Box Score
 
LOUISIANA COLLEGE 42, HOWARD PAYNE 39
BROWNWOOD, Texas -- Despite holding a 35-10 lead with just under seven minutes remaining in the third quarter, Saturday's game against Howard Payne came down to the last play of the game for the Louisiana College, as a Joshua Martinez 47 yard game-tying field goal fell just short, giving the Wildcats a 42-39 win in their American Southwest Conference opener.
 
When LC senior running back Ryan Montague scored from one yard out with eight minutes left in the third quarter and was able to score again from three yards out just over a minute later after a Howard Payne fumble, it appeared as though the Wildcats, leading 35-10, were well on their way to cruising to a big ASC road win over a confident Yellow Jacket team. 
 
However, an outstanding 21 play, 79-yard drive by HPU drew the closer at 35-17. Back-to-back self-inflicted wounds by the Wildcats would then put the Yellow Jackets within a field goal.
 
On LC's ensuing drive, freshman quarterback Easton Melancon was intercepted by HPU's Josh Eppler, setting up a 10 yard touchdown pass from Richard Young to Colby Mica. A successful two-point conversion made the score 35-25.
 
Ira Jewitt, LC's star return man, then fumbled the ensuing the kickoff to set up another HPU touchdown, this one coming on another touchdown pass from Young, this one a four yarder to Zarron Dove to bring the Yellow Jackets within three, 35-32.
 
A 21-play, 86-yard drive by the Wildcats on their ensuring possession, capped by a 14-yard touchdown pass from Melancon to Kyle Galyon would give LC what appeared t be a comfortable 42-32 lead. However, HPU was able to answer again, as they marched down the field on a 24 play, 87 yard drive over the next four minutes and 17 seconds to make it 42-39.
 
After a stalled drive from LC, the Yellow Jackets were able to get the ball all the way down to the Wildcats' 11-yard line with under a minute left, but a sack of Young by LC linebacker Cole Leftlett pushed HPU back to the 27-yard line.
 
A false start penalty and a two-yard run from Dove set up Martinez's 47-yard attempt that fell short, clinching the 42-39 victory for the Wildcats.
 
LC built a 21-10 lead at the half behind three touchdown passes, two from Melancon and one from Alonzo Bellamy, who filled in for an injured Melancon briefly in the second quarter.
 
LC's first score came when Melancon hit freshman receiver Cole Crook, who was making his first career start at receiver, for a six yard touchdown on the Wildcats' first drive of the game. Melancon then Crook again for a 10 yard score later in the first quarter. Bellamy, filling in for Melancon, connected with star receiver Kyle Galyon with 8 minutes left in the half to help guide LC to a 21-10 lead at halftime.
 
Montague, the preseason ASC Offensive Player of the Year, had his second consecutive 150-yard game, finishing with 156 yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries.
 
Melancon, despite throwing two interceptions, had perhaps his best outing to date, completing 23-of-41 passes for 238 yards and three touchdowns. Galyon was the top target of Melancon, finishing with 9 catches for 119 yards and two touchdowns.
 
Box Score
 
No. 2/3 MARY HARDIN-BAYLOR 49, TRINITY 7
BELTON, Texas — The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor football team scored on the opening kickoff and never looked back as the Cru rolled to a 49-7 non-conference victory over Trinity University Saturday night in Belton. UMHB improves to 5-0 overall with the victory and the Cru has now won 39 consecutive regular season games. The loss drops Trinity to 3-2 on the season.
 
Derek Williamson took the opening kickoff and raced 98 yards for a touchdown to make it 7-0 UMHB just 13 seconds into the game. The kickoff return is the second longest in Cru history. It would stay that way into the second quarter until Zach Anderson hit Keith Reineke with a 16-yard touchdown strike to push it to 14-0 UMHB. Trinity answered with Stephen Smith's 33-yard TD toss to Cody Sandman on the ensuing drive, but that would be the only score of the night for the Tigers. Anderson added an 11-yard touchdown pass to Kamray Runnels and a 15-yard strike to Colton Jacob to give the Cru a 28-7 halftime lead. Caleb Moore (six yards) and Michael Carpenter (38 yards) ran for third quarter scores and Glen Gilliam closed out the scoring with a 32-yard run for his first collegiate touchdown in the fourth quarter.
 
UMHB ran for 316 yards and rolled up 446 yards of total offense in the victory. The Cru defense held Trinity to -5 rushing yards and 204 total yards while forcing three turnovers in the game.
 
Moore finished with 108 rushing yards and Anderson was 11-18 passing for 103 yards and three scores. Cody Jones had seven tackles to lead the UMHB defense and Eric Allen intercepted two passes and added five stops.
 
UMHB takes over the all-time series lead with Trinity 5-4. The Cru has won five straight over the Tigers after dropping the first four meeting between the two teams. UMHB will have an open week next week before returning to action with a 1:00 p.m. kickoff against Louisiana College October 19, in Belton, Texas. 
 
Box Score
 
MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE 49, HARDIN-SIMMONS 35
CLINTON, Miss. -- The Mississippi College football team outscored Hardin-Simmons 35-7 over the final three quarters to to pick up a 49-35 win on Saturday afternoon at Robinson-Hale Stadium.
 
"What a huge win for this program," said head coach Norman Joseph.  "All three facets of the game came up big today, and that's something to build on the rest of the season. I could not be prouder of these guys and what they were able to do today."
 
The Choctaws (1-3) got off to a fast start with 14 points in the first 3:24 on a three-yard run from quaterback Jonathon Redd and a 16-yard fumble recovery for a score by sophomore Brooks Villarreal. Redd finished the game with 191 passing yards and a touchdown to go along with 23 rushing yards and two scores.
 
The Cowboys (1-3, 0-1 ASC) answered with 28 straight points to end the first quarter. The first three touchdowns used up a total of six plays for 47 yards and just 1:16 off the clock. On the final score of the quarter, HSU went 69 yards on seven plays and capped it off with a 40-yard pass from Josh Christian to Jesse Ramos.
 
With the Choctaws trailing 28-14 after the first quarter, they got their offense going in the second with a 63-yard touchdown pass from Redd to freshman Keith Williams. It was the Madison Central standout's first touchdown catch of his young career.
 
The excitement really began later in the second quarter when sophomore Trace Lane returned a blocked punt 40 yards for a touchdown. Freshman C.J. Collins blocked the punt to set up the score and send the game into halftime with the score, 28-28.
 
The second half opened the same way as the first half finished with Lane returning a blocked punt for a touchdown, this time 25 yards on a block by senior Dylan Klibert. The two teams combined for three blocked punts in the contest as the Cowboys got one in the first half.
 
The Cowboys responded again on the ensuing drive when Tevin Mitchell capped off an 11-play, 75-yard drive with a seven-yard touchdown run to cut tie the game at 35-35. Mitchell ran the ball 32 times for 132 yards and two touchdowns. The Cowboys had 181 rushing yards and 197 passing yards in the contest.
 
For the MC defense, it was the only points they allowed after the first quarter. Junior Jake Weddle led the charge with 13 tackles, including seven solo stops. Over the past two weeks, Weddle has tallied 32 total tackles. Villarreal finished the game with nine tackles, including two tackles for loss and the fumble recovery for a score.
 
The Choctaws would grab the lead near the end of the third quarter when Redd rushed in for his second touchdown of the day, a two-yard scamper. Freshman Darryl Garner earned the first start of his career and carried the ball 17 times for 123 yards.
 
Sophomore Zach Favre put the game away late in the fourth with a seven-yard touchdown run with only 1:08 remaining on the clock. That capped off a seven-play, 40-yard drive that ate up almost three minutes of the clock.  Favre finished the game with 56 rushing yards on nine carries and the score.
 
The Choctaws rushed for a season-high 188 yards and three touchdowns on 39 carries. On the season, MC had just 275 rushing yards and had yet to reach the end zone on the ground. The offensive line, led by seniors Eric Madere, A.J. Antonescu, Matt Casanova, Sylvain Alarcon, junior Ben Wiles and sophomore Travis Hayes paved the way for an outstanding effort on the ground.
 
Jonathan Wilder led the Cowboys with 10 tackles, including seven solo stops. Wilder, Brandon Abbott and Conlan Aguirre each finished with an interception in the game.
 
The Choctaws will be back in action next week when they travel to Alpine, Texas to face Sul Ross State at 1:00 p.m. at Jackson Field.
 
Box Score
 
EAST TEXAS BAPTIST 41, TEXAS LUTHERAN 64

MARSHALL, Texas -- Some of the bounces didn’t go East Texas Baptist University’s way as they fell to Texas Lutheran University, 64-41.  ETBU dug themselves in a hole early that was too big to climb out of and battled a top notch offense. 

TLU racked up 701 yards on 101 plays and had and four scores. A.J.  Saucedo led the running game with 97 yards on 17 carries, while the defense finished with four sacks.

ETBU sophomore Josh Warbington had quite a night of his own, finishing 21-of-30 for 344 yards and five touchdowns, while Jamaine Sherman caught eight passes for 164 yards and a touchdown. Tyler Bates caught eight passes for 76 yards and two touchdowns, as four different Tiger receivers found the end zone, but they were outscored 17-0 in the fourth quarter after pulling within six.

TLU (3-0) set a school record for total offense and evened the overall series between the schools at 7-7 since ETBU returned to football in 2000. Through it all, there was an even bigger culprit for the Tigers.

“I felt to win the football game, it was important for us to establish our run game while also stopping it, and we did neither,” ETBU coach Joshua Eargle said. “It’s not our brand of football, and we need to get back to the basics and do what we can in order to be a successful team.”

ETBU entered the third quarter down by only six but was unable to take its first lead of the game.

Saucedo set up his 8-yard touchdown reception with a 39-yard run, and Marquis Barrolle had TLU’s only run into the end zone to go up by 20. The Tigers had one final run left in them.

The sophomore continued to show his big-play ability with a 42-yard touchdown pass to Roy Butler, and Dominique Bailey’s interception led to a six-play scoring drive culminating with Warbington’s 22-yard touchdown pass to Sherman to pull within six.

TLU took its 47-41 lead into the fourth quarter and never let off the accelerator, beginning with Tyler Brandenburg’s 27-yard field goal. Deion Barnes scored for the second time on a 12-yard touchdown catch from Peavy, and it seemed only fitting for the Bulldogs when their twins connected one last time from 22 yards out for the final margin.

 “Our guys played inspired and with a lot of passion, but we need to be smarter as a team and eliminate our penalties and missed assignments,” says Eargle

The Bulldogs were held on downs on their own 33-yard line during the game’s opening possession but recovered a Warbington fumble, and TLU scored on a six-play drive (all passes) for an early 7-0 lead on Brent Peavy’s 12-yard touchdown pass to his brother. ETBU mishandled the kickoff and was ruled to have knelt down in the end zone for a safety, and before anyone could blink TLU was ahead 16-0.

It wasn’t without controversy, as Barnes fell on what was ruled a fumble by Dylan Bethea in the end zone after he initially intercepted Peavy near the midway point of the first quarter.

Warbington got ETBU on the board with his 18-yard touchdown pass to Chris Frazier set up by his 48-yarder to Jamaine Sherman, and David Jaynes returned an interception 44 yards to leave ETBU down 3.

Cory McNeil’s 45-yard field goal to tie the game was wide of the mark, and the twins connected twice more from nine and seven yards out to increase the advantage to 30-13 with 8:06 left in the first half.

Warbington found another open receiver in Tyler Bates for a 45-yard touchdown, and the Tigers put together their biggest drive of the half, a 13-play affair with two fourth-down conversions, including one aided by a pass-interference penalty.

Warbington and Bates connected again from 18 yards out, and the defense made a bold stand before the half at its own 12 to enter the break down only 33-27.

Ethan Powell led TLU with 10 tackles (2.5 for loss) and two sacks.

Jaynes led ETBU with eight tackles (two for loss) to go along with his interception. Thomas Warren finished with eight tackles (1.5 for loss) and half a sack, while Drew Benge added eight tackles.

The Tigers play their American Southwest Conference opener at Louisiana College, Saturday at 6 p.m.