UIW tops Sac. St. in record-breaking FCS thriller

SACRAMENTO, Calif.– Lindsey Scott Jr. threw four goal passes to break a Football Championship Subdivision record and ran for two scores as seventh-seeded Incarnate Word rallied to beat second-seeded Sacramento State 66-63 in the quarterfinal round of the playoffs on Friday night.It was the

highest-scoring FCS playoff game in history, and Scott, who set a FCS record with his 59th goal pass of the season, was the difference as the Cardinals (12-1) handed the Hornets (12-1) their very first loss. Incarnate Word will take a nine-game winning streak on its trip to play No. 3 seed North Dakota State in the semifinals next weekend.Scott, in his seventh season of college football with 5 groups, surpassed the 57 touchdowns that Jeremiah Briscoe threw for Sam Houston State in 2016. Scott has at least another game to capture NCAA all-time leader Bailey Zappe of Western Kentucky who threw 62 in 2021. LSU’s Joe Burrow had 60 TD passes in 2019. Scott scored on a 64-yard work on the very first play of the fourth quarter and UIW upped its result in 45-34. Sac State utilized a technique play– running back Cameron Skattebo’s 19-yard goal toss to Marshel Martin– to pull within 4 points with 12:08 left to play. Sac State recuperated an onside kick, Jake Dunniway gotten in touch with Martin for a 14-yard goal on third-and-10 and the Hornets got a 48-45 lead with 10:12 remaining.The lead lasted 41 seconds before Marcus Cooper scored on a 67-yard run for UIW.

The Cardinals sacked Asher O’Hara, the other half of Sac State’s QB combination, forcing a fumble that Kelechi Anyalebechi scooped up and returned 55 backyards to the end zone for a 59-48 lead with 8:24 to go.Sac State addressed with Dunniway’s 10-yard touchdown pass to Pierre Williams and a two-point run by Marcus Fulcher to get within 59-56 with 4:57 left. Another effective onside kick provided the Hornets the ball at their own 43-yard line. Fulcher’s 10-yard run offered Sac State a first-and-goal at the Cardinals’2. After a 2-yard loss by O’Hara, Martin scored on a 4-yard tight end around and Sac State led 63-59 with 1:43 left.That was enough time for Scott to connect with Taylor Grimes for a 21-yard touchdown and a 66-63 lead with 27 seconds left. Dunniway’s Hail Mary pass to the end zone was insufficient on the last play.Incarnate Word controlled the 2nd quarter, turning two turnovers into goal drives for a 28-17 lead at halftime.Scott ended up 19-of 31 for 219 lawns with 4 touchdowns and no interceptions. He also rushed for 166 yards and 2 ratings, ending up being simply the 2nd FCS player over the previous 25 seasons to pass for 200 backyards and 4 touchdowns and

also rush for over 150 lawns and two goals in one game, according to ESPN Statistics & Info. Prairie View A&M’s Jalen Morton pulled the accomplishment in 2018 against Alabama State.Dunniway completed 19 of 32 passses for 228 lawns with 2 touchdowns and two interceptions for Sac State, which was playing in its very first quarterfinal. O’Hara finished 14 of 23 passes for 158 lawns and a score.Sac State ran 109 plays and accumulated 738 backyards of offense.

UIW ran 73 plays and got 579 lawns. The Hornets won time of possession by 17:02. The Associated Press contributed to this report.