Box Score
Mississippi College 41, Howard Payne 38
CLINTON, Miss. — The Mississippi College football team gained a season-high 542 total yards in a 41-38 victory over Howard Payne on Saturday afternoon at Robinson-Hale Stadium.
It was the third straight win for the Choctaws (3-3, 3-0 ASC), giving them their longest win streak since a three-game run in 2009 when MC won the American Southwest Conference championship. MC currently sits atop the ASC standings with their perfect mark, putting them one-half game ahead of #2/3 Mary Hardin-Baylor.
The Choctaws had a 41-24 advantage over the Yellow Jackets (2-4, 0-3 ASC) with just three minutes remaining, but HPU went on a run, scoring 14 points over the next 1:35. Senior Austin Gray recovered the second of two onside kicks, and the Choctaws ran out the clock to clinch the victory.
Junior quarterback Jonathon Redd accounted for four touchdowns for the second straight week, running for three and throwing for another. He opened the scoring with a nine-yard run on the opening drive, capping a nine-play, 50 yard drive that took just over four minutes.
The Choctaws held onto the ball for over 36 minutes, giving them nearly 14 more minutes of possession than the Yellow Jackets. MC had the ball for nearly 20 of the 30 minutes in the first half and held onto the ball for nearly 10 minutes in the fourth quarter.
Redd gave the Choctaws a 14-0 lead with a 16-yard run from Redd in the first quarter. On the day, he carried the ball eight times for 29 yards and the three scores to go along with 295 passing yards and a score.
Sophomore Hunter Estess pushed the MC lead to 17-0 with just 1:45 remaining in the first half. Estess was 2-for-3 on field goals for the second straight week.
The Jackets got on the board before halftime, taking the ball 63 yards in just 52 seconds, capped off by a 3-yard run from Zarron Dove. He rushed the ball 10 times for 54 yards and the touchdown.
On the ensuing kick-off, senior Dylan Kilbert picked up a squib kick and carried it back into Howard Payne territory, setting Estess up for a 23-yard field goal to close out the half with MC taking a 20-7 lead.
The Yellow Jackets opened the second half with a bang as Richard Young found Joshua Kennedy for a 49-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 20-14. Young threw for 319 yards and two scores to go along with 112 rushing yards and a score.
Joshua Martinez nailed a 26-yard field goal on the next HPU drive and cut the MC lead to 20-17 with 8:03 remaining in the third quarter.
The Choctaws answered right back when Redd found junior Jaime Harris for a 56-yard touchdown pass, pushing the lead back to 27-17. Harris caught two passes for 66 yards and the score, while seniors Randall Pharr and Alex Archer combined for 168 receiving yards on 12 catches.
The Jackets came back themselves with a four-play, 69-yard drive, capped off by an 8-yard run from Chase Burns to bring the lead back down to 27-24.
As the fourth quarter opened, MC still clung to the three-point lead, but Redd pushed the advantage out to 34-24 with his third rushing touchdown of the game, a three-yard run set up by an interception from freshman Mario Pun.
Pun wasn't done picking off passes on the afternoon as he anticipated an out-route perfectly on the next HPU drive and took the interception back 41 yards for a touchdown to give MC a 41-24 lead.
The Jackets made a game of it down the stretch, but the Choctaws held on for their third straight victory of the season.
The Choctaws rushed for a season-high 247 yards and stayed balanced with 266 yards through the air. Howard Payne put up 531 yards of offense, led by their 319 yards passing.
Junior Jake Weddle led the MC defense with nine tackles, narrowly missing out on a fourth straight week of double-digit tackles. Freshman Reginald Bennett and Austin Gray each had tackles, while Gray recorded a fumble recovery.
Maurice Young led the HPU defense with 11 tackles, two tackles for loss and an interception.
The Choctaws will celebrate "Homecoming" next Saturday when they welcome in former ASC rival Texas Lutheran to Robinson-Hale Stadium for a 3:00 p.m. kick off.
Box Score
No. 2/3 Mary Hardin-Baylor 45, Louisiana College 34
BELTON, Texas — The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor football team overcame an early deficit with 28 straight points and then the Cru held off a late Louisiana College comeback in a 45-34 victory over the Wildcats Saturday afternoon in Belton. UMHB improves to 6-0 overall and 2-0 in American Southwest Conference play with the victory. The loss drops Louisiana College to 4-2 overall and 2-1 in the ASC on the year.
LC built a 10-0 lead on Adan Olivares' 25-yard field goal and Easton Melancon's 69-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Montague. UMHB would answer with Zach Anderson's 66-yard scoring strike to Marcus Wimby and Anderson's nine-yard TD run to take a 14-10 lead at the end of the first quarter. Cody Jones intercepted a pass and returned it 46 yards for a touchdown on the first play of the second quarter and Elijah Hudson added a four-yard scoring run to give the Cru a 28-10 edge. Melancon hit Montague with a 34-yard TD pass with 4:36 left in the half to cut it to 28-17 at the break.
Olivares added a 44-yard field goal early in the third quarter to cut it to 28-20. Hudson would score on a 10-yard run, but Melancon found Kyle Galyon with a 23-yard touchdown toss and Galyon made a spectacular one-handed grab to make it 35-27 UMHB. Drew Owen's 38-yard field goal gave the Cru a 38-27 lead and Anderson hit Eric Nelson with a 37-yard scoring strike to stretch it to 45-27. Melancon closed out the scoring with a 32-yard touchdown pass to Jake Dunbar with 6:05 remaining.
Anderson finished 22-of-31 passing for UMHB, setting a new school record with 359 passing yards, breaking the previous mark of 333 set by LiDarral Bailey against Sul Ross State last season. Wimby caught five passes for 109 yards and a TD and Hudson finished with 20 rushes for 84 yards and two scores. Broderick Crain led the UMHB defense with 13 tackles and Deshon Kinsey added 12 more.
Melancon was 28-of-62 for 419 yards and four touchdowns for the Wildcats. Montague ran for 104 yards on 23 carries and added five catches for 135 yards and two scores. Galyon caught ten passes for 93 yards and Ladarius Gardner added five grabs for 111 yards. Shaq Lewis and Dominic Graham led the LC defense with seven tackles apiece.
The Cru rolled up 540 yards of total offense with a school-record 359 of those coming through the air. UMHB turned the ball over four times and was penalized nine times for 99 yards. Louisiana College recorded 409 passing yards and 476 yards of total offense. The Wildcats finished with two turnovers and four penalties for 45 yards.
UMHB stretched its regular season winning streak to 40 straight victories. The Cru has also won 28 straight ASC contests and 61 of its last 62 league games.
UMHB will return to action with its first road game in a month next Saturday. The Cru will travel to Abilene to face Hardin-Simmons University for a 1:00 PM kickoff. UMHB leads the all-time series between the two teams 13-5.
Box Score
Hardin-Simmons 55, East Texas Baptist 17
MARSHALL, Texas — Hardin-Simmons’ football team limited East Texas Baptist to a season-low 252 yards and HSU rolled to a 55-17 win in American Southwest Conference action on Saturday night at Ornelas Stadium in Marshall.
The Cowboy defense forced a three-and-out on the first possession of the game and HSU went 48 yards in five plays to take a 7-0 lead. Tevin Mitchell capped the drive with a 17-yard touchdown run.
ETBU received a 41-yard kickoff and took advantage of the short field with a 52-yard drive for a touchdown. Toi Glover capped the drive with a seven-yard touchdown run. HSU took a 14-7 lead with 1:16 to play in the first quarter on a Mitchell 5-yard touchdown run. That drive was setup by a failed fake punt.
On the ensuing possession, ETBU fumbled and Josh Christian hit Jessie Ramos for a 26-yard touchdown two plays later with .42 to play in the first quarter.
ETBU kicked a 47-yard field goal by Cory McNeil on the next possession. It would be the Tigers last points until a Jamaine Sherman eight-yard touchdown with 2:22 to play.
JW Barnes later blocked an ETBU punt to setup up a short drive that led to a Colton Brewer 26-yard touchdown pass from Christian. Right before halftime Christian scored on a 3-yard run to make the score 34-10 at halftime.
Mitchell scored his third touchdown of the game in the third quarter on a 2-yard touchdown run to cap a six play 63-yard drive. Tyler Ryan intercepted a pass for the Cowboys and Christian hit Jimmie Simpson on the next play from 42 yards out.
Darren Seamster had a huge night for the Cowboys in his first start of the season. He had 11 tackles, 3.5 for loss and two sacks. Ryan Lewis had nine tackles.
Mitchell ran for 145 yards and three touchdowns. Josh Christian was 21-of-40 for 287 yards and three TDs.
HSU is now 3-3 on the year and 2-1 in American Southwest Conference action. ETBU fell to 2-4 overall and 0-2 in ASC action. HSU hosts Mary Hardin-Baylor next weekend. The winner of the HSU-UMHB game has claimed at least a share of every ASC title since 1998.
Box Score
Texas Lutheran 41, Sul Ross State 16
ALPINE, Texas — In a game of big plays, visiting Texas Lutheran made the most of their opportunities and defeated Sul Ross State University, 41-16, in a non-conference game at Jackson Field Saturday afternoon.
The Bulldogs, took a 14-0 lead midway through the first quarter on a pair of scoring passes from senior quarterback Brent Peavy to junior receiver Lewis Williams. The second score was a 50-yard pass on the first play of a drive after the Lobos turned the ball over on downs at midfield.
Sul Ross State came back, driving 61 yards in 10 plays to a first and goal at the TLU two yard line. But a pair of incompletions and a sack by Bulldog senior linebacker Bradley Snowdon forced a 27-yard field goal by sophomore John Jorgensen (Gordon, Texas/Gordon HS) that put Sul Ross State on the board.
The Lobos held TLU on downs on their next series, and scored on a big play of their own. Erstwhile starting quarterback Derrick Bernard (Texas City, Texas/Texas City HS) ran 43 yards for a score to make it 14-9 on the first play of the second quarter. The PAT was blocked.
SRSU missed a chance to take the lead when senior defensive back Randall Carroll intercepted Peavy in his own end zone and raced 100 yards to score. However, the play was wiped out by offsetting penalties, and the Bulldogs were stopped at the Lobo six, where a field goal attempt failed due to a bad snap.
Peavy hit Williams with a 31-yard scoring pass with 4:55 left in the first half to put TLU ahead, 21-9. On the ensuing drive, junior running back Keyon Lee (Hawaiian Gardens, Calif./Fullerton College) returned the kickoff 20 yards to the Sul Ross 45, then took off on the first play and raced to the TLU 10 before he was hit by sophomore defensive back Ty Johnson and lost the ball, with Johnson recovering.
The Bulldogs hit the first big play of the third quarter when junior linebacker Adam McGuire picked off a Jeremy Boatright pass (Jr. Mesa, Arix./Mountain View HS) and returned it 59 yards for a touchdown 43 seconds after the second half began. After an exchange of punts, TLU widened their lead when Peavy connected with junior receiver Deion Barnes to put Texas Lutheran ahead, 35-9, with 8:44 left in the third quarter.
SRSU drove 70 yards in five plays to score late in the third quarter. Bernard accounted for the final 42 yards on three plays, scoring from four yards out with 2:29 left to make it 35-16.
Texas Lutheran took advantage of a short punt, driving 23 yards in three plays for their final score. Peavy scored on a keeper from 10 yards out with 5:34 remaining. The extra point failed.
"We had a great effort, and some great individual play, but sometimes, we make mistakes at the wrong time," said Sul Ross State Head Coach John Tyree. "We get 15 yard penalties at the wrong time, and we threw an interception for a touchdown right when we were coming back. If we make too many mistakes, it puts too much pressure on the defense."
TLU remained undefeated with their win. "This team hadn't lost a game, and their quarterback was very good," said Tyree. "Sometimes, we can be our own worst enemy. We have to sit back, analyze our mistakes, and try to keep them from happening."
Bernard gained 141 yards on 13 carries, while Lee rushed eight times for 109 yards for the Lobos. Boatright completed six of 17 passes for 52 yards. Peavy completed 25-of-45 passes for 374 yards and four scores for the Bulldogs. Williams caught 11 passes for 184 yards, and also returned three kickoffs for 71 yards. Sul Ross turned the ball over five times to just one for the Bulldogs.
Sophomore defensive back Shane Alexander (Brookshire, Texas/Blinn CC) led SRSU with 13 tackles, including 12 solo stops. He had one tackle for lost yardage and broke up five passes. Junior linebacker Damian Stevens (Eagle Lake, Texas/Blinn CC) had 12 stops, including six solos. He had two sacks, two tackles for lost yardage and broke up a pass.
Johnson led TLU with 12 tackles, including 10 solos. He also forced a fumble and recovered it. McGuire had two interceptions and returned them for a total of 65 yards.
Sul Ross State dropped to 0-6 with the defeat, while Texas Lutheran improved to 5-0 with the win. The Lobos will visit Louisiana College next Saturday afternoon, while the Bulldogs will visit Mississippi College.??