The Miami Vandals were seven yards away from adding to their 21-20 lead to start the fourth quarter, but instead were stopped and then gave up 26 unanswered points in their season opener against the San Tan Charter Roadrunners at Ragus Field.

“We fell apart; that’s all there is to it,” said Miami head coach Brandon Powell. “I liked that we didn’t give up and we have to learn our roles and responsibilities on defense and we can get tougher on the offensive line.”

The Vandals fell to 0-1 in region play after the 46-21 loss.

Miami trailed 13-0 in the first quarter but was buoyed by a face mask penalty late in the first quarter to get into the Roadrunner red zone. Quarterback Daniel Gutierrez Jr. picked up 11 yards on a run to set up Jamie Pena for a touchdown run with 25 seconds left in the opening period.

San Tan Charter added to their lead with a  44-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Zayden Neill to Daniel Dippre. The Vandals were able to stop the PAT attempt but still trailed 20-6.

The Miami defense forced the Roadrunners to punt with two minutes left in the opening half, taking over on their own 38-yard line. Pena, along with multiple penalties, moved the Vandals deep into Roadrunner territory.

With 14 seconds left in the half, Gutierrez Jr. connected with Abram Castaneda for a 20-yard touchdown pass. A successful PAT had  the Vandals trailing by just seven headed into halftime.

With 6:00 left in the third quarter, Gutierrez Jr. found Castaneda again for a 38-yard gain to move into San Tan Charter territory. Larenz Combs and Pena took turns running the ball for the Vandals, eventually getting down to the 13-yard line.

Pena scored on a run  with 2:06 left in the third quarter and the Vandals capitalized on a two-point conversion to take a 21-20 lead.

Kris McDaniel came up with a huge fumble recovery with 26 seconds left in the third quarter, recovering on the Roadrunner 12-yard line. Pena picked up four yards just before the end of the third quarter, with momentum swinging in favor of Miami.

Gutierrez Jr. picked up a couple yards to get inside the 10-yard line but a bad snap on fourth and five doomed the Vandals, who turned the ball over with 10:29 left in the game.

The Roadrunners grabbed two interceptions they returned for touchdowns in the fourth quarter as they ripped off 26 points.

“We’re gonna watch some film and show them their mistakes but as soon as we button up some of the mistakes we are going to be a half-decent team,” said Powell.

The Vandals are back in action this Friday, hosting the Chandler Prep Titans with a 7 p.m. kickoff.