Mary Hardin-Baylor and Mississippi College became the only two teams in the American Southwest Conference without a league loss, while McMurry broke a 17-game losing streak and Howard Payne improved to 3-1 on a Saturday (Oct. 3) that featured only conference games.

Nationally-ranked Mary Hardin-Baylor (4-0, 3-0 ASC) used 327 rushing yards – led by LiDarral Bailey’s 151 and Quincy Daniels’s 145 – and held Hardin-Simmons (1-4, 0-3 ASC) to just 235 yards of offense in a 23-7 win in Abilene, Texas. It was the Cru’s eighth straight win against the Cowboys, including the NCAA playoffs. HSU lost its fourth straight game. Javicz Jones had 13 tackles for UMHB, while Shelton Rainey had 11 for the Cowboys. Alan Munoz hit a 51-yard field goal for UMHB which was the longest in the ASC this season.

Mississippi College (4-1, 3-0 ASC) rolled up 491 yards of offense and came out on top in a 54-44 shootout with Louisiana College (2-2, 1-1 ASC) in Pineville, La. Quarterback Adam Shaffer accounted for five touchdowns – with three coming through the air to different receivers – and Steven Knight ran for 126 yards to lead the Choctaws’ efforts. LC quarterback Ben McLaughlin threw for five scores, while Jordan Rideaux returned a kickoff 97 yards for a TD and also caught nine balls for 142 yards and a score. LC’s only lead was 24-23 and it came on a 42-yard John Michiels field goal as time ran off the clock for halftime. MC’s Brannon Walls nailed a 50-yard field goal in the first half.

McMurry (1-4, 1-2 ASC) broke open a tied game at halftime and went on to record a 45-21 victory over visiting East Texas Baptist (2-3, 2-1 ASC) in Abilene, Texas. Not only did head coach Hal Mumme record his first win at McMurry, but he helped it defeat ETBU for the first time since the two squads started playing ASC games in 2000. McMurry also hadn’t won a conference game since October 13, 2007. Jake Mullin passed for four touchdowns – two to Marcus Franklin – and rushed for another, while Nick Hernandez had nine tackles and a sack to pace a McMurry defense that shut out the Tigers after halftime. Delfonte Diamond also caught seven balls for 102 yards and a score to help McMurry. Sed Harris ran for a score and passed for another to lead ETBU.

Howard Payne (3-1, 1-1 ASC) made a big statement in the first half by putting up 42 points and forced seven turnovers overall in a 45-23 road win over Texas Lutheran (0-4, 0-3 ASC). Zach Hubbard threw for 307 yards and four touchdowns – two of which went to Edward Cody. Tre Mason had 113 yards receiving with a TD to also fuel the Yellow Jackets’ attack. Eric Bunch forced a fumble and picked off two passes to lead HPU’s defensive unit that shut out the Bulldogs the entire second half. Steven Thrash caught eight balls for 109 yards and a score for TLU. The game was delayed by lightning for 55 minutes in the second half.

Sul Ross State (1-3, 1-1 ASC) was the only league team idle. Next week, four more conference games are on the slate, with only MC being idle.