Anthony Reyes experienced something every kid dreams about Saturday.
21 yards separated Reyes and the field goal posts with one second remaining in Dixie State University’s road matchup against Adams State University Saturday in Alamosa, Colorado. Reyes made the game-winning field goal and gave his team a 24-21 victory.
“I wasn’t nervous at all,” said Reyes, a sophomore kicker and an exercise science major from Queen Creek, Arizona. “I told my team we were going to win, and we weren’t going to overtime.”
The field goal was set up miraculously as the Trailblazers gained 66 yards in the final 35 seconds, leaving one second for the kick. 54 of those yards were eaten up on one play—a massive run by senior running back DeJon Coleman, which took DSU to the 12-yard line.
Following a 10-yard holding penalty on the next play, Coleman struck again with an 18-yard gain to put the Trailblazers on the 4-yard line with one second left.
Reyes finished his warm-up kicks and stepped onto the field, but knew it would be awhile before he would attempt the field goal.
“I looked at the scoreboard and saw [ASU] had three timeouts left and they would try to use them to ice me,” Reyes said. “I told my snapper to hike the ball no matter what so I could kick a few times.”
ASU did just that. It used each of its remaining three timeouts to try and deter Reyes’ confidence, but to no avail as Reyes split the uprights as the clock hit zero.
“We work on that all the time in practice,” Reyes said. “It’s a much different feeling doing it under pressure, though. It was a good team win for us.”
Coleman’s performance is not to be overlooked, however. He rushed for 206 yards and one touchdown and, in the process, became DSU’s all-time leading rusher with 1,505 yards and 15 touchdowns.
“It means a lot to me,” said Coleman, a sociology major from Los Angeles. “I’ve set goals for myself and it feels good to have accomplished them.”
Coleman wasn’t the only rusher to surpass the century mark in the game. Redshirt running back Clifford Simms managed 105 ground yards and a touchdown in the win. As a whole, DSU gained a total of 378 yards on the ground.
“[Coleman] has always been a team guy,” head coach Shay McClure said. “He carries himself well on and off the field.”
DSU found itself trailing early in the first quarter after the Grizzlies returned an interception for a 63-yard touchdown. The Trailblazers would find their stride in the second quarter, however, as they scored 14 unanswered points to take a 14-7 lead into halftime.
ASU tied the game at 21 with 10 minutes to go in the game just 78 seconds after Simms muscled his way into the end zone for a 2-yard touchdown for the Trailblazers.
“Every week is a different challenge,” McClure said. “With their backs against the wall, the kids did a great job. They played hard.”
With the win, DSU set another program record by winning its fifth game of the season—the most ever in its Division II era.
“I’m glad I have been a part of this season,” Coleman said. “It’s an honor to be a part of a team that has had a lot of success.”
The Trailblazers move to 5-4 on the year and 5-3 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, good for fourth place. They will play their final road game of the season Saturday against Colorado State University-Pueblo before returning to St. George for the final home game of the season against Fort Lewis College Nov. 12.
