ALAMOSA, Colo. (September 24, 2016) – With a missed 24-yard field goal by Chadron State College in the final seconds, Adams State University picked up a gutsy 31-30 victory on Saturday from Rex Field.

The win didn't come easy as the Grizzlies (1-3, 1-3 RMAC) had to overcome a 16-0 first quarter deficit to the Eagles (1-3, 1-3 RMAC).

Chadron State reached pay dirt on their opening drive and again on their final drive of the first quarter. Meanwhile, Adams State had difficulties moving the ball on offense as their first quarter drives resulted in a pair of punts and a fumble.

With the offense at a standstill, the Grizzlies opted for freshman quarterback Stetson Stallworth who promptly pushed ASU into the end zone on his first drive. Stallworth's first drive was powered by a Corey Brown run-heavy attack as Stallworth and Ference Lang also picked up notable carries. With the ground game inching the Grizzlies towards the goal line, Stallworth went through the air to find Chad Hovasse on a four-yard touchdown pass to cut the Chadron State lead to 16-7. Unfortunately the Eagles tacked on another touchdown before the break with a 12 play, 43-yard touchdown drive capped off by Derek Jackson's two-yard rush into the end zone.

A strong start to the third quarter was apparent as the Stallworth-led Grizzlies wasted little time to score. Stallworth rushed in from a yard out to bring an end to a 5 play, 70 yard drive that took a mere 1:09 off the clock. The one-yard rush was set up by a phenomenal one-handed catch by Chad Hovasse to pin ASU on the one-yard line.

The ASU defense made quick work of Chadron State's opening drive of the third. The stiff defense set up a 39-yard field goal from Zach Cimaglia to make it a one score affair with Chadron State still ahead 23-17. The Eagles once again closed the quarter with a touchdown as Matt Vinson found Max Gray on a 13-yard touchdown pass to push Chadron State back to a 30-17 advantage.

The Grizzlies were poised to go 3-and-out early in the fourth quarter but a roughing the kicker call on a Cimaglia punt kept ASU in possession of the ball. The penalty proved costly as Stallworth connected with Phil Romero on a three-yard strike to inch ASU closer at 30-24.

The Grizzly defense held tough on Chadron's ensuing drive that amassed just 25 yards on 5 plays. On third down, Vasa Hansell nearly came down with an interception with nothing but daylight ahead but the missed opportunity eventually set up the game's momentum changing play.

On the Chadron punt, Addie Brown picked up a key block from John Reed and John Land that paved the way for a 91-yard punt return for a touchdown. Cimaglia made good of the PAT attempt to give ASU their first lead of the game at 31-30 with 7:48 remaining in the contest.

The thought of Adams State escaping with a win looked bleak as Stallworth was intercepted by Brady Turek with less than three minutes left in the fourth. The interception set up the Chadron State offense with a drive starting on their own 35-yard line. With time becoming a factor, Chadron State milked the clock with a few key first down completions and a run game that moved the ball down to the Adams State seven-yard line.

After timeouts from both teams with 7 seconds left, Will Morgan lined up for a 24-yard field goal attempt that would ultimately push Chadron State ahead. Fortunately for Grizzly faithful the attempt sailed wide right to send the Grizzly bench into jubilation. All that was needed to seal the game after that was a Stallworth kneel down to give Adams State their first victory against Chadron State since 2005.

"They know we're icing them," Rosenbach said of calling a timeout prior to the last second field goal attempt, "Not sure if we got a piece of it or not but lucky for us he missed it."

The victory snapped a 10-game skid to the Eagles. It also marked ASU's fifth-ever win against Chadron State.

"We just played better. We had a couple of bad breaks there at the end that we did to ourselves, but we just played better and that was the difference." Rosenbach said about his team's performance against Chadron.

Brown finished with a game-high 26 carries for 120 yards as Hovasse and Romero each hauled in a touchdown reception. In his first extended action with Adams State, Stallworth completed 9-of-17 passes for 84 yards along with two touchdowns and one interception.

Reed added a game-high 11 tackles (6 solo) with Morris Gilbert and Land tacking on 10 tackles apiece. Hansell and Jamal Jennings both provided two pass breakups as six Grizzlies picked up a tackle-for-loss in the conference tilt.

The Grizzlies now turn to a road meeting with South Dakota School of Mines & Technology on October 1st. Kickoff is slated for 6pm from Rapid City, S.D.

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