Box Score
No. 2.3 Mary Hardin-Baylor 63, Hardin-Simmons 7
Abilene, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor football team scored in every facet of the game as the Cru rolled to a 63-7 victory over Hardin-Simmons University Saturday afternoon in Abilene. UMHB improves to 7-0 overall and 3-0 in American Southwest Conference play with the win. The loss drops the Cowboys to 3-4 overall and 2-2 in ASC play.
The Cru took a 7-0 lead on Zach Anderson's 42-yard touchdown run with 9:00 left in the first quarter and stretched it to a 14-0 on a nine-yard run from Anderson with 14:21 left in the second. Hardin-Simmons would score its only points on Josh Christian's 39-yard scoring pass to Bryce Johnson 4:11 later to cut it to 14-7, but UMHB answered with an 11-play, 67-yard drive capped by Elijah Hudson's nine-yard run with 1:12 remaining to take a 21-7 halftime lead.
Baylor Mullins intercepted a Christian pass and returned it 23 yards for a score to make it 28-7 UMHB, Jake Sims added a five-yard TD toss to Kamray Runnels and Caleb Moore scored on a seven-yard run as the Cru opened up a 42-7 lead at the end of the third quarter. Chris Wimby returned a punt 71 yards for a score, Moore chipped in a one-yard scoring run and Tim Bower blocked a punt, scooped it up and returned it 12-yards for the final score to make it 63-7.
Hudson finished with 122 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries as UMHB rushed for 294 yards in the game. Wimby finished with 142 yards on six punt returns and Hunter Schmidt had two receptions for 33 yards for the Cru. Mullins led the UMHB defense with nine tackles and the interception return for a score. Teidrick Smith added two sacks and an interception.
Christian finished 15-37 through the air for 147 yards and he was picked off three times. Tevin Mitchell entered the game as the leading rusher in the ASC but was held to just 38 yards on 23 carries. Jessie Ramos caught five passes for 32 yards for the Cowboys.
UMHB rolled up 294 rushing yards and 348 yards of total offense while dominating the field position battle. The Cowboys managed just 180 yards of total offense, with 20 of those coming on the ground. Both teams turned the ball over three times in the game.
The Cru has won 41 consecutive regular season games and 29 straight ASC contests. The team has also won 12 in a row against Hardin-Simmons. UMHB will now return home to host Howard Payne University in a 1:00 PM kickoff at Crusader Stadium next Saturday.
Box Score
Howard Payne 47, East Texas Baptist 36
BROWNWOOD, Texas – Howard Payne's Richard Young threw for 372 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Yellow Jackets to a 47-36 conference victory over East Texas Baptist University Saturday afternoon at Gordon Wood Stadium.
The Yellow Jackets would score three touchdowns in the second quarter and three in the third quarter to open up a 44-20 lead going into the final quarter of action.
After a 30 minute lightning delay midway through the fourth, ETBU made a strong comeback scoring on a 45-yard pass with 6:11 left to play, two point conversion was good. The Tigers then recovered an onside kick and scored on a 1-yard run with just 1:11 later. Another two point conversion by ETBU would bring then to within eight, 44-36, with five minutes to play.
On the next drive, HPU's Joshua Martinez would hit a 31-yard field goal to extend the Jackets lead to 47-36 with 2:18 remaining.
The Howard Payne defense then forced ETBU to turn over the ball on downs thanks to back to back sacks by freshman Patrick Hunt.
HPU's Richard Young was 31-for-41 for 372 yards and four touchdowns. Young also rushed for 65 yards on six carries with two touchdowns. Colby Mica had 12 catches for 120 yards and two touchdowns. Zarron Dove had 9 catches for 91 yards and a score. Dove also had 16 carries for 63 yards. Tristian Fuentes added two catches for 50 yards and a TD.
Jordan Shaw led the HPU defense with 10 tackles. Xavier McFalls and Adrian Hopkins each added nine tackles, Hopkins assisted on a sack.
HPU safety and punter Josh Eppler finished with eight tackles, one for loss, and three punts for 143 yards, a 47.7 average. Eppler had a long punt of 69 yards in the game.
ETBU's Josh Warbington was 36-for-51 passing for 418 yards and two TDs. Jamaine Sherman had 13 catches for 258 yards and two TDs.
Howard Payne is now 3-4 overall and 1-3 in ASC play, ETBU falls to 2-5 overall and 0-3 in conference action. The Jackets will travel to Belton, Texas to take on nationally ranked Mary Hardin-Baylor at 1:00 pm.
Box Score
Texas Lutheran 35, Mississippi College 32
CLINTON, Miss. – The Mississippi College football team had their three-game win streak snapped on "Homecoming" with a 35-32 loss to Texas Lutheran on Saturday afternoon at Robinson-Hale Stadium.
The Choctaws (3-4) made a valiant effort down the stretch when junior Jonathon Redd scrambled in from 19 yards out and converted a two-point conversion to cut the Bulldogs' (6-0) lead to three points with just 4:04 remaining.
On the next possession, the MC defense forced a 4th-and-1 with 2:22 remaining at the TLU 37-yard line, but Drake Dowling got the first down on a 21-yard fake-punt run to clinch the victory. The Bulldogs eventually punted, but MC had just 11 seconds remaining and TLU intercepted a last-gasp effort.
The Choctaws outgained the Bulldogs, 428-373, and held the ball for nearly five more minutes, but three turnovers proved costly to MC's effort to win their fourth straight game.
On MC's opening drive, Adam McGuire intercepted his third pass of the year and set up a one-yard touchdown run from quarterback Brent Peavy to give the Bulldogs a 7-0 lead. TLU went 61 yards on eight plays in 2:09.
On the next possession, Dowling picked up a Choctaw fumble and returned it 86 yards for a touchdown to push TLU's lead to 14-0 with 6:48 remaining in the first quarter.
The Choctaws got on the board early in the second quarter when Redd ran in from two yards out to cut the Bulldog lead to 14-7. The score was set up by a 45-yard completion from Redd to junior Jaime Harris that put the ball on the two-yard line.
For the game, Redd had another outstanding effort with 289 total yards and three scores. He threw for 230 yards and a touchdown, while rushing for 59 yards and the two scores.
The Bulldogs would answer on the ensuing drive when Brent Peavy found Lewis Williams II for a 55-yard touchdown pass and push the lead to 21-7. Williams led TLU with five catches for 106 yards and the score.
The Choctaws would not back down on their next possession, going 74 yards on 12 plays and eating up 4:28 to score a touchdown on a nine-yard pass from sophomore Stacey Dillard to senior Alex Archer.
The score would remain 21-14 going into halftime, but the Bulldogs wasted no time pushing the lead back out to two scores with a touchdown on their opening possession. Marquis Barrolle rushed in from eight yards out to cap a 60-yard drive.
Junior Hunter Estess nailed a 32-yard field goal on MC's next possession to cut the TLU lead to 28-17 with 6:08 remaining in the third quarter.
The Choctaw defense forced a punt on the next possession, but TLU fumbled the deep snap and MC recovered on the Bulldog 49-yard line. The Choctaws took advantage by marching down for a touchdown on a 25-yard touchdown pass from Redd to junior Mike Johnson.
On the day, Johnson had 58 rushing yards on 17 carries and caught three passes for 51 yards and the score the cut the Bulldog lead to 28-24 with 3:37 left in the third quarter.
The two teams traded punts, but the Bulldogs would push the lead out to 35-24 with 10:59 remaining in the game when Barrolle scored a 48-yard touchdown, capping off a five-play, 87-yard drive. Barrolle rushed for 128 yards on 17 carries with two touchdowns.
The Choctaws would cut the lead to 35-23 with 4:04 remaining on Redd's 19-yard run, but the Bulldogs' fake punt finished the game and kept TLU perfect on the season at 6-0.
Freshman Dossie Rivers was the leading receiver for MC with five catches for 62 yards.
Freshman Reginald Bennett led MC with 12 tackles, including 11 solo stops. Junior Jake Weddle had 10 tackles, including 1.5 for loss and one sack. Senior Doc Ward had two sacks to go along with his six tackles in the game.
Ty Johnson led Texas Lutheran with 10 tackles, while Bryan Doolittle had seven tackles with three for a loss and two sacks.
The Choctaws will get back on the road next weekend when they travel to Marshall, Texas to face East Texas Baptist at 2:00 p.m.
Box Score
Louisiana College 61, Sul Ross State 14
PINEVILLE, La. - In their 45-34 loss at Mary Hardin-Baylor the week before, the Louisiana College Wildcats showed they have the potential to be as good as any Division III team in the country.
Saturday, the Wildcats (5-2/3-1 in the American Southwest Conference) made another strong appeal toward that fact as they dominated in almost every way a struggling Sul Ross State University team on their way to a 61-14 homecoming victory before 4, 635 fans at Wildcat Stadium.
For a second straight game, freshman quarterback Easton Melancon passed for four touchdowns, and the Wildcats defense was at times suffocating as they prevented the Lobos (0-7/0-3) from getting into any kind of offensive flow.
"We limited the big play, played fast, and we didn't miss any tackles this week," said junior linebacker Beau Brewer, who led LC with 11 tackles. "We also played better together. There was no miscommunication and no missed assignments this game."
The Wildcat defense did give up 300 yards, but that total was somewhat deceptive as Sul Ross never mounted any kind of serious threat while the game was in doubt in the first half, and more importantly, the defense handed the LC offense tremendous field position nearly every possession of that half as the Wildcats built a 35-7 lead.
Leading the LC offense once again was Melancon. With Sul Ross stacking the box in an effort to contain Wildcats running back, Ryan Montague, Melancon, mostly off play action fakes, connected for his four touchdown passes and all but 37 of his 216 yards passing in the first half.
"They blitzed from all over, and their defense was really fast," Melancon said. "But, in the end, our O-line did a great job, they gave me plenty of time, and we made the plays."
Two of those touchdowns went to junior tight end Josh Edwards. The transfer from Tulane has struggled at times to adapt to the LC offense, but on this day, Melancon connected with Edwards on the game's first touchdown, a three-yard pass to make the score 7-0, and LC's third score, an 18-yard pass play that made the score 21-0 with 8:18 left in the second quarter.
"It was tough when I first got here, getting the signals from the sideline," Edwards said. "Now they sit down with me and go over the plays with me, and it's coming to me now. It's clicking."
Melancon's other two touchdown passes both went to another freshman, Shedrick Davis. The first was a five-yard pass with 7:49 in the first quarter and the other an eight-yard strike with just 31 seconds left in the first half to give LC the 35-7 margin at the break.
LC's fourth touchdown of the half was perhaps the most impressive. Junior Ira Jewitt, who had returned a kickoff, an interception and a fumble previously in his career at LC, finally added a punt return to his resume – a 68-yard return with seven minutes left in the half – that was greatly helped by a crushing block by sophomore Johnny Dixon on the Lobos' Terrance Willie. For LC, it was the first punt return for a touchdown since Jordan Rideaux's in 2009 against Sul Ross.
"I felt it, and I saw it out of the corner of my eye," Jewitt said of Dixon's block. "Kinda like last year when (Brandon) Porter hit the guy from Mississippi College. I mostly heard it, and I hit the sideline when I did."
As the third quarter got underway, the LC defense made its presence felt again. When Lobos' quarterback Derrick Bernard tried to scramble out of a botched snap by running into his own end zone, Brewer was able to run him down for a safety. The two points gave LC the 37-7 edge.
"We played a simpler defense today, and let one man make the calls and the checks," Brewer said.
The Wildcats added to their lead with two more third quarter scores. Junior kicker Adan Olivares, who set the all-time field goal record at LC the week before, upped his career total with a 39-yard kick. With Montague getting a breather the rest of the game, fellow senior Reggie Sims capped a three-play 15-yard drive set up by a Ty Carter fumble recovery with a five-yard touchdown run. LC led 47-7 at that point. Sims finished as LC's leading rusher on the day – 52 yards on 12 carries while Montague had by far his lowest out put of the season – just 10 yards on six carries.
As the game continued into the fourth quarter, the LC coaches got to see a number of players who normally serve in reserve roles get their opportunity to shine. One of those was freshman quarterback Lecorey Demease who picked off a Bernard pass at the LC three-yard line and returned it 97 yards for a touchdown to make the score 54-14.
The Wildcats' final score came with 1:30 left in the game when sophomore Matt Bridges – getting his first chance to play quarterback in a varsity game at LC – connected with freshman Chanz Moore for an 18-yard strike that would make the final 61-14.
"I was probably more excited than Matt," Melancon said. "Matt works hard every day in practice, and when he told me he was going in, I was just praying that he would get one."
LC's leading receiver was sophomore Ladarius Gardner who finished with 50 yards on four catches.
For LC, the win proved to just what they needed heading in another huge road game next week. The Wildcats will travel to Seguin, Texas next Saturday, November 2 for a 1 p.m. matchup with Texas Lutheran.
The Bulldogs ran their season record to 6-0 Saturday with a 35-32 win at Mississippi College. The game will also be a rematch from 2012 when the Wildcats rallied for a thrilling, come-from-behind 44-37 win in overtime to stun the upset-minded Bulldogs. This year, a potential playoff berth could be on the line for both teams.
"We really needed this win coming off a heartbreaking loss," Jewitt said. "It's really good having this win going into next week."