LAUREN CEBALLOS / ASSOCIATE EDITOR

USD Toreros played  at home against Presbytarian College on Saturday Oct. 5, and they proudly walked off the field after winning in overtime off a fumble. The game started out with a touchdown by Presbytarian in the second quarter followed   by the kick. USD senior wide receiver Ja’seem Reed scored the first Torero  touchdown  a  few minutes later. This was followed by a successful  kick  from  USD senior  kicker, Aidan Lehman. 

In the third quarter, each team scored another touchdown sealed with the kick. For the Toreros, USD senior wide receiver Josh Heverly caught the pass and Lehman secured his second field goal. Going into the fourth quarter the score was 14:14 which changed when Presbytarian scored a touchdown and the kick off the run with 2:01 left in the game.

With a  touchdown in the last eight seconds, Toreros were able to tie the game thanks to the Sergent-Heverly duo and Lehman’s extra point. The score was 21:21 going into overtime (OT). Presbyterian had the first possession in OT. USD senior defensive back Trey Ortega worked to  reverse  the possession, making a hit that forced a Presbytarian fumble. USD junior  defensive back Ruben Lopez, this week’s PFL (Pioneer Football League)  Co-Defensive Player of the Week, picked up the ball and ran to the end zone, allowing for a USD victory.

Lopez saw the action and took advantage of it, creating a scoop-and-score.

“I  saw the tide end downblock, I saw Jerry Riggins pick up the ball, see him get hit, see the ball in front of me and I just saw nothing but daylight, and didn’t — or actually I did look back,” Lopez said. “I tried not to look back, but just touch down from there.”  

While success builds the energy of the crowd, it doesn’t always put fuel in the tank.

“I was gassed probably at like the 20 yard line, but besides that it was a great feeling, awesome feeling, having my team in the end zone and just knowing that’s how we finish the game,” Lopez said.

Lopez was ready to take on overtime when  Heverly  caught  the pass of the previous touchdown.

“Honestly I was excited just to be in that position,” Lopez explained. “We were losing at that point so being put in that situation to be zero, zero, and have another chance, it felt good. [I was] excited and just wanted to be back out there.”

Lopez shared how his week started off differently than it ended.

“I was in a weird mental state last week but coming into this week I was excited, high energy, focused. So I felt good,” Lopez shared. “Same thing with the team, we had a good week of practice, so transitioning from a loss to a win this week, it felt good.”

Another key player in the game was Grant Sergent, USD graduate student and quarterback, who threw three touchdown passes. Sergent knew they would pull through with the win.

“There was no doubt in my mind that we were going to win the game,” Sergent said. “After coming back and getting that last second touchdown, I knew we had to win that game… We just have a great group of guys and we’re fighters, we fight ‘til the end. I love this team and we’re gonna do big things this year.” 

USD graduate student and outside linebacker Chase Lyons was proud of his team, acknowledging their progression throughout the game.

“You know, it was like up and down,” Lyons explained. “We didn’t start how we wanted to, we didn’t start the second half how we wanted to, but we found a way at the end and you could really feel the energy that fourth quarter, and then overtime, so it was good to just come together as a team and finally have a good quarter of football,” Lyons explained.

USD graduate student and defensive  back   Eric   Haney   agreed.

“Going in I felt great,” Haney said.  “I  thought  we  had something to prove ‘cause we were just 0 and 2 the past couple of weeks but [we] definitely had something to prove. We had a couple good weeks of practice, so [we] came in confident.”

Haney knew they had to close out the game with a win.

“We had the faith, so I was happy that we were going into overtime. But I knew  we  had  to  seal it ‘cause last year we were 0 and 2 in overtime so we knew we just had to come out a little different this time,” Haney shared.

The players felt a high after their victory.

“I was like ‘Thank God’ at first, and then after that I was like this is the team right here,” Lyons said. “We could have easily quit. We could have easily gave up, but we found a way to keep going and stay together.”

Players hugged their families with excitement after the game, spreading the energy from the win. Haney explained that the feeling of  the win was inexplicable.

“Just an amazing feeling, it was like a miracle,” Haney expressed. “Something you can’t even explain, it was miraculous.”      Coming up, Toreros have a bye week, a week where the team doesn’t play a game, after their win on Oct. 5 and will return to the field on Saturday, Oct. 19 at 2 p.m. in Torero Stadium against Marist college. Toreros will hope to claim another win at home.

Toreros stormed No. 6, Ruben Lopez, after his amazing play. Photo courtesy of @usdfootball/Instagram