By MacKenzie Tuttle for Berryvikings.com

SEWANEE, Tenn. -- Sewanee defeated Berry College, 31-26, in a Southern Athletic Association game on Saturday. The Vikings rallied from a 28-7 lead to pull to 28-26 in the final period.

With the loss, the Vikings dropped to 2-7 overall and 1-5 in the SAA. The win improved the Tigers to 2-7 and 1-4.

Devante Jones ran for 187 yards on 22 carries and scored twice for the Tigers. For Berry, Chris Lilly had three receiving touchdowns. Sewanee led in total offense, 411-372 yards.

"We put ourselves in a hole early, but I was proud of the way we fought back," said Berry College Head Coach Tony Kunczewski. "For the third straight week, we gave ourselves a chance at the end of the game. We are a young program and are still looking for a way to win close games."

Down 31-26, Berry had the ball with 1:53 left. The Vikings picked up a first down before Dale Jackson threw an interception.

In the first quarter, BC tied Sewanee's early lead when Jackson connected with Lilly on a 33-yard pass for the touchdown. After Mitchell Blanchard's PAT, the score was tied 7-7.

With 2:59 left in the first quarter, however, Sewanee went ahead as Steven Hearn caught an 11-yard pass from Cody Daniel. The touchdown pushed the score to 14-7.

The Tigers then opened up the second quarter with two consecutive running touchdowns, pushing their lead to 28-7.

Berry, however, then regained a bit of momentum as Lilly caught his second touchdown pass of the day from Jackson. With Blanchard's extra point, the score was 28-17 going into halftime.

BC had the only points in the third quarter on Blanchard's 22-yard field goal--moving the score to 28-20.

Using their momentum from the third quarter, the Vikings opened the fourth quarter with Jackson's third touchdown pass to Lilly to bring the score to, 28-26. Looking to tie it up with a two-point conversion, Jackson tossed a pass that fell incomplete.

Sewanee then added to the lead with less than two minutes left to play. Callum Wishart made a 28-yard field goal to move the Tigers ahead, 31-26.

Jackson was 20-43 with 310 yards passing for three touchdowns in the loss.

Preston Stewart and Jackson Putnam both had 15 tackles for BC. Stewart collected 11 solo stops and had three tackles for Sewanee losses. 

The Vikings host NAIA Southeastern University (Fla.) next Saturday at 6 p.m. to close the 2014 season.