By: Noah Nunez
General Reporter
The Owls stunned and shocked watchers of the football Homecoming game with a last-minute 4th quarter comeback that stole victory from Monroe University’s hands.
The Homecoming game took place on Saturday, Oct. 10 and saw the Owls face off against Monroe in a game that, to Head Coach Joe Loth, was feared going in.
“We know this is a young, talented football team, a lot of good players,” Loth said. “We knew we had to come out and start strong or it was gonna be a ball game. We did not start strong, so it ended up being a ball game.”
The less-than-favorable start Loth is referring to is the score the Owls held by halftime: down by 14 at 14-28.
At that point in the game, running back John Amaning, a graduate, found that the team was stuck dealing with Monroe’s offense that kept them from catching up to their score and tying up the game.
“They want to come out with a lot of effort; they want to show up, so I think they came out here with a lot more effort than we did. It threw the group a little bit, but we came back and beat them,” Amaning said.
This all changed in the second half of the game, when the team got themselves together, tightened up their defense and had the game tied for the majority of the 4th quarter.
This rebooted mindset hit quarterback Brandon Jorgensen, a graduate, who thought that side of the game did not matter and wanted to give everything he and his team had to the second half.
“We came out flat, so that was a big problem we had, but we rebooted in the second half,” Jorgensen said. “We put our energy in the wrong spots, but it doesn’t matter now because we came back in the second half and we won.”
The final touchdown of the game, the one that put the university ahead for the first time in the whole game, was scored by Jorgensen who was extremely proud of not only himself but the effort the team put into getting it done.
“That was awesome to take the lead after being down pretty much the whole game, there’s nothing really like that. I couldn’t get it done without my guys on the frontline, but yeah, that was awesome,” Jorgensen said.
The stress of this being a Homecoming game was not lost on the players as well; it was a blessing but a struggle to see so many people in the stands and have the weight of the event on the players’ shoulders.
“Everyone knew we have a good record of series’ first Homecomings, so guys want to come out here put on our show. It’s a battle that wasn’t easy, but I’m glad we came out with the war,” Loth said.
Overall, the game ended up being a tense but explosive experience in the stands, with viewers celebrating at the last-minute touchdown that ended up being a foul before the real final score that led the Owls to victory.
