The First Season: Part 6

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

PREVIOUSLY IN THE FIRST SEASON SERIES: PART 1 | PART 2 | PART 3 | PART 4 | PART 5

UTSA football began the second half of their inaugural season on October 8, 2011. That day they welcomed fellow startup South Alabama to the Alamodome. A crowd of 32,886 made their way into the Alamodome for the contest.

Whereas UTSA was still in its first season, the South Alabama Jaguars were playing in their third season of football.

2011 marked the first season in which South Alabama played a schedule composed entirely of FBS and FCS level oppponents. In their first two seasons the Jaguars had played mostly prep schools, NAIA, Division III and Division II opponents. In 2010 the Jaguars had played four FCS schools out of their 10 games. The light scheduling had allowed South Alabama to go 7-0 in 2009 and 10-0 in 2010.

In 2011 the Jaguars opened the season 2-0 to move their all-time record to 19-0 before suffering their first loss in program history on September 17 at NC State. South Alabama lost a second in a row at Kent State on September 24.

After a week off on October 1, South Alabama made their way to San Antonio with a record of 2-2.

UTSA entered the game with a 2-3 record after having lost to Sam Houston State in Huntsville on October 1. The game against South Alabama would be the fourth home game of the season for the Roadrunners. Through the first three games at home, UTSA had gone 2-1.

The Roadrunner fans who made their way to the Alamodome on October 8 were hopeful that UTSA would add another win in the Alamodome.

The game between UTSA and South Alabama kicked off at 4:35 p.m. South Alabama won the coin toss and deferred their choice to the second half. UTSA would receive the opening kickoff.

UTSA managed to get to the South Alabama 49 before having to punt the ball away at the 11:22 mark of the first quarter. South Alabama called for a fair catch on the punt at the UTSA 22.

The Jaguars proceeded to go 78 yards in 12 plays and took 7:24 off the clock. South Alabama took a 7-0 lead after a one-yard touchdown run by Kendall Houston with 3:58 left in the first quarter.

UTSA answered on their next drive. The Roadrunners had gone 25 yards in six plays and reached the 50 yard line when the first quarter ended. On the first play of the second quarter, Eric Soza connected with Evans Okotcha for a 50-yard touchdown pass. At the 14:52 mark of the second quarter UTSA had tied the score at 7-7.

The two teams then traded field goals on their next drives. South Alabama made a 48-yard field goal at the 11:44 mark of the second quarter. UTSA tied the score at 10-10 when Sean Ianno also kicked a 48-yard field goal with 6:07 left in the second quarter.

South Alabama fumbled on their next posession and UTSA recovered at the Jaguar 48. Soza and the Roadrunners covered those 52 yards in just two plays. The first was a 51-yard pass from Soza to Kam Jones. The second was a one-yard touchdown run by Okotcha. Ianno added the extra point. UTSA led 17-10 with 2:54 left in the second quarter.

The only other points scored the rest of regulation came with 8:09 left in the third quarter when South Alabama's Demetre Baker scored on a 21-yard touchdown run to tie the score at 17-17.

UTSA had a chance to win the game at the end of regulation. Ianno came on to try a 26-yard field goal with three seconds left in regulation. The attempt was blocked by South Alabama. The game would now go to overtime.

"I went up to Sean (Ianno) after the kick and told him to shake it off and not to worry about it," Soza said after the game. "I told him that we may need him."

As the Roadrunners and Jaguars prepared for overtime it was historic for both. Neither South Alabama nor UTSA had played an overtime game in football before.

UTSA won the coin toss prior to overtime and elected to play defense first.

It was a smart move as it allowed the Roadrunners the chance to know what they would need to do in order to win. If UTSA held South Alabama off the board or limited to a field goal the Roadrunners could win with a touchdown. If South Alabama scored a touchdown, UTSA would also need a touchdown to keep the game going.

South Alabama picked up 10 yards on their first play to move to the UTSA 15. The Jaguars got to the UTSA one yard line two plays later and then scored with a one-yard run to take their first lead since the second quarter.

UTSA's posession got off to a sluggish start as they were called for a false start on the first play. In the end it didn't affect the Roadrunners. On the next play Soza and Jones connected for a 30-yard touchdown pass. Ianno added the extra point and the game went to double overtime, tied at 24.

In the second overtime the roles were reversed. UTSA was on offense first. The Roadrunner offense couldn't replicate the magic of the first overtime. Ianno stepped up to try a 43-yard field goal. This time the kick was good. UTSA led 27-24.

The Roadrunner defense returned knowing they had to keep South Alabama out of the endzone. On the first play of the drive South Alabama's Baker took the handoff and broke through the Roadrunner defense. Baker cruised to the 25-yard game winning touchdown. South Alabama celebrated a 30-27 win over UTSA.

"It's very disappointing for our coaches and our players, because they worked hard to win this game," UTSA Head Coach Larry Coker said after the game. "It's a gut check and it hurts."

It would turn out to be the Jaguars only win on the road in 2011 as they finished 6-4 overall. Sean Ianno would get his revenge on South Alabama with a game-winning field goal in Mobile to start the 2012 season.

Of course nobody knew that after the game ended on the night of October 8, 2011. What was known was that UTSA had lost two games in a row and fallen to 2-4 on the season.

There were just four games left in the inaugural season. Each of those remaining four would be full of learning experiences for the Roadrunners. The rest of the season would begin a week later with the Roadrunners first trip to California.

NEXT WEEK: The Roadrunners visit California for the first time

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