SIOUX FALLS – Down four with 26 seconds to play and no timeouts, the No. 20 University of Sioux Falls Football Team (1-0, 1-0 NSIC South) pulled off a dramatic, last-second victory as junior quarterback Caden Walters connected with junior tight end Clint Sigg on a 26-yard touchdown pass with three seconds to play for a 27-24 victory over Concordia-St. Paul (0-1, 0-1 NSIC South) in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference action on Thursday (August 31) at Bob Young Field.

With one of the most thrilling ends to a game ever at Bob Young Field, the Cougars defeated the Golden Bears for a 12^th straight time while winning their seventh straight NSIC home opener.

"Our guys are extremely excited about winning the game," said second-year USF Head Coach Jon Anderson who picked up his 10^th career win in 13 starts at USF. "Our guys believe in each other; stuck together and came up with a big play. They also know they have work to do. We have to tackle better, stop turning the ball over and do better on special teams," he said.

Walters, who took over at quarterback at halftime, completed 7-of-12 passes for 127 yards with a TD and interception. Sigg had four catches for 57 yards and the game-winning TD, the first of his career.

"It was exciting to make a play at the end, but give our offensive line credit for holding the line and then Caden (Walters) for making a great throw," said Sigg, who tumbled over two CSP defenders in the north end zone to give USF the dramatic win.  

While Sigg and Walters made the play at the end, the running of Gabriel Watson was a huge factor as the Cougars rolled up 404 yards on 66 plays, including 208 yards rushing on 44 carries. In his debut at USF, Watson had 27 carries for 200 yards and three TDs. Watson, who scored on runs of 13, 35 yards and nine yards, recorded the most yards in a debut at USF in the school's NCAA DII era.

"I was really proud of Gabriel (Watson), said Anderson whose team now heads to No. 21 Winona State for a matchup on Sept. 8 in Winona, Minn. "He is big and strong with tremendous balance and vision. As good as a football player that Gabriel is, he is a better person and student. We are excited to have him here."

On defense, USF had three tackles, a sack, tackle for loss, three quarterback hurries and a forced fumble from senior Steven McKee. Junior linebacker Brody Grantham led USF with 6.5 tackles while redshirt sophomore Nate Durfee added four tackles and an interception, the first of his career. Redshirt sophomore Joey Wehrkamp added three tackles and two tackles for loss as USF finished with five TFLs on the game.

USF took a 7-0 lead quickly in the first quarter. Starting quarterback Mitch Martin, who completed 5-of-10 passes for 69 yards, hit Ty Smith with a 46-yard TD strike. Two plays later Watson rumbled 13 yards for the score. USF moved 63 yards on three plays, using just 1:02 off the clock. Smith finished the night with four catches for 69 yards.

At first glance, things looked relatively easy for the USF offense early but CSP tightened up on defense. And, led by the play of quarterback Dom McKinzy, who was 19-of-32 for 236 yards and three touchdowns, the Golden Bears' offense showed life. On an 11-play, 91-yard drive, CSP tied the game on a seven-yard TD pass from McKinzey to Shaq Johnson with 7:08 to play in the second quarter. The Golden Bears padded their lead when Johnson hauled in another seven-yard TD drive with 1:12 left in the first half to cap a four-yard drive which was set up by an interception from CSP's Marcus Haskins.

Down 14-7 at halftime the Cougars rallied. USF had lost its last two games when trailing at the break but used its power running game and timely pass completions to score 13 unanswered points in the second half to regain the lead. The Cougars generated 275 yards in total offense in the second half, including 148 yards rushing on 26 carries.

USF tied the game when Watson capped an eight-play, 80-yard scoring drive with a 35-yard touchdown run with 6:22 to play in the third quarter.

Early in the fourth quarter, USF leaned on Watson and the offensive line once again to take the lead. Watson had four carries for 31 yards and a nine-yard scoring run with 11:14 to play for a 20-14 advantage. However, USF's PAT was off-line and the lead was just six. When USF mishandled a punt and CSP recovered the ball at the USF 35-yard line, CSP quickly took advantage. McKinstry connected on a 33-yard scoring pass to Marcus Gustaveson and Jonas Schenderlein's extra point game CSP a 21-20 lead. Gustaveson finished with five catches for 96 yards and a TD.

The Cougars were unable to move the ball and were  forced to punt with under six minutes to play. From there the visitors ran the clock down and on 4^th and two opted for the foot of Schenderlein, one of the league's top place-kickers. With a 35-yard field goal, CSP led USF, 24-20, and only 26 seconds remained on the clock after Nate Johnson's return of the kick to the USF 40-yard line.

After an incompletion, Walters completed three straight passes to lead USF down the field and into the end zone. First, he hit an 11-yard throw to Johnson, who had three catches for 60-yards. Then, Sigg hauled in a 23-yard reception and was able to step out of bounds at the CSP 26-yard line with nine ticks left on the clock. With the bulk of the USF fans holding their breath, Walters and Sigg hooked up on the ensuing play for a 26-yard game-winning TD. The silence during the play was followed by a deafening roar as the Cougars found a way to win in the final seconds.

After USF's Mason Laramie converted the third of his four extra points, only three seconds remained. CSP tried to throw the ball around on the kickoff but fumbled and when Michael Enalls of USF recovered the ball, USF had a miraculous victory.

"Give them credit, they played a great game," Anderson said of CSP. "We found a way to stay on the right side of the winning column. We made some mistakes but we can learn from this. All of the troubles we had tonight – turnovers, etc., are correctable and they will be fixed," he said. "It was an exciting win and we will take it."