Jefferson got the Mammoths out of the hole with an 18-yard pass to tight end Ernst Brun. Then the home team required some magic from Thomas, the Sun Belt Conference’s all-time leader with 28 receiving touchdowns. He was with the Indianapolis Colts before getting released in late August.

“He made a catch, broke a tackle and … gone,” Buda said. “Real happy with the way it turned out.”

Playing in front of a crowd estimated at 1,500, Omaha wasn’t quite as sharp as in its 41-18 win over Boston in its FXFL debut the week before. Out of its 311 total yards, 66 came on the Thomas catch and 70 on a 17-play scoring drive to start the second half.

The Mammoths held the ball for 10:23 on that 17-play, 70-yard drive to go ahead 13-6 on quarterback Brock Jensen’s 1-yard run. Joe Clancy then completed 4 of 6 passes for 76 yards on the Blacktips’ following possession, including the 23-yard touchdown to Isaiah Voegeli that tied the game with 41 seconds left in the third quarter.

Clancy led the Blacktips back again after the Thomas touchdown. They pulled within 20-19 when Dominique Whaley scored on a fourth-and-goal run from the 1, before the failed PAT.

The Blacktips had the football one last time, but Cox intercepted a Clancy desperation heave as time expired.