Rocky Mount, N.C. - On Homecoming Weekend at Bishop Stadium, the Monarchs of Methodist University came back from ten points down in the final two minutes to force overtime and eventually steal a 42-39 win from North Carolina Wesleyan. After forcing a turnover on downs on the Bishops' second OT possession, MU's Cody Ausherman booted home a 39-yard gamewinning field goal, his fifth of the day, to secure the victory.
Both teams entered the day with identical records that included 3-1 marks in conference play. Wesleyan took control early, opening up a 9-0 advantage on a team safety and 4-yard touchdown pass from Dustin Midgett to Jacques Alston.
MU's Max Reber got his team on the board late in the first quarter thanks to a 14-yard scoring strike to Patrick Jacobs, but the Bishops would go on to out-score the Monarchs 17-9 in the second quarter to take a 26-16 lead into the break.
The Monarchs scored the first ten points of the second half thanks to another Reber passing TD and a 41-yard field goal by Ausherman, but NCWC answered just before the end of the quarter with a 12-play, 62-yard drive that was capped by an 11-yard run by Ty-Traveon Roberts on a reverse. Freshman Codan Breckenridge later nailed a 33-yard field goal with 8:32 to go in the final period to give his Bishops a late 36-26 advantage.
Wesleyan looked to be en route to a fourth straight victory until Reber hit Valdani Bastien from 17 yards out to make the score 36-33 with 1:53 to go. The Bishops were forced to punt on their next possession, and with 43 seconds and no timeouts left, Reber led his team down to the NCWC 26-yardline. Ausherman's 43-yard attempt was good as time expired, forcing overtime.
In OT, Ausherman and Breckenridge traded 42- and 35-yard field goals on their teams' first possessions. Wesleyan got the ball first the second time around, and on 4th-and-3 from the MU-4, the Bishops were stop short, setting up Ausherman's 39-yard gamewinner.
The game was evenly played statistically, with the Monarchs holding a slim 491-421 edge in total yardage. Alston paced the Bishops with 164 yards on the ground, while Malik Adams caught seven passes for 138 yards and two TDs from 41- and 30-yards out.
Defensively, freshmen Jaylon Johnson and Anthony Janezic tallied eight tackles apiece. Tyreik Dix recorded two of Wesleyan five team sacks, while Bryan McCullough and Camara Rawls each recovered fumbles.
For Methodist (5-2, 4-1 USA South), Reber finished with 177 passing yards and 108 rushing yards. Bryan Bing led the Monarch defense with a game-high 13 tackles.
Wesleyan (4-3, 3-2 USA South) travels to Maryville College next Saturday. Kickoff is slated for 1:30pm.