Edward Waters Stuns Pikeville with Last-Second Touchdown

PIKEVILLE, Kentucky -- Edward Waters (Fla.) outscored the University of Pikeville football team 35-7 in the fourth quarter to complete an improbable comeback with a last-second heave into the end zone on Saturday at the Hambley Athletic Complex.

Trailing 48-42 with 35 seconds left, the Tigers (1-2) recovered an onside kick at their own 45 yard line with no timeouts. From there, Tyler Mahla completed a nine-yard pass on second down, then spiked the ball at the UPIKE 46 to bring up fourth and one with just a few ticks remaining.

Instead of looking for a short completion and dash out of bounds to get closer to the end zone, Mahla put up a 46-yard bomb that Devion Laws came down with to tie the score at 48 with no time left in regulation.

All of the pressure was on kicker Christopher Miglioranzi to seal the win, and his teammates made things even harder on him with a celebration penalty. But even after moving back 15 yards, he was able to guide the ball through the goalposts for the win.

UPIKE's Tyler Guffey, making his first collegiate start at quarterback in place of the injured Sani Warren, completed 13-of-17 passes for 207 yards and a pair of touchdowns. His main target was Aaron Jackson with three catches for 81 yards and a score, while Seth Millar finished with 71 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.

Defensively, Austin Baldwin and Donald Styles were all over the field, issuing nine and eight tackles, respectively to lead the Bears.

At the end of the third quarter, there was little doubt in the stadium that UPIKE would tally a win.

Millar scored the lone touchdown of the third frame with a six-yard run to put the Bears in front 41-14. Then after a three-and-out by the Tigers to start the fourth, backup quarterback R.J. Rosemond Jr. had a 17-yard keeper into the end zone to make it 48-14.

But the final 10 minutes changed everything as Edward Waters found success through the air, so much so that it finished the game with a 271-230 yard advantage passing.

First it was a nine-play, 92-yard drive that ended with Michael Love running in from a yard out, followed by Darryl Campbell finishing an eight-play, 61-yard drive with a two yard run. Then with just over three minutes to play disaster struck as EWC recovered a fumble at the UPIKE 19, then moved up 10 yards on a late hit to Mahla.

Mahla found Suwayne Hilton in the end zone on the very next play, and it was suddenly a two-possession game at 48-35. The Tigers went through their timeouts during UPIKE's next drive, stopping the clock as Millar struggled to find any openings.

After taking over on their own 33-yard line, Edward Waters got an incredible 32-yard, one-handed catch by Keronne Smith to keep the momentum. Add in another late hit by the Bear defense and a 13-yard Mahla keeper and it was a 48-42 game, allowing EWC to pull off the miracle with the onside kick.

Mahla finished 21-of-35 through the air for 271 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Smith was the leading receiver with 92 yards on seven catches and Diondre Wynn led the game on the ground with 97 yards on 12 carries.

Edward Waters finished with 482 yards of total offense, compared to 403 by UPIKE. There were 30 penalties called in the game with the Bears claiming 18 of them for 202 yards.

UPIKE returns to Mid-South Conference East Division play on Saturday, hosting No. 18 Lindsey Wilson at the Hambley Athletic Complex.

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COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF PIKEVILLE ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS