ABILENE – Setting up for a potential game-winning field goal attempt at the McMurry 18, a fumbled exchange on a handoff by Howard Payne was scooped up at the 23 and returned 77 yards for a touchdown by Jackson Harris with 9 seconds left as the War Hawks tallied a stunning 31-24 victory over the Yellow Jackets Saturday afternoon.

HPU (2-2), which suffered a second straight loss to a team seeking its first win of the year, trailed 24-17 at the start of the fourth period, but pulled even at 24 on a 24-yard touchdown run by Blessing Ngene with 12:39 remaining.

McMurry (1-3) responded with a lengthy 16-play, 61-yard drive that stalled at the HPU 4, then a low snap on a 21-yard field goal attempt allowed the Yellow Jackets to keep the score tied as they took possession on their own 28.

Howard Payne then traveled 54 yards in 11 plays and chewed 6:17 off the clock, as it advanced the ball inside the red zone and was looking to run the clock down to near zero before trying a winning field goal attempt – until the fumble occurred.

The Yellow Jackets finished with 456 yards of total offense – 294 rushing and 162 rushing – with a pair of turnovers. The War Hawks gained 315 yards – 280 through the air and 35 on the ground – also with two turnovers.

Ngene rushed for 143 yards and a touchdown for Howard Payne, followed by Andon Mata with 58 yards, JD Mays with 44 and Elijah Cobos with a 30-yard carry.

Mata completed 11 of 18 passes for 129 yards with a touchdown and Glendon Casas-Willis was 2 of 7 for 33 yards, also with a scoring toss.

Ellis Myers caught four passes for 82 yards and a touchdown, Mateo Hernandez added four grabs for 43 yards and Chance Hehman grabbed two receptions for 18 yards with a trip to the end zone.

Defensively, Ryan Campbell led HPU with eight tackles followed by five from Justin Griffith and four each from Cade Rochinski, Kadarius Carr and Derrick Lewis. Carr and Chris Nuamah intercepted passes for the Jackets.

For the War Hawks, Dylan Plake completed 21 of 39 passes for 230 yards, Thomas Chandler caught eight passes for 166 yards with three touchdowns, and Corey Layne rushed for 27 yards.

McMurry scored the first points of the game just 4:37 into the contest as Plake completed a 53-yard touchdown pass to Chandler for a 7-0 War Hawk lead.

Howard Payne answered at the 12:41 mark of the second period as Mata connected with Myers for a 37-yard scoring toss on fourth-and-10, which evened the score at 7.

The Yellow Jackets then grabbed a 14-7 advantage with 9:58 left in the first half as Casas-Willis found Hehman for a 9-yard touchdown pass.

The War Hawks responded at the 2:26 mark of the second period on another 53-yard connection between Plake and Chandler, as McMurry pulled even at 14.

With 5 seconds left before halftime, Osvaldo Gomez booted a 38-yard field goal attempt to push Howard Payne in front, 17-14 at the break.

McMurry regained a 21-17 edge when Nyles Hullaby hurled a 14-yard scoring toss to Chandler, as the War Hawks surged ahead just 4:39 into the second half.

The War Hawks’ lead grew to 24-17 at the 6:36 mark of the third quarter on a 39-yard field goal from Jax Rodriguez.

The Yellow Jackets open American Southwest Conference action at No. 7 Hardin-Simmons (3-0), which had a bye Saturday, at 1 p.m. next Saturday, Oct. 4.