Redshirt Senior Running Back Michael Mansaray (Columbus, Ohio / Westerville South (South Dakota)) again sprinted for over 100 yards, managed 132 yards and two scores, including an 18-yard touchdown run early in the second overtime that proved to be crucial in the 31-23 victory over Roosevelt on Saturday afternoon at Brown Field.
Ryan Hawk (Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Hartley) made three field goals, including a 39-yard kick in the first overtime to extend the game and a career-best 51-yard kick in the third quarter. The Beacons continued their trend of playing games that remain exciting until the very end.
How it happened
- After the two teams exchanged punts on their opening drives, Roosevelt scored on a 30-yard field goal by Mauri Escudero with 6:56 left in the first quarter.
- Valpo managed another quick three-and-out and a shaky start continued as a five-play, 66-yard touchdown drive ended with a 17-yard touchdown pass to Roosevelt’s Alex Tran.
- The Beacons were lucky on their first drive of the second quarter, marching 79 yards in 12 plays and taking nearly seven minutes. This drive ended with quarterback Caron Tyler (Temecula, California / Chaparral) Connection with Brian Thomas (Apopka, Florida / Orlando Christian Prep) scored a 21-yard touchdown to cut the Roosevelts’ lead to 10-7 with 9:31 minutes left in the quarter.
- A bag of Anthony Morris (Cincinnati, Ohio / St. Xavier) on a third-and-7 attempt by Roosevelt forced the Lakers to punt from their own 22-yard line, then Hawk scored from the 51-yard line to tie the game at 10-10 with 5:29 left in the half. The score remained tied until halftime.
- Valpo received the second-half kickoff for a drive that ended with a missed 46-yard field goal. Another sack on third down by the Valpo defense – this time by Max Samuel (Edina, Minnesota / Edina) – helped Valpo take the lead in the midfield.
- On the second play of the following drive, Mansaray ran for a 51-yard touchdown, giving Valpo its first lead of 17-10 with 8:32 minutes left in the third quarter.
- The defense also shone on the next possession, as Roosevelt failed to convert a first down and the drive ended with a fumble on fourth and one-and-a-half.
- A 19-yard Tyler completion to Gary Givens III (Tampa, Fla./Jesuit) gave Valpo a third-and-10 attempt from the Roosevelt 22-yard line. Hawk finally hit the post from 27 yards out to extend the lead to 10 yards after three quarters, 20-10.
- Roosevelt tried on fourth and sixth attempts from Valpo’s 34-yard line and Jake Birmingham (River Forest, Illinois / Oak Park and River Forest) recorded a strip sack and recovered the fumble to help Valpo take control near the halfway line.
- After a three-and-out by the Beacons, Sam Johnson (Birmingham, Ala. / Oak Mountain (Jackson State / Alabama) pinned the Lakers deep with a punt that landed at the six. After Roosevelt lost three more yards to a delay of game penalty, Keonta Nixon caught a 97-yard pass from quarterback Carson Budke on the first snap of the drive, cutting the lead to three yards at 20-17.
- With 7:09 left in the fourth quarter, Roosevelt got the ball back and went on a long, 68-yard, 11-play drive that lasted 6:56 and ended with a 36-yard field goal by Escedero that tied the game with 13 seconds left and sent the game into overtime.
- Both teams scored field goals in the first overtime – Escedero from 44 and Hawk from 39. Valpo had possession at the start of the second overtime and Mansaray scored the aforementioned 18-yard touchdown on the third and third attempts. Ryan Mann followed by a successful two-point conversion run. The defense forced three incomplete passes in a row and then an interception of Rylan Woods (Cincinnati, Ohio / Dohn Prep / Summit CD (Arkansas Pine Bluff)) in the fourth attempt sealed the victory.
In the game
- Mansaray had his best day in a Valpo uniform with 132 yards after posting 97 yards last week against Indiana Wesleyan. Valpo has had a 100-yard runner in three straight games.
- Hawk’s 51-yard field goal surpassed his previous career record of 47, set on Sept. 9, 2023. He became the first Valpo player with three made field goals in a game since Dimitrios Latsonas on Oct. 26, 2019 against Stetson. Hawk has made five field goals in the last two games, including two consecutive weeks of multiple scores after never making more than one in a game before. Four of Hawk’s five kickoffs ended as touchbacks.
- Entering this week, only 14 kickers nationwide had field goals over 50 yards this season, a group that Hawk joins. The field goal was the longest by a Valpo player since Andrew McCawley’s 52-yard field goal on Nov. 8, 2003.
- Tyler had exactly 17 pass attempts for the third week in a row and this time he had a career-best performance with 11 successful passes, totaling 88 yards and a touchdown.
- Valpo held Roosevelt to just 42 rushing yards, outscoring the Lakers on the ground 178-42. This was Valpo’s best performance in rushing defense since holding Marist to 36 rushing yards on November 12, 2022.
- Valpo prevailed despite a deficit of 328:266. Each team had exactly 58 attack points.
- Johnson averaged 46.5 yards per punt on four attempts, including a long one of 58 yards. He already has seven punts of over 50 yards this season.
- Woods’ interception was his first as a member of the program.
- Birmingham’s sack was the first of his college career, his forced fumble was his second and his fumble recovery was his first. He also led the team with seven tackles.
- Valpo won the turnover battle for the second week in a row.
- This was the 27th.th One-point game in Landon Fox’s 54 games as Valpo head coach. The games at Brown Field since the start of the 2023 season have been particularly close, with six of those seven games being decided by eight points or less and three of those going to overtime.
- This was Valpo’s first overtime game of the season and its first since November 11, 2023 against Stetson (W 23-20). Valpo had not played an overtime game for seven straight seasons from 2014 through the spring of 2021, but has now played four overtime games in the last four seasons, all at Brown Field.
- Saturday’s game was Valpo’s first double-overtime game since Sept. 6, 1997, a 35-34 win over Hope. This was also Valpo’s most recent non-conference double-overtime game before Saturday.
- This is the first time since 2014 that Valpo has won multiple non-league games in the same season.
- The 31 points marked Valpo’s highest score since November 12, 2022 at Marist (S 45-24).
Press conference after the game
Click here for the post-match press conference.
Next
Valpo (2-2) opens conference play next week with a noon kickoff at Morehead State. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+. Links to live video, audio and stats are available at ValpoAthletics.com.
