The last team with the ball was destined to win on a wild Saturday afternoon at Roy Kidd Stadium on the campus of Eastern Kentucky. Unfortunately for the University of North Alabama, the Lions weren’t the last team with a full offensive series.  

The Colonels used a six-yard touchdown pass from Parker McKinney to Cornelius McCoy with eight seconds remaining to escape with a 56-53 victory over the gutsy Lions. McKinney had a school-record five touchdown passes and a rushing touchdown in the win.

Eastern Kentucky needed every bit of that to hold off UNA in a game that featured 1,039 yards in offense. UNA had 571 of those yards, with 356 of those coming on the ground. Sophomore running ShunDerrick Powell became the first player in UNA history to rush for more than 200 yards in three separate games. Powell had 218 rushing yards on 29 carries with touchdowns of 9, 8 and 39 yards. He added 63 receiving yards.

UNA quarterback Noah Walters threw for 215 yards with a pair of touchdown passes to Demarcus Lacey and another to Takairee Kenebrew. His 20-yard strike to Kenebrew gave UNA a 53-49 lead with 1:13 remaining. It came four minutes after a 20-yard connection pulled UNA to within three points.

As it turned out, 1:13 was too much time on the clock. EKU moved 64 yards to score, and the only third down was converted because of a pass interference penalty on UNA.

HUNTINGTON 38, METHODIST 35: The Hawks played a little rollercoaster football on the road. Huntingdon scored first, but Methodist responded with 21 consecutive points. The Hawks scored 28 in a row to build what appeared to be a commanding 38-21 lead. However, Methodist scored the final 14 points to make things interesting.

"I am really proud of the way our guys hung in there and battled today," said Huntingdon head coach Mike Turk, whose team improved to 6-1 overall and 4-0 in USA South. "Methodist played well and outplayed us in a lot of ways but our guys found a way to win. We will enjoy this one, but we are back to work on Monday."

Quarterback Landon Cotney was 20 of 35 for 360 yards with four touchdowns and added a 4-yard touchdown run. Conner Bradford had three catches for 106 yards with touchdown receptions of 34 and 55 yards. Cotney also had touchdown passes of 4 yards to Kyler Chaney and 19 yards to Corey Brown.

TUSKEGEE 35, LANE COLLEGE 31: Tuskegee’s six-game winning streak is all about finding ways to win. On Saturday, in the Bluff City Classic in Memphis, the Golden Tigers were outgained 448-261 overall and 296-81 on the ground. They also trailed by 10 early in the third quarter and didn’t score the game-winner until late.

Once again, though, the Golden Tigers found a way to win. Running back Taurean Taylor, who has three 200-yard games this season, was a perfect example. He was shut down on the ground, managing just 27 yards on 12 carries. However, in a key moment late in the game, Taylor returned a kickoff 64 yards to set up the winning score.

His return gave the Golden Tigers a first down on the Lane 23-yard line. After a 3-yard loss, Tuskegee quarterback Bryson Williams found Rodricus Magee for a 21-yard gain to the five-yard line. It took the Tigers three plays to score, with Williams squeezing in from a yard out to provide the winning points with 2:38 left.

Williams had an efficient afternoon, completing 12-of-17 passes for 218 yards with three touchdowns and an interception. He also rushed for 40 yards and two scores. Antonio Meeks had six catches for 141 yards with two touchdowns.

Vincent Hill had 11 tackles, with a pair of tackles for loss to lead the Tuskegee defense. Malik Moore chipped in with nine tackles, and Jeremy Dees added six tackles, three tackles for loss and a sack.

NORTH GREENVILLE 34, WEST ALABAMA 33: The Tigers lost a heartbreaker in the school’s homecoming game. The winning points came with seven seconds left on a 1-yard run by Corey Watkins. The run culminated an 11-play, 75-yard drive that began with 1:51 left and included three third-down conversions and two West Alabama penalties.

Up until that point, redshirt freshman Dearrius Nelson was on his way to being the hero. Nelson’s electrifying 92-yard punt return for a touchdown gave the Tigers a 33-28 lead with 1:51 left. The Tigers went for two points after the touchdown but failed.

The teams traded the lead seven times in the game, with West Alabama enjoying the biggest lead at 27-15 early in the fourth quarter. West Alabama quarterback Tucker Melton threw for 271 yards with three touchdown passes to Darius Nalls. Demetrius Battle rushed for 111  yards. Michael Anderson had 12 tackles and a forced fumble, while Shamar Lewis contributed 10 tackles and a tackle for loss.

UNIVERSITY OF INCARNATE WORD 70, FAULKNER 0: The Eagles played a FCS opponent for the first time since playing Samford in 2008. Jaiveyon Tucker had three catches for 40 yards to lead the Eagles.

KENTUCKY STATE 35, MILES COLLEGE 7: Cornell Kendrick scored on a 13-yard run to provide the lone points for the Bears against a Kentucky State team that extended its winning streak to four games.

Zarious Keyes rushed for 83 yards on 13 carries for the Bears. He had a long run of 54 yards. Khalil Anglin had three catches for 67 yards, including a 36-yard grab.

BIRMINGHAM SOUTHERN 47, SEWANEE 3: The Panthers scored 37 points in the second and third quarters to run away with the lopsided win. Birmingham Southern outgained Sewanee 541-160 and rushed for 334 yards.

Running back Jon Lewis had 163 yards rushing with three touchdowns, and Grayson Stacey had 70 yards on 13 carries with a touchdown. Matt McClary threw for 207 yards with a 62-yard touchdown to Race Marin and a 2-yard score to Byron Millsap.

To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email steve.irvine@1819news.com.

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