Austin MacGinnis gave credit analysis a shot.

It wasn’t for him.

Next up: a gig as a financial advisor at Salomon & Company in Lexington, Kentucky, where the former Wildcats place kicker was two weeks ago when he went to management with a request.

“I told ‘em, ‘Stop paying me. I’m going to take some time off,’” MacGinnis said Saturday.

It didn’t take long for his decision to bear fruit. Five days after signing with the Express, MacGinnis lifted the team to the first win in team history with four field goals, including the game-winning 46-yarder with less than 3 minutes to play against the San Diego Fleet that put Memphis up for good, 26-23.

His productivity, the four turnovers created by the Express defense and a clutch sequence led by Zach Mettenberger – making his first start in a Memphis uniform – sent the announced crowd of 13,621 at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium home happy.

Masterful MacGinnis

The Express signed MacGinnis to replace Josh Jasper, a Memphis native, who struggled to find consistency making three field goals in five attempts in the first three games this season.

“The consistency at that position is critical, especially in a game like this,” Express coach Mike Singletary said.

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MacGinnis was good from 46 yards twice (including his first try in the first quarter). He also drilled a 40-yarder and one from 35 yards out (both in the second quarter).

“I wanted to be playing in the NFL, but didn’t really get my shot,” MacGinnis said before admitting that kicking game-winning field goals is far more fun than studying for the Series 7 and Series 66 exams (which he passed). “This opportunity came up and I made the most of it. I just like to win. It felt good to get out there because the guys put so much work into it. To come through in the clutch for them was great.”

Opportunistic defense

Memphis came into Saturday’s game with a penchant for falling apart late in games.

More than 55 percent of the points the Express gave up and more than 40 percent of the yards they allowed came in the fourth quarter. Singletary said this week he has spent a considerable amount of time and energy preaching the importance of finishing games strong.

Mission accomplished versus the Fleet.

Memphis, which trailed 20-15 at halftime, allowed just 3 points and 22 yards of offense in the fourth quarter.

It was also clutch. Singletary’s defense created four turnovers overall but came away with two fumble recoveries in the fourth quarter. Special teams also came up big, stopping a fake punt on the San Diego half of the field and parlaying that into the game-winning field goal.

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“Our defense, starting with our defensive line, the guys have been playing their tails off,” Singletary said. “Our linebackers and DBs stepped up this week as well. We want to be a great defense. You can’t really call yourself a great defense until you answer the call in those situations.”

Drew Jackson led the way with 14 tackles, four for loss, a sack, an interception and four passes defended.

“We weren’t even worried about the offense, we were just finishing,” he said. “We just wanted to win. Oh-and-4 wasn’t gonna cut it. Turnovers will come when you finish the game. I feel like we were really focusing on keeping our energy up, keeping the offense in it. (Singletary) told us all week: Conditioning and finishing. You see the results, we pulled it off.”

Clutch Mettenberger

Starting in place of Christian Hackenberg, who was benched after two-and-a-half games worth of ineffectiveness, the former Tennessee Titan kept Memphis in the game.

He put together a workmanlike performance: 18-of-25 for 174 yards without an interception.

But it was a clutch touchdown pass to Terrance Magee, followed by a successful 2-point conversion sneak, that tied the game 23-23 with 6:08 left in the game that gave the Express a chance.

“That was a play we thought we’d get all week,” Mettenberger said referencing the touchdown pass. “We had designed it for (Zac Stacy), but he wasn’t in on that play. Terrance hadn’t run it all week, (but) he made a great play. I had no doubt he would make that catch. The 2-point … coach made a great play call right there and gave me an opportunity to score.”

The 27-year-old, believed to be the only quarterback in NFL history with at least 10 career starts and zero career wins, showed plenty of emotion after that sequence as well as the win.

“All I can say is we’re going to Graceland,” Mettenberger told reporters. “It’s definitely exciting to win. I mean, that was the first time I’ve won a game since 2013. So, I’m gonna be a little excited. Nothing better than winning.”

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