In their greatest team performance this season, the Demons snatched their first win in a hard-fought battle against yet another ranked team.

The Demons went 25 yards in eight plays on their last drive in overtime, scoring on a one-yard pass from quarterback Shelton Eppler to wide reciever Quan Shorts to secure the 44-41 victory against No. 20 University of Incarnate Word.

Saturday’s encounter marks the fourth time this season that the Demons have gone against a ranked team.

Working through a knee injury, Shorts snagged 11 passes, his fourth double-figure catch game of the season.

“Knowing the Quan I’ve seen daily, if he had the opportunity to play, he was going to play,” head coach Brad Laird said in an NSU press release.

“You could tell he was in pain, but he battled through it and made plays while he was hurting,” Laird said. “Guys like that, guys who are playing hurt, finding a way, it makes it gratifying to see that success because of that.”

This was part of a night that saw Shorts become the Demon’s all-time single-season reception leader. Through eight games, Shorts has 77 receptions, surpassing former Demon Ed Eagan’s 73 catches in 2014.

On the first drive of the game, NSU went 55 yards over 11 plays, delivering a three-yard touchdown pass to Jared West. This put the Demons up 7-0 with eight minutes and 49 seconds left in the first quarter.

University of Incarnate Word responded with two consecutive successful drives, going 81 yards to close out the first quarter. After forcing the Demons to punt, they took a 10-7 lead with a career-best 46-yard field goal from Cardinal punter Carson Mohr.

A fumble on the kickoff return saw the Cardinals with ball, putting them up 17-7. The Demons responded with a 70-yard touchdown drive to make the score 17-13.

Demons kicker Daniel Justino hit a 29-yard field goal to end the half, making the score 17-16 and closing the Cardinals lead to just one point.

Two successful drives saw the Cardinals take a 31-16 lead early in the third quarter, putting the Demons in an all-too familiar situation. The Demons responded with the second–largest second-half comeback under Laird, posting 28 of the final 38 points of the game in under a quarter and a half.

“In adverse times, our guys continue to step up and make plays,” Laird said in a press release.

“The little things show up in those situations. Coby McGee, maybe the biggest play of the game on the (muffed) punt. Just the hustle and the little things he did on that particular punt to be able to get the turnover, and for us to take it in and score when we’re down 31-16 and absolutely nothing is going right for us. Those little things in situations like that turn out to be big things at the end of the day.”

A two-yard rush to running back Staford Anderson saw the Demons score with 6:31 left in the third, and another touchdown drive with eight minutes and 27 seconds left in the game saw the Demons barely trailing 31-30.

With two minutes and 42 seconds left on the clock, University of Incarnate World extended its lead to 38-30, where University of Incarnate World quarterback Jon Copeland broke the program record for touchdowns in a career.

“We got it with 2:42 left,” Laird said in an athletic press release.

“There was a third-and-six, a third-and-nine, a fourth-and-18, and a 2-point play,” Laird said. “Those were four huge plays those guys made to put ourselves in position to go to overtime.”

After a sack on Eppler, the Demons faced fourth and 18 with one minute and 40 seconds left on the clock. Eppler found Shorts on the fourth-down conversion, saving the Demons from what could have been a game-ending turnover.

Almost fumbling with less than 30 seconds on the clock, Eppler connected with redshirt receiver Tanner Ash multiple times for the touchdown and two-point conversion that sent the Demons into overtime.

This was part of a breakout game for Ash, who posted career-highs in catches, 4, and receiving yards, 58.

“The 2-point play, every Wednesday, we do red zone, one-on-ones,” Laird said in an athletic press release. “That route has been to a T on Wednesdays, and it was great to see it happen Saturday in such a crucial moment.”