Despite a strong fourth quarter rally, the football team couldn’t finish its comeback, dropping the season opener in AT&T Stadium to Tarleton State University 27-24.

The team led in points until a third quarter touchdown pass put Tarleton up 14-10.

Head coach Bill Maskill said his team looked shook up after losing its lead.

“It looked like they had seen a ghost,” Maskill said.

From there, Tarleton extended its lead with a 42-yard rushing touchdown from Jerome Regal, putting Midwestern State down 27-10.

Maskill said the team struggled on the ground against Tarleton’s strong defense.

“They did a good job stopping our run,” Maskill said. “We probably should have started throwing the ball a little bit earlier.”

The team nearly clinched the comeback with two touchdown passes from Jake Glover after Maskill substituted him in for Shavodrick Beaver in the third quarter.

“It was just too little too late,” Maskill said. “We were struggling with Beaver. We needed a jump start. I could have (substituted him) sooner, honestly.”

Maskill said the team battled hard and now they just need to look forward to their next game against West Georgia on Sept. 21.

“We need to regroup, recover and get ready to play next week,” Maskill said. “This isn’t going to be the end of the season for us.”