The Southland football team converted a big play in the late minutes to beat Houston (0-1 overall) 9-8 in Houston Friday.

The Rebels took the lead for good when Ethan Forthun hit a field goal with 1:15 left in the game after Houston had fumbled.

“That was a huge win for our program,” Southland head coach Shawn Kennedy said. “They’re big and they’re super athletic. They bring the house. We had many missed opportunities and that really hurt us. It was good to win our first game.”

Nick Boe ran for 99 yards and a TD for the Rebels (1-0 overall) and Brendan Kennedy ran for 40 yards.