Arana's 46-Yard Field Goal at the Gun Lifts Texas Southern Over Southern 24-21 at Homecoming

Miguel Arana kicked a 46-yard field goal with one second left to give Texas Southern a 24-21 win over Southern on Saturday at the Tigers' 99th Homecoming, in front of 21,523 fans. The win was Texas Southern's first in SWAC play this season and snapped a five-game losing streak, according to DataDrivenHBCU's Week 8 recap.

Southern struck first, when quarterback Christian Johnson found Damien Henderson Jr. for a 4-yard touchdown. Texas Southern took over in the second quarter: Jacob Washington scored on a 5-yard run, and Athean Renfro capped a 55-yard drive that took just 41 seconds with a 15-yard touchdown run for a 14-7 halftime lead. Early in the third quarter, Donovan Jones sacked Johnson and forced a fumble that Ryan Robinson recovered, and Cam'Ron McCoy broke a 41-yard touchdown run to make it 21-7.

Southern came all the way back. Johnson threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Wydell Clark Jr., and in the fourth quarter a drive that survived an apparent interception - Quinton Murray Jr. picked off Johnson on fourth-and-4, but a pass-interference penalty kept it alive - ended with Trey Holly scoring from 2 yards out with 4:24 left to tie the game 21-21.

Texas Southern answered with the drive of its season. Starting at its own 35 and staying on the ground, the Tigers converted a fourth-and-2 at the Southern 44 through McCoy, Renfro kept moving the chains, and Arana drilled the winner as time nearly expired. Renfro ran for 135 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries, McCoy added 71 rushing yards, and Texas Southern ran for 218 yards as a team. For Southern, Holly carried 35 times for 156 yards and a touchdown, and Johnson threw for 124 yards and two scores. Both teams are now 1-3 in SWAC play: Texas Southern improves to 2-5, Southern falls to 3-5.