Abilene Christian Beats North Alabama on a Brandon Perez Field Goal at the Gun
Brandon Perez kicked a 37-yard field goal as the clock hit 0:00, and Abilene Christian beat North Alabama 31-28. The Wildcats had tied it at 28 with 3:34 to play. They did not get to enjoy it for long.
It was a back-and-forth game with three lead changes and two ties. North Alabama scored first on a 21-yard Destin Wade run, Abilene Christian answered 13 seconds later when Tucker Parks hit Cristian Driver for 76 yards, and Wade ran in from six to make it 14-7. A Perez field goal made it 14-10 at the half. Alex Broome scored from a yard out and Perez added a 45-yarder to put Abilene Christian up 20-14, before Wade's third rushing touchdown, a 9-yarder with 1:17 left in the third, gave North Alabama a 21-20 lead going into the fourth.
Jayden York's 32-yard touchdown catch (and a two-point pass to him) made it 28-21, and Roderick Taylor Jr. tied it from five yards out. Then came the kick.
The totals were identical: 368 yards each. Abilene Christian threw for 264 and ran for 104. North Alabama threw for 203 and ran for 165. Neither team threw an interception, and the only turnover was a Parks fumble. Abilene Christian had two sacks, North Alabama four, and it did not matter. Parks was 21 of 25, which is a lot of completions for a game that ended on a field goal.
Abilene Christian goes to 4-3 and North Alabama falls to 4-2. Fantasy owners got Wade's three rushing scores and a quarterback duel that ended with both passers over 28 points. I will take that.