CORSICANA, Texas – Playing in their first postseason football game since 2017 after posting their first winning season since that same year, the Arkansas Tech football team left it all out on the field on Saturday as they put together a strong fourth quarter comeback against (rv) West Texas A&M in the Heritage Bowl Powered by Riot, but ultimately came up just short.
Trailing by two scores heading into the fourth quarter, 28-13, the Wonder Boys forced the high-powered West Texas offense to punt on twice and then scored a touchdown and were successful on the subsequent two-point attempt to make it a 28-21 game with 7:29 left. That touchdown was an eight-yard completion from
Carter Hensley to
Scout Brazeal while the two-point conversion was a pass from
Carldell Sirmons to Hensley on a trick play.
Needing to get a stop, the Wonder Boys' defense got the ball to bounce their way as West Texas QB RJ Martinez had the ball slip out of his hands on a bubble screen pass attempt and senior linebacker
Jyrin Steward was there to recover the fumble at the Tech 37-yardline with 5:28 left on the clock.
Down by seven, the Wonder Boys were able to drain almost of the remaining time on the clock and put together an 18-play, 63-yard drive that ended on a two-yard QB run by backup
Dominic Feliciano with just nine seconds remaining in regulation.
That touchdown by Feliciano pulled the Wonder Boys within a point, 28-27, and left first-year head coach
Roy Thompson with a crucial decision to make, play it safe and attempt the extra point to potentially send the game into overtime, or go for the win right then and there with a two-point conversion attempt.
Thompson elected for the latter and the Wonder Boys had a great play called and it was executed it as well as possible until the final possible moments when the ball was heartbreakingly ruled incomplete and keeping the score 28-27.
While the heartbreak of the two-point try being unsuccessful, the Wonder Boys still had one final chance as they would go for an onside kick. The kick would travel the 10 yards necessary, but was successfully recovered by West Texas, effectively ending the game.
