All hope seemed to be lost for the Hoyas late in the Oct. 4 homecoming game trailing by 3 points with under 30 seconds left, but late-game magic from senior wide receiver Jimmy Kibble saved the day, coming down with the ball on a hail mary as time expired to capture the win.
The Georgetown University football team (3-3, 0-1 Patriot League) won on a walkoff touchdown pass against the Morgan State University Bears (2-4) to get back into the win column.
Senior quarterback Dez Thomas II, who has struggled in past weeks as a replacement for the injured senior quarterback Danny Lauter, started off the game hot against the Bears. Thomas completed 3 of his first 4 passes on the opening drive, capping off with a short touchdown pass to junior tight end Isaiah Grimes for the early lead.
Following a made kick from sophomore kicker Thomas Anderson, the Hoyas led 7-0.
The Georgetown defensive unit started off strong as well, forcing a three-and-out on Morgan State’s first possession that included a tackle for loss from junior cornerback Quincy Briggs.
Thomas finished off the Hoyas’ second possession the same way he did the first: with a short touchdown pass, this time to junior wide receiver Coen Sutton. This drive also included an impressive 22-yard run from Thomas, who looked more confident following his struggles in the past weeks.
Another made extra point for Anderson put the Hoyas up 14-0.
On the final play of the first quarter, Georgetown’s defense stacked up well again against the Bears. Senior linebacker Naiteitei Mose forced and recovered a fumble. The turnover gave the Hoyas the ball to start the second quarter and kept Morgan State scoreless through the first.
Following an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Mose and a holding call once on offense, the Hoyas were nearly 30 yards from a first down to start the second quarter, and the drive unsurprisingly ended in a punt.
The Bears were unable to do anything on their drive and were forced to punt. Georgetown senior wide receiver Keynan Richardson-Cook made a crucial play on special teams and blocked the Morgan State punt, giving the Hoyas an even better field position. However, the Hoyas were ultimately unable to turn this advantage into points on the board.
Georgetown nearly kept the Bears scoreless for the entire first half, but with just over a minute left, the Morgan State offense found the endzone on a 4th and goal. With an extra point, the Hoyas maintained their lead at 14-7.
Anderson nearly put the Hoyas up by 10 heading into halftime, but Bears defensive lineman Rasheen Duncan blocked the 39-yard attempt, keeping the lead at 7 heading into the break.
Georgetown fell apart defensively to start the second half after allowing a strong 64-yard kickoff return to near midfield. On Morgan State’s third play of the half, they found the endzone with a 64-yard touchdown pass, evening the score at 14 all.
Thomas refused to stay down; he led the Hoyas down the field as soon as they got the ball back. After a clutch third down conversion and a roughing the passer penalty, Thomas took the ball into the endzone himself on a 12-yard rushing touchdown. Anderson made the kick to put Georgetown up once again, 21-14.
After gifting the Bears 5 yards on an offside penalty, the Hoyas were able to stop their offense on a big third down, limiting Morgan State to a 32-yard field goal.
Just a few minutes later with under a minute to play in the third quarter, the Bears found the endzone again, going up 21-24 after a made extra point.
Georgetown nearly evened it to begin the final quarter, but Duncan blocked his second field goal of the game to keep the score even.
After fumbling with less than 2 minutes in the game, all hope seemed to be lost for the Hoyas, but after forcing a turnover on downs, Georgetown had the ball at midfield with 32 seconds on the clock.
Thomas searched for Kibble with his first 2 attempts but was unable to find his hands. Then, Thomas heaved a desperation prayer towards the end zone. Kibble jumped up and came down with a contested catch. As the Hoya bench stormed the field in celebration, Georgetown went ahead of Morgan State for a final score of 27-24.
Head Coach Rob Sgarlata said he always tells his players to stay in the moment and fulfill their assignments, no matter how big the moment.
“We talk to the players a lot about staying in the moment and being where your feet are,” Sgarlata told The Hoya. “Really just focusing on that play and making sure everybody knew what their assignments were, and give ourselves a chance to get a position to make that play at the end.”
After a bye week, Georgetown will host Colgate University (2-3, 1-0 Patriot League) at Cooper Field on Oct. 18 at 1 p.m. in search of their first conference win.
