Gipson Posts First 100-Plus Receiving Yard Outing at Abilene Christian

Saturday, October 19

Abilene, Texas | Wildcat Stadium

3 p.m.

Stephen F. Austin

1-6 , 1-3

Abilene Christian

4-4 , 3-3

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

SFA

Abilene Christian

Gipson Posts First 100-Plus Receiving Yard Outing at Abilene Christian

10/19/2019 7:10:00 PM | Football

Box Score

Freshman wide receiver snags two touchdowns in double-overtime showdown with Wildcats

By: Charlie Hurley | Director of Athletic Strategic Communications

ABILENE, Texas - Down by 10 headed into the fourth quarter the SFA football team mounted a furious rally and forced overtime when senior kicker Storm Ruiz nailed a game-tying 27-yard field goal with 27 seconds to go but Abilene Christian's Luke Anthony hit Kobe Clark for a 22-yard touchdown in the second overtime that proved to be the difference in the 'Jacks' 31-24 double overtime setback Saturday evening at Wildcat Stadium.

First Quarter
• Neither team up came up with anything on each of their first two drives of the game, but once the 'Jacks got the ball back for the third time it proved to be the charm. It took all of 11 seconds for the visitors to get on the board as Self hit Gipson on a short swing pass before the freshman wide receiver raced 78 yards to the endzone. Gipson's score put SFA on top 7-0 with 8:01 left in the quarter.
• That one scoring play by the 'Jacks covered more yards than Abilene Christian amassed in the entire quarter. The Wildcats were held to just 75 yards on their four first-quarter possessions.

Second Quarter
• In order to even the score, Abilene Christian turned things over to Tracy James. The senior running back amassed 26 of the Wildcats' 40 yards on their eight-play scoring drive and capped it with a three-yard touchdown run that knotted things up at seven with 10:11 to go in the opening half.
• The 'Jacks' final quick-strike scoring drive was led by Ward. The junior running back took off after latching on to a shovel pass from Self and 56 yards later Ward found himself in the endzone to push SFA back on top, 14-7.
• Answering right back, the Wildcats again relied heavily on James to pull even for the second time. Two-third of the yardage racked up by Abilene Christian on its 13-play, 75-yard drive came from James including his 23-yard receiving touchdown from Luke Anthony which made matters 14-14 with 35 seconds left.

Third Quarter
• Abilene Christian made it 10 unanswered points after Ward's touchdown as a 12-play, 69-yard drive to start the third quarter culminated with a 21-yard field goal off the leg of Wildcat kicker Blair Zepeda.
• The owners of a 17-14 lead after that field goal, Abilene Christian took off on another lengthy scoring drive to extend their lead to double-digits. A pass interference call on SFA helped the Wildcats keep their 11-play, 53-yard drive going and James found the endzone for the third and final time when his three-yard touchdown run extended his team's lead to 24-14 with 4:23 to go in the quarter.

Fourth Quarter
• Needing points in a bad way, the 'Jacks wasted little time in putting them on the board once the fourth quarter started. A 16-play, 86-yard drive that spanned two quarters saw Self convert on fourth-and-two at the Wildcats' 35 with a 10-yard run. From there, the gunslinger hit Cody Williams for a 12-yard gain before going up top for Gipson in the corner of the endzone. The freshman's second touchdown snag cut ACU's lead to 24-21 with 10:09 left.
• SFA's defense did its job for the rest of the quarter, limiting ACU to only 24 yards on their final three drives of regulation. That helped the 'Jacks equalize things and force overtime.
• Ward began the 'Jacks' 16-play, 61-yard scoring drive with an 18-yard run to put the ball in Wildcat territory. Facing a fourth-and-13, Self connected with Lar'Darion Cobb for 17 yards down to the Wildcats' 20 to put Ruiz in prime field goal position. The senior pushed his game-tying kick through from 27 yards out to force overtime.

First Overtime
• SFA got the ball first, but Ruiz misfired on a 27-yard field goal try to keep the door open for the Wildcats. Fortunately, Abilene Christian kicker Blair Zepeda was unable to do anything with his chance as he pulled a 36-yard field goal attempt wide to the right to force a second overtime.

Second Overtime
• On a third-and-seven play, Anthony found a wide-open Clark racing for the corner of the end zone. ACU's senior quarterback connected with his target and the 22-yard score helped the Wildcats go up 31-24.
• Still with a chance, the 'Jacks were able to generate only three yard on their final drive of the game. Twice Self tried to get a ball to Gipson but the Wildcats covered the freshman wide out the first time before forcing an errant throw the second time to end the game.

Key Performers/Statistics of Note
• Both Gipson and Ward eclipsed the 100-yard mark through the air. Gipson's first 100-plus receiving yard outing ended with the freshman going for 109 yards and a pair of scores. Ward put up 102 yards as well as his only touchdown through the air and finished with 165 all-purpose yards.
• Self finished with 318 yards through the air and three touchdowns against one interception.
• Three of the Wildcats' four touchdowns in were scored by James as Abilene Christian put the brakes on its three-game losing skid to the 'Jacks. All told, James piled up 143 all-purpose yards (105 on the ground, 38 through the air) to help the Wildcats earn the win.
• Josh Fink secured a game-high 12 catches for a game-high 110 yards while Anthony finished with 236 yards and a pair of scores through the air.
• Senior defensive tackle Gary Sampson got to Anthony twice and finished with two of the 'Jacks' three sacks as part of a four-tackle outing. Marcus Mosley also finished with a sack while Amad Murray posted two tackles for loss. Trenton Gordon (12) and Eli Jones (11) were the only two 'Jacks with double-digit tackles.

Coming up Next
• Saturday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. the 'Jacks return to Homer Bryce Stadium for their homecoming game. McNeese is set to oppose SFA in its penultimate home game of the 2019 season.

-SFA-