 3:55.
PS: Terrance Isaac 31 run (Jared Witter kick), 6:22. Drive: 66 yards on three plays in :53.
Second Quarter
UNO: FG Zuerlein 22, 6:59. Drive: 58 yards on nine plays in 3:41.
PS: Isaac 1 run (Witter kick), :50. Drive: 70 yards on 12 plays in 6:02.
Third Quarter
UNO: Levi Terrell 39 run (Wunderlich pass failed), 10:22. Drive: 86 yards on seven plays in 2:30.
UNO: Higgins 9 pass from Wunderlich (Zuerlein kick), 2:36. Drive: 39 yards on three plays in 1:21.
PS: Isaac 5 run (Isaac run), :41. Drive: 41 yards on four plays in 1:40.
Fourth Quarter
UNO: FG Zuerlein 42, 2:51. Drive: 47 yards on eight plays in 3:58.
PS: FG Witter 31, :08. Drive: 66 yards on 10 plays in 2:43.
Overtime
PS: FG Witter 34. Drive: eight plays.
UNO: Higgins 6 pass from Wunderlich. Drive: eight plays.
PS UNO
First downs 26 22
By rushing 13 10
By passing 10 11
By penalty 3 1
Rushes-yards 50-283 32-221
Yards per rush 5.7 6.9
Rushing touchdowns 3 1
Passing yards 158 244
Passes 13-26-1 17-30-0
Touchdown passes 0 3
Total plays-yards 76-441 62-465
Yards per play 5.8 7.5
Punts 2-50.0 3-37.0
Punt returns 1-0 2-17
Kickoff returns 4-130 2-48
Interception returns 0-0 1-23
Fumbles-lost 2-1 1-0
Fumble returns 0-0 0-0
Penalties-yards 6-36 5-40
Possession time 34:33 40:27
Third-down conversions 7-15 5-11
Fourth-down conversions 0-1 0-1
Sacks by-number 0-0 3-13
Attendance: 2,412
UNO RUSHING: Levi Terrell 28-199, Bryce Hawthorne 3-29, Greg Wunderlich 1-(-7). Totals: 32-221.
PS RUSHING: Terrence Isaac 29-172, Jeff Smith 11-96, Cardell Clemson 2-9, Nate Morris 1-5, John McCoy 6-2, Eric Love 1-(-1). Totals: 50-283.
UNO PASSING: Wunderlich 17-30-0, 244. Totals: 17-30-0, 244
PS PASSING: McCoy 8-15-0, 103, Jeff Smith 5-11-1, 55. Totals: 13-26-1, 158.
UNO RECEIVING: Mike Higgins 6-83, Adolph Overstreet 4-42, Brian Miller 3-78, Jonathan Patent 1-21, Austin Wells 1-17, Justin Coleman 1-3, Hawthorne 1-0. Totals: 16-240.
PS RECEIVING: Kendall Fisher 4-64, Jon Thomas 3-27, Martin Burke 2-15, Morris 1-15, Isaac 1-15, Zac Dickey 1-11, Ryan Holt 1-11. Totals: 13-158.
UNO PUNTING: Jason Schlautman 3-37.0.
PS PUNTING: Jared Witter 2-50.0.
UNO KICKOFF RETURNS: Overstreet 2-48.
PS KICKOFF RETURNS: Clemons 2-77, Jon Thomas 2-53.
UNO PUNT RETURNS: Overstreet 2-17.
PS PUNT RETURNS: Bryan McMurtrey 1-0.
UNO INTERCEPTIONS: A.J. Williams 1-23.
PS INTERCEPTIONS: None.
UNO TACKLES: Zac Keller 5-5-10, Ben Vanderslice 4-6-10, Micah Fisher 4-4-8, Bobby Stroup 2-6-8, Jason Zabka 5-1-6, Nate Wissink 4-1-5, Bruce Harris 0-4-4, Steve Janda 3-0-3, Matt Ajuoga 3-0-3, A. J. Williams 1-2-3, Danny Pelster 1-2-3, Kyle Moore 1-2-3, Evan Martin 1-2-3, Max Dennis 1-1-2, Kevin Ehlers 0-2-2, Kent Flemming 1-0-1, Zach Klapperich 1-0-1, Justin Sindelar 1-0-1, Casey Beck 0-1-1, Tanner Frain 0-1-1, Paul Clark 0-1-1, Wunderlich 0-1-1, Nick Williams 0-1-1, Brian Gralheer 0-1-1.
UNO QUARTERBACK SACKS: Vanderslice 1-6, Keller 1-4, Stroup 1-3.
UNO TACKLES FOR LOSSES: Vanderslice 2.5-8, Keller 1-4, Stroup 1-3, Fisher 0.5-1, Harris 0.5-1, Moore 0.5-1.
PS TACKLES: Chadd Snyder 6-4-10, Alex Kuhlman 3-6-9, McMurtrey 3-5-8, Chris Swartz 3-3-6, Mike Roberts 2-3-5, Caleb Jessup 2-2-4, Antonio Graham 0-4-4, Dustin Heckroth 3-0-3, Jeremy Jackson 1-2-3, Johnny Row 1-2-3, S. Worthington 0-3-3, Rashad Pittman 1-1-2, Jordan Karr 0-2-2, Craig Durfee 0-2-2, David Vaughn 1-0-1, Dustin Smith 0-1-1, Brock Lohr 0-1-1, Luke Stringer 0-1-1.
PS QUARTERBACK SACKS: None.
PS TACKLES FOR LOSSES: Pittman 1.5-5, Durfee 1-1, Stringer 0.5-1, Karr 0.5-1, Roberts 0.5-0.
Contact the writer:
444-1027, rob.white@owh.com
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