MARS HILL – Mars Hill needed a late comeback, a 52-yard field goal, a defensive stand at the end of regulation and four overtimes Saturday afternoon.
In the end, the Lions remained unbeaten.
Lukas Kachilo connected with Rayvon Durant on the decisive two-point conversion in the fourth overtime as No. 21 Mars Hill outlasted Tusculum 42-40 at Meares Stadium, improving to 5-0 overall and 4-0 in South Atlantic Conference play.
The victory left Mars Hill alone atop the SAC standings, but getting there required the Lions to erase a 31-21 deficit in the final 3:09 of regulation.
Kachilo started the comeback with a 61-yard touchdown pass to Greyson Council, cutting Tusculum's lead to 31-28. After the Mars Hill defense got the ball back, Matthias Newsome drilled a 52-yard field goal with 1:12 remaining to tie the game at 31.
Tusculum still had an opportunity to win in regulation.
The Pioneers moved to the Mars Hill 36 before quarterback Tedros Gleaton took a shot at the end zone. Ashton Hagans had a chance at the catch, but Jah'Mere La'Sane broke up the pass and sent the game to overtime.
That was when an already dramatic finish became chaotic.
Mars Hill got the ball first in overtime, and after two incompletions Kachilo found Brayden Marvel for a 25-yard touchdown. Newsome's extra point put the Lions ahead 38-31.
Tusculum answered immediately, scoring on its first play when Gleaton connected with Cam Ferguson for a 25-yard touchdown. The Pioneers then elected to go for two and appeared to have won when Gleaton found Brady Rinkus in the end zone.
An offensive pass interference penalty erased the conversion.
Backed up by the penalty, Tusculum settled for Max Turan's extra point and a 38-38 tie.
Neither team scored in the second overtime. Mars Hill stopped Gleaton inches short on fourth-and-two, giving the Lions an opportunity to win with any score. The Lions moved to the Tusculum 18, but Newsome's field-goal attempt went wide right.
Under the NCAA overtime format, the teams moved to alternating two-point attempts from there.
Kachilo found Jaden Watkins to give Mars Hill a 40-38 advantage in the third overtime. Tusculum answered on a broken play, with Gleaton recovering his own fumble before finding Zion Job in the end zone to extend the game.
In the fourth overtime, the Mars Hill defense finally created the opening it needed. Gleaton's pass fell incomplete on Tusculum's attempt.
Kachilo then ended it, finding Durant for the winning conversion and setting off a celebration for an unbeaten Mars Hill team that had been three minutes from its first loss.
The dramatic finish capped a big afternoon for Kachilo, who completed 23 of 44 passes for 324 yards and four touchdowns. He was intercepted once and sacked four times, but delivered when Mars Hill needed him most.
The Lions needed that production on an afternoon when Tusculum did something few opponents had managed against the Mars Hill defense.
The Pioneers accumulated 478 yards, including 285 on the ground, against a Lions unit that entered the afternoon allowing just 7.3 points per game and had not surrendered a rushing touchdown this season. Gleaton accounted for 299 yards of offense and four touchdowns, while Javon McMahan rushed for 123 yards.
Tusculum also controlled the football for nearly 40 minutes and forced three Mars Hill turnovers. The Pioneers finished with 21 first downs to Mars Hill's 17, while the Lions converted 7-of-15 third-down opportunities.
But Mars Hill made the plays it needed when the game was on the line.
Jamarion Farrior led the defense with 14 tackles, including two for loss, and recovered a fumble. La'Sane's breakup kept the Lions alive at the end of regulation. Newsome's 52-yarder got them to overtime.
And after nearly everything that could happen in overtime did, Kachilo and Durant finished it.
Mars Hill left Meares Stadium 5-0, alone atop the SAC and still unbeaten, by the narrowest of margins.
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