ARCATA — Better late than never, Humboldt State found its offensive form in the fourth quarter, then kept it rolling through three overtime possessions to claim a come-from-behind 30-22 win over Dixie State in college football action Saturday.

The victory improved Humboldt State's record to 2-3 overall heading into Saturday's game against Western Oregon while Dixie State fell to 2-4.

"It was probably fun to watch from the stands, but not so much fun from the sidelines," a relieved Humboldt State head coach Doug Adkins said. "The biggest thing this team needed was some confidence, and that's what this win will provide."

Humboldt State needed only one play to score in the first overtime possession, as quarterback Brian Hildebrand delivered a 25-yard pass over the middle to tight end Travis Gibb for the touchdown. An errant snap accounted for the missed PAT kick, giving the Jacks a six-point lead at 22-16.

WIth the ball placed on the 25-yard-line for its first overtime opportunity, DIxie benefited from a pass interference call on the Lumberjacks to move the ball to the two yard line. Twice stopped short by the Jacks, the Rebels finally scored when Skyler Ence completed a four-yard TD strike to Scott Stevenson, but Dixie suffered the same fate with a bad snap negating the PAT.

Tied at 24-24, both teams failed on their second overtime possessions, Keon Gaither intercepting Ence's pass in the endzone to stop Dixie and Cole Hall doing likewise on a Hildebrand pass to cut off the Lumberjacks. That set up the third OT possession battle, with only two-point conversions allowed by rule.

The Jacks cracked through on their chance, moving the ball on three short runs by Cox and a 15-yard completion from Hildebrand to Perkins. Hildebrand finished the drive with a five-yard scramble into the endzone, and then connected with Edwin Henry on the PAT pass for a 30-22 lead.

Dixie's final possession was short-lived, ending after only two plays. Ence's first pass attempt fell incomplete and his second was intercepted by Gaither in the endzone again, sealing the victory after three and a half hours on the field.

Trailing 16-0 heading into the final period of their home-opener, the Lumberjacks rallied behind Hildebrand, Cox and Perkins. A 58-yard completion down the middle of the field from Hildenbrand to Perkins set up the Jack's first touchdown, which Cox earned with runs of 12, 10 and then one yard for the score.

Hildebrand found Edwin Henry in the flat for the successful two-point PAT, cutting Dixie's lead to 16-8 with 11 minutes, 10 seconds remaining in regulation.

Gaither's came up big on Dixie's third possession of the fourth quarter, picking off Ence's pass down the middle and returning it 25 yards all the way to the Dixie 1-yard line. But an illegal block on the play moved the Jacks back to the 25-yard line to begin their game-tying drive.

HSU moved backward first, losing 13 yards on a fumbled snap out of the shotgun formation, but Hildebrand found Henry for a 23-yard hookup down to the Dixie 15. Another illegal block lost 10 more yards for the Jacks before a 19-yard completion from Hildebrand to Perkins put the ball on the six. Cox again took over, scoring on a 9-yard run to cut the lead to two points.

The Lumberjacks finally tied the game when Perkins leaped to grab Hildebrand's two-point conversion pass, landing on his toes just inside the endzone with 3:13 left in regulation.

 "In the fourth quarter HIldebrand really gave us a spark," Adkins said. "That enabled the receivers to get themselves going. They finally got some separation from the DBs and Brian found them."

The loss spoiled an impressive performance by Dixie State running back Adam Wells, who rushed for 226 yards on 39 carries. On the other side of the ball, Cox produced the Jacks' best rushing effort of the year, carrying the ball 31 time sfor 150 yards and scoring two touchdowns.

Searching for offensive production in the first half, the Lumberjack coaching staff tried all three quarterbacks, with starter Garrett Hubrich taking most of the snaps. But all struggled to direct an effective drive, leaving the Jacks on the short end of a 13-0 score at the break.

Dixie earned its yards in a variety of fashions, aided by good field position set up by two Lumberjack turnovers. Zach Manning finished off an 8-play, 41-yard drive with the game's first points when he connected on a 18-yard field goal four seconds into the second quarter.

The Rebels also scored on Ence's one-yard run to cap a nine-play, 63-yard drive in the second quarter, then squeezed in Manning's 32-yard field goal just before the break. Humboldt State's defense held solid in the redzone, allowing only Manning's 27-yard field goal in the second half.