Football finishes season with loss to UTSA

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Ehsan Azad / Staff Writer

The Mean Green football team couldn’t complete a second half  come back and lost its final game of the season on the road to the University of Texas-San Antonio 34-27 Saturday afternoon.

“I was really proud of the way they fought, but not proud of losing,” head coach Dan McCarney said. “Our expectations are to win and winning seasons and that is why it hurts so much now.”

It was another slow start for the Mean Green (4-8, 2-6) as UTSA (4-8, 3-5) drove 75 yards on eight plays and scored on a 24-yard pass to go up 7-0 early on North Texas.

The Mean Green responded with back-to-back field goals to cut the UTSA lead to 7-6.

UTSA came back with another long drive that ended with a two-yard rushing touchdown that extend the Roadrunners lead to 14-6 early in the second quarter.

Another Mean Green field goal made it a 14-9 game, but the Roadrunners scored on another two-yard rushing touchdown to go up 20-9 after missing the extra point. The Mean Green scored on its fourth field goal of the half to trim the UTSA lead to 20-12 at halftime. Freshman kicker Trevor Moore had all four of the Mean Green field goals in the first half.

At the start of the third quarter, UTSA continued where it left off, going 79 yards on its opening drive. UTSA quarterback Tucker Carter threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to receiver Kenny Bias to add on to the Roadrunner lead, making it 27-12.

The Mean Green responded on its next drive as junior quarterback Andrew McNulty rolled out and found junior tight-end Marcus Smith for a 31-yard touchdown pass.

“[McNulty] is a tough son of a gun,” McCarney said. “Hopefully this last game and the experience that he has gained and garnered throughout the season, will help him have a great senior year next year.”

After holding UTSA to a punt, the Mean Green went on another long scoring drive, going 71 yards and scoring on a one-yard rushing touchdown from McNulty. Then, McNulty found junior receiver Carl Caldwell for the two-point conversion to tie the game at 27-27 midway through the fourth quarter.

After defensive stands by both teams, UTSA struck back with a 21-yard touchdown run to go back on top 34-27 with four minutes left in the game.

The Mean Green defense stopped and forced a punt by UTSA with just two minutes left in the game. As the ball was punted, the ball rolled towards junior defensive back Zac Whitfield. Seeing a chance to run and get a chance to score, Whitfield tried to pick up the ball, but muffed it. UTSA recovered he the ball and ran out the clock for the victory.

McNulty completed 23 of 43 passes for 287 yards and one touchdown. He also added a rushing touchdown. Freshman running back Jeffery Wilson ran for 105 yards on 19 attempts. Junior receiver Carlos Harris caught 10 passes for 131 yards.

The loss puts the Mean Green at 4-8 for the season after its 9-4 season last year. The team will soon start winter workouts and prepare for spring football.

“There is a resolve here and that is a tough locker room in there,” McCarney said. “We hate losing, this season, is unacceptable and we have to get that fixed.”

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