Marquis Gray caught a 2-yard touchdown pass as time expired to give Southeastern Oklahoma State University a 22-21 victory over the University of Arkansas at Monticello on Saturday in Durant, Okla.
The touchdown was Gray’s third of the game, and it helped the Savage Storm (2-4 overall and Great American) come back from a 21-10 deficit.
UAM (2-4), which has lost four in a row, had led since the 10:10 mark of the second quarter. The Boll Weevils scored first on a 9-yard Jovonnie Gibson reception from freshman Buddy Taylor, who made his second career start in place of the injured Demilon Brown.
Taylor’s 40-yard touchdown pass to LaCedric Smith gave the Boll Weevils a 14-0 lead with 6:58 left in the period. Gray got the Storm on the board with a 19-yard completion from Weston Conaway with 12:06 left in the third.
Joseph Jones intercepted Taylor on UAM’s next play from scrimmage, and that set up a drive that ended in a 24-yard Dylan Cox field goal at the 7:27 mark.
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The Weevils responded with a 9-play, 67-yard drive to make it 21-10. Taylor ran from 6 yards out for the score with 3:40 to go.
UAM moved down to Southeastern territory on its next series before back-to-back 5-yard penalties pushed the Weevils almost back to midfield and forced them to punt down to the 15. Undeterred, the Storm covered 85 yards in 9 plays, scoring on a 28-yard Conaway-to-Gray toss with 4:12 left in the fourth. Conaway failed to complete a 2-yard pass attempt.
UAM punted after three short rushes, and Southeastern regained possession at its own 33 with 2:31 left, eventually scoring in 15 plays.
Conaway earned five first downs, one of them on a fourth-and-2 at the Weevils’ 26, and led the Storm to the 2 for first-and-goal with 8 seconds left.
Greg Hooks broke up a pass intended for Gray 4 seconds later, but Gray got his revenge on the next play to end the game.
Southeastern outgained UAM 392-322 in total yards, with much of the difference coming in the passing game. Taylor completed a sterling 21 for 25 for 224 yards and 2 touchdowns with the interception, while Conaway went 27 for 46 for 291 yards.
Taylor also led UAM’s rushing attack, carrying 9 times for 31 yards. Nick Howard caught 8 passes for 66 yards in the loss.
For Southeastern, D.J. Brown rushed 17 times for 79 yards and Gray caught 11 passes for 145 yards.
UAM will visit Arkansas Tech University on Saturday for a 2 p.m. kickoff and return to Monticello to host Henderson State University on Oct. 21.