DENTON (11/4/06) - The North Texas football team came back from a 21-point deficit, but Louisiana Tech scored 13 second-half points to steal a 34-31 victory on Saturday night at Fouts Field.
The Mean Green (2-7) lost its third straight game, and Louisiana Tech (3-6) takes a 6-5 lead in the all-time series.
“We are not a good enough team to have five turnovers,” said head coach Darrell Dickey. “Louisiana Tech responded to the challenge and made the plays when they had to. I was pleased that we were able to fight back from such a big deficit, and it shows that we have a lot of great kids with a lot of character.”
North Texas scored 24 unanswered points in the second quarter to take a 24-21 halftime lead after being shutout in the first quarter. The Mean Green held its largest lead, 31-21, at the start of the third quarter, but the Bulldogs scored 13 unanswered points, including a field goal in the fourth quarter, to steal back the win.
With the game tied 31-31 at the start of the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs intercepted a Mean Green pass and Danny Horwedel ended up hitting the game-winning field goal with 9:32 left in the game. North Texas had two opportunities in the fourth quarter to tie or win the game but was forced to punt on its first drive and then Meager was intercepted on the Tech 40-yard line with 2:39 left on the clock.
Quarterbacks Daniel Meager and Matt Phillips shared duties in the game. Phillips threw two touchdown passes in the second quarter, leading North Texas on the comeback trail. Meager found Johnny Quinn for a 54-yard touchdown reception at the end of the second quarter to give North Texas a 24-21 lead. Unfortunately, the two quarterbacks combined for three interceptions.
Three North Texas players scored their first touchdowns of their careers, and four running backs saw action in the game. Evan Robertson led the way with 17 carries for 86 yards and a touchdown.
It was a game of quarters. The first quarter belonged to Louisiana Tech. The Bulldogs scored 21 unanswered points with two touchdowns coming off North Texas fumbles.
The second quarter belonged to the Mean Green. The tide began to turn at the end of the first quarter when North Texas began its first sustaining drive. It resulted in a 33-yard field goal by Denis Hopovac at the start off the second quarter to put North Texas on the scoreboard for the first time, 21-3.
Sophomore Ryan Davenport caught his first career touchdown pass and second reception in a Mean Green uniform on NT’s next drive after Zach Muzzy recovered NT’s on-side kick.
After Louisiana Tech missed a 38-yard field goal and fumbled a punt return, North Texas responded with its second touchdown drive. It only took three plays and resulted in a 28-yard touchdown reception by sophomore Casey Fitzgerald, his first career catch.
A second Bulldog fumbled led to another North Texas score at the end of the second quarter. Meager found Quinn for a 54-yard touchdown pass. Quinn had a career day. He caught five passes for 100 yards, becoming NT’s all-time leading receiver with 2,609 yards. The senior surpasses Troy Redwine who held the record with 2,567 yards.
Quinn also continued his streak of consecutive passes. He has now caught a pass in 44 straight games.
NT’s only score in the second half came on a Robertson four-yard scamper at the start of the third quarter.
North Texas returns to action on Saturday, November 11 when the Mean Green faces Louisiana-Lafayette on the road at 4 pm.
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