INDIANAPOLIS – The No. 12 University of Indianapolis football team earned a roller-coaster win Saturday afternoon at Key Stadium, defeating 19th-ranked Fort Hays State, 38-27, in the opening round of the NCAA Division II playoffs. The fourth-seeded Greyhounds (10-1) advance to face unbeaten and top-seeded Ouachita Baptist in Arkadelphia Ark., Saturday, Nov. 24.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
After seeing an early 14-point lead evaporate, the Greyhounds found themselves in a 24-17 hole midway through the third quarter. The Tigers ran off 17 unanswered points spanning the second and third stanzas to seize the lead and the momentum.
 
The Greyhounds responded with a 10-play, 85-yard drive to tie it up just seconds into the fourth quarter. On 4th & goal from the one, senior QB Jake Purichia capped the possession by calling his own number, plunging over the goal line for his second rushing TD of the game to knot the score at 24-all.
 
It marked the first of three fourth-quarter TDs for the Hounds. The go-ahead score came when Purichia found a streaking Daveon Bell with a 76-yard TD pass – the team's longest of the year – to put UIndy up 31-24 with 11 minutes to go.
 
Fort Hays State trimmed the margin to four with a 40-yard field goal with 3:44 left, but the Greyhounds would later seal it with a 22-yard pick-six by senior cornerback Robert Williams.
 

?? |TOUCHDOWN GREYHOUNDS! Robert Williams picks off the ball and returns it to the house to put @UIndyFB up 38-27 with less then two minutes left to go! #D2FB pic.twitter.com/yoTJ1kaOat

— UIndy Athletics (@UIndyAthletics) November 17, 2018

 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Williams added a second INT on the final play of the day, netting his second two-interception game of the season. He also added three pass break-ups.
- Freshly-crowned GLVC Offensive Player of the Year Al McKeller was a workhorse for the Hounds, carrying the ball 29 times and amassing 137 rushing yards.
- Freshman running back Toriano Clinton also went for triple digits, racking up 106 rushing yards on just five attempts. It marked the first time two Greyhounds rushed for over 100 yards in a playoff game.
- Senior linebacker Cole Sigmund led the team with 10 total tackles, while defensive lineman and fellow-senior-captain Lucas Rice added two sacks.
- Purichia finished 13-for-21 passing for 182 yards and two touchdowns while adding a pair of rushing TDs.
- Bell and Malik Higgins combined for 11 receptions for 166 yards.
- The Tigers finished the game with 10 penalties for 84 yards.
 
MORE NOTES
Saturday marked the first-ever meeting between UIndy and Fort Hays State … FHSU was the fifth-seed in the region ... Today's result secured the second-ever postseason victory for the Hounds and first since 2012. They are now 2-4 all-time in the Division II playoffs ... The Greyhounds are in the midst of their fifth postseason appearance in the last seven years … Higgins upped his career receiving yards total to 3,294, moving into second place in the UIndy record book … Purichia threw his 55th career TD pass, tying him for second in the program annals ... UIndy extended its win streak to 10 while snapping FHSU's five-game streak ... McKeller's season total of 1,230 rushing yards is good for the third-highest number of school history ... The result also marked the UIndy football program's 400th victory.