Redshirt senior running back Michael Mansaray (Columbus, Ohio / Westerville South [South Dakota]) once again dashed for over 100 yards, compiling 132 and two scores including an 18-yard touchdown run to start the second overtime that proved to be the game-winner in a 31-23 victory over Roosevelt on Saturday afternoon at Brown Field.

Ryan Hawk (Columbus, Ohio / Bishop Hartley) made three field goals including a 39 yarder in the first overtime to extend the game and a career-long 51 yarder in the third quarter. The Beacons continued a trend of playing games that come down to the wire.

How It Happened

• After the two teams exchanged punts on their opening drives, Roosevelt got on the board with a 30-yard field goal by Mauri Escudero with 6:56 left in the first quarter.
• Valpo had another quick three-and-out, and a wobbly start continued when a five-play, 66-yard scoring drive finished with a 17-yard touchdown reception for Roosevelt's Alex Tran.
• The Beacons found paydirt on their first drive of the second quarter, marching 79 yards on 12 plays while eating up nearly seven minutes. That drive finished with quarterback Caron Tyler (Temecula, Calif. / Chaparral) connecting with Brian Thomas (Apopka, Fla. / Orlando Christian Prep) for a 21-yard score to cut the Roosevelt lead to 10-7 with 9:31 left in the quarter.
• A sack by Antony Morris (Cincinnati, Ohio / St. Xavier) on a Roosevelt third-and-seven caused the Lakers to punt from their own 22, then Hawk hit from 51 to tie the game at 10 with 5:29 to go in the half. The score remained even going into halftime.
• Valpo received the second-half kick for a drive that ended with a missed field goal from 46 yards. Another third-down sack by the Valpo defense – this time from Max Samuel (Edina, Minn. / Edina) – helped Valpo take over near midfield.
• On just the second play of the ensuing drive, Mansaray scampered for a 51-yard score to give Valpo its first lead at 17-10 with 8:32 left in the third.
• The defense continued to shine on the next possession, as Roosevelt did not convert a first down and had the drive end with a fumbled snap on fourth-and-1.
• A 19-yard Tyler completion to Gary Givens III (Tampa, Fla. / Jesuit) helped Valpo convert a third-and-10 from the Roosevelt 22. Hawk eventually split the uprights from 27 yards out to build the lead to 10 at 20-10 through three quarters.
• Roosevelt went for it on fourth-and-six from the Valpo 34, and Jake Birmingham (River Forest, Ill. / Oak Park and River Forest) recorded a strip sack and recovered the fumble to help Valpo take over near midfield.
• After a three-and-out by the Beacons, Sam Johnson (Birmingham, Ala. / Oak Mountain (Jackson State / Alabama) pinned the Lakers deep with a punt that was downed at the six. After a delay of game penalty cost Roosevelt three more yards, Keonta Nixon made a 97-yard catch from quarterback Carson Budke on the first snap of the drive to cut the lead to three at 20-17.
• Roosevelt got the ball back with 7:09 left in the fourth quarter, and went on a long 11-play, 68-yard drive that took 6:56 and culminated with a 36-yard field goal by Escedero that tied the game with 13 seconds left and sent the contest to overtime.
• Both teams had field goals in the first overtime session – Escedero from 44 and Hawk from 39. Valpo possessed the ball to start the second OT and Mansaray recorded the aforementioned 18-yard score on third-and-three. Ryan Mann followed with a successful two-point conversion run. The defense forced three straight incomplete passes, and then an interception by Rylan Woods (Cincinnati, Ohio / Dohn Prep / Summit CD [Arkansas Pine Bluff]) on fourth down sealed the victory.

Inside the Game

• Mansaray had his biggest day on the ground in a Valpo uniform with 132 yards after posting 97 last week vs. Indiana Wesleyan. Valpo has featured a 100-yard rusher in three straight games.
• Hawk's 51-yard field goal outdid his previous career long of 47 that was set on Sept. 9, 2023. He became the first Valpo player with three made field goals in a game since Dimitrios Latsonas on Oct. 26, 2019 vs. Stetson. Hawk has made five field goals in the last two games including back-to-back weeks with multiple makes after having previously never made more than one in a game. Four of Hawk's five kickoffs went for touchbacks.
• Entering this week, only 14 kickers nationally had field goals longer than 50 yards this season, a group that Hawk joins. The field goal was the longest by a Valpo player since Andrew McCawley's 52 yarder on Nov. 8, 2003.
• Tyler had exactly 17 pass attempts for the third straight week, this time boasting a career-best 11 completions while totaling 88 yards and one score.
• Valpo held Roosevelt to just 42 rushing yards, outgaining the Lakers on the ground 178-42. This marked Valpo's best performance in terms of rushing defense since holding Marist to 36 rushing yards on Nov. 12, 2022.
• Valpo prevailed despite being outgained 328-266. Each team had exactly 58 offensive snaps.
• Johnson averaged 46.5 yards per punt on four attempts including a long of 58. He already has seven punts of 50+ yards this season.
• Woods' interception was his first as a member of the program.
• Birmingham's sack was the first of his collegiate career, his forced fumble was his second and his fumble recovery was his first. He also paced the team with seven tackles.
• Valpo won the turnover battle for the second straight week.
• This marked the program's 27^th one-score game in Landon Fox's 54 games as Valpo head coach. The games played at Brown Field since the start of the 2023 season have been particularly close, as six of those seven games have been decided by eight points or fewer and three of them have gone to overtime.
• This was Valpo's first overtime game of the season and first since Nov. 11, 2023 vs. Stetson (W 23-20). Valpo went seven straight seasons without an overtime game from 2014 to Spring 2021, but has now played four overtime games over the last four seasons, all at Brown Field.
• Saturday's game was Valpo's first double overtime game since Sept. 6, 1997, a 35-34 win over Hope. That was also Valpo's most recent nonconference OT contest prior to Saturday.
• This marks the first time Valpo has won multiple nonconference games in the same season since 2014.
• The 31 points marked Valpo's highest scoring output since Nov. 12, 2022 at Marist (W 45-24).

Postgame Press Conference

Click here for postgame press conference.

Up Next

Valpo (2-2) will open conference play next week with a noon kickoff at Morehead State. The game will air on ESPN+ with links to live video, audio and stats available on ValpoAthletics.com.