The First Season: Part 2

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EDITORS NOTE: This is the second installment of a story series looking back at the 2011 football season.

PREVIOUSLY IN THE FIRST SEASON SERIES: PART 1

As the record crowd streamed out of the Alamodome on September 3, 2011, the Roadrunners sat in their locker room and soaked in what they had just experienced. There was also the realization that this was just the first game of 10 that would be played over the fall of 2011.

The coaching staff allowed for enjoying the moment but the next day work would begin on the Roadrunners next opponent. Even as the players spoke with the media on September 3, their attention was fixed on the next week.

"We didn't prepare for just this game. We prepared for 10 games," Roadrunner Safety Mark Waters said on September 3. "We know we have to take it one game at a time. We knew that we could not be ready for just September 3. We also have to be ready for September 10 and all the others after that."

On September 10 the Roadrunners would be back in the Alamodome for another 1 p.m. kickoff. This time it would be against the McMurry War Hawks. In 2011 McMurry was in their final season as a Division III school before moving up to Division II in 2012.

McMurry, located in Abilene, Texas, spent September 3, 2011 in the pineywoods of East Texas. The War Hawks played against Stephen F. Austin in Nacogdoches. On the same day that UTSA cruised past Northeastern State, McMurry was log-rolled by SFA 82-6.

On Sunday September 4, the Roadrunner players would learn of their next opponent's result as they began to prepare for the War Hawks.

For the Roadrunner fans there was hope that UTSA would have a repeat performance in the second game. There was also anticipation of what the crowd would be for the second game after the first game was played before 56,743 fans.

All that would be revealed on September 10, 2011 as Roadrunner fans, some still sporting their "UTSA FOOTBALL STILL UNDEFEATED" T-shirts, filled into the Alamodome for game number two.

Like they did a week before, the doors to the Alamodome opened two hours before the scheduled start time of 1 p.m.

About the time the Roadrunners and War Hawks took the field for their pregame warmups the crowd was large although not as large as it had been the week before.

When the game kicked off at 1:07 p.m. there were 31,634 in attendance. The Roadrunner fans entered with confidence that they would see their team play as well as they had the week before.

The McMurry fans in attendance had to have had few illusions that they might pull off the victory after their performance in Nacogdoches the week before.

The McMurry football team entered the Alamodome unphased by the atmosphere or their opponent. Led by Air-Raid pioneer Hal Mumme (He had been among those whose names were thrown around for UTSA's first head coach in 2009) the Warhawks were looking to start off better than they had the week before.

The War Hawks won the opening coin toss and chose to receive the ball.

McMurry then took the ball 63 yards down the field before stalling out at the UTSA 13 yard line. The War Hawks sucessfully converted a 31-yard field goal to take a 3-0 lead. There was 13:08 left in the first quarter. UTSA football trailed for the first time in its short history.

UTSA's offense picked up 30 yards on its next drive, going from its own 39 to the McMurry 31. The Roadrunners ran out of gas at the War Hawks 31 and Sean Ianno stepped up to try a 48-yard field goal. The kick was no good. 8:20 remained in the first quarter. UTSA still trailed and had just missed the first field goal attempt in program history.

Both teams punted on their next drives. The score remained 3-0 when time ran out on the first quarter.

Early in the second quarter the War Hawks added to their lead. McMurry Quarterback Jake Mullin scored a one-yard rushing touchdown with 13:14 remaining in the second quarter. McMurry led 10-0. The atmosphere in the Alamodome had changed from excited anticipation to quiet nervousness.

The Roadrunners next possession ended with a 31-yard field goal attempt by Sean Ianno being blocked. UTSA returned the favor on the War Hawks next drive by blocking their 22-yard field goal attempt. UTSA's final drive of the half ended when Eric Soza's pass was intercepted at the McMurry 15 and returned 20 yards to the McMurry 35.

At halftime, while the Spirt of San Antonio put on their second halftime performance of the season, the Roadrunner football team trailed 10-0.

UTSA started the second half by receiving the ball. A 16-yard kickoff return by Kenny Harrison set the Roadrunners up at their own 35-yard line. Soza led the offense 65 yards in seven plays. The drive ended with a 22-yard touchdown pass from Soza to CheRod Simpson. Ianno added the extra point and UTSA trailed 10-7 with 11:29 left in the third quarter.

The Roadrunners got a bounce to go their way when Darrien Starling intercepted a Jake Mullin pass at the UTSA 42 with 3:36 remaining in the third quarter.

Soza and the offense only needed two plays to pick up the 58 yards between them and the endzone. The first play of the drive was a 45 yard pass from Soza to Kam Jones. Soza then threw a 13-yard touchdown to Brandon Freeman. The Ianno extra point was good and UTSA held their first lead of the afternoon, 14-10, with 3:07 on the third quarter clock.

The third quarter ended with UTSA holding a 14-10 lead. In later years the end of the third quarter would be when the "COME AND TAKE IT" Flag was unfurled in the student section. In 2011 the traditions of UTSA football had not yet begun. The break between the third and fourth quarter didn't have the fanfare it would as the years moved along.

Both defenses forced punts in the early portion of the fourth quarter. On UTSA's second punt of the quarter the War Hawks' Markell Rice was able to block Josh Ward's punt at the UTSA eight yard line. Rice coasted into the endzone and McMurry went back in front, 17-14, with 7:07 left to play.

Once again there was stunned silence in the Alamodome, except for the section of McMurry fans in the northwest corner of the lower bowl.

UTSA had to punt on their next drive. Once again a bounce went in favor of the Roadrunners. McMurry muffed the punt and UTSA recovered at the War Hawks 46 yard line with 5:27 left to play.

The Roadrunners ran the ball five straight plays. On the fifth play David Glasco II scored from seven yards out. UTSA retook the lead 21-17 with 3:02 left in the fourth quarter.

McMurry started their final drive of the day at their own 18 yard line. They quickly reached their own 32 before losing 12 yards on the next two plays. On 3rd and 22 from their own 20 the War Hawks picked up 17 yards to set up a fourth down just five yards behind the first down marker.

On fourth down the War Hawks picked up 30 yards to the UTSA 33. After a gain of one yard on the next play, the War Hawks stunned the Roadrunner crowd one final time. Mullins threw a pass to Delfonte Diamond, who had slipped behind the Roadrunner defense. Diamond sauntered into the endzone with a 32-yard score that gave McMurry a 24-21 lead with 0:19 left in the game.

Four years earlier, in 2007, another San Antonio college, Trinity had won a game at Millsaps College in Mississippi with a 15-lateral scoring play. Roadrunner fans knew it would take that kind of miracle for UTSA to win in the final seconds against McMurry.

It wasn't meant to be for the Roadrunners. Their lateral play was snuffed out at the McMurry 22 yard line.

As McMurry players and staff celebrated on the field there was a quiet sadness that fell over the Roadrunner fans. The realization set in that in just the second game in school history the Roadrunners had just lost to a Division III school. It had only taken a week for UTSA to go from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows.

"As good as it was last week. It's just as disappointing this week," UTSA Head Coach Larry Coker said after the McMurry game. "This is certainly disappointing for our players and our fans."

UTSA was learning what it meant to be a college football team. On any day any team could ruin the party in the Alamodome. There was no such thing as an easy opponent. The Roadrunners were no longer undefeated.

NEXT WEEK: The Roadrunners hit the road for the first time ever

FORUMS: UTSA Boulevard | Roadrunner Way