No. 2 Mary Hardin-Baylor 72, No. 17 Texas Lutheran 16 - Box Score

SEGUIN, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor football team exploded in the second quarter to break open a close game as the Cru raced past No. 17 Texas Lutheran University 72-16 in a non-conference tilt Saturday in Seguin. UMHB improves to 7-0 on the season and wins its 14th consecutive game over the Bulldogs. TLU falls to 6-1 on the year with the loss.
 
The two teams traded field goals on their opening possessions with Tyler Brandenburg hitting from 40 yards out for TLU and kicker Jacob O'Neill connecting on a 50-yarder for the Cru. Brandenburg added a 23-yarder on the next Bulldog drive to give TLU a 6-3 edge. That would be the final lead of the game for Texas Lutheran.
 
Freshman running back Duane Thompson scored on a six-yard run with 4:24 left in the first half to put UMHB up 10-6. A bad snap cost UMHB a shot at another field goal on the Cru's next possession. But after the UMHB defense held, tight end Eric Nelson reeled in a 72-yard touchdown pass on a ball that was tipped by players from both teams. Thompson followed with touchdowns runs of one, 26 and six yards and  quarterback Zach Anderson hit wide receiver Marcus Wimby with a 38-yard touchdown pass to close out a 35-point second quarter and give the Cru a 45-6 halftime lead.
 
Wide receiver Kamray Runnels returned a punt 86 yards for a score and quarterback Blake Jackson hit Nelson with a one-yard scoring strike to stretch the lead to 59-6 before Trenton White broke the TLU drought with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Caleb Oliver. Running back Damon Thomas scored on a one-yard run and defensive end Ryan Allen returned an interception 40 yards for another score to push the lead to 72-13. Kike Valladares closed out the scoring with a 39-yard field goal for TLU with 59 seconds left to play.
 
UMHB rolled up 553 yards of total offense with 372 of those coming through the air. Texas Lutheran totaled 412 yards but more than half of those came in the second half after the outcome had been decided. The Cru defense forced five turnovers and scored 27 points off those turnovers. UMHB stretched its regular season winning streak to 51 games with Saturday's victory.
 
Anderson was 16-of-22 for 324 yards and two touchdowns. Jackson was 6-of-7 through the air for 48 yards and a score. Thompson tied a school single-game record with four rushing touchdowns and Nelson and Wimby both went over 100 yards receiving for the Cru. Linebacker Deshon Kinsey and cornerback Kris Brown both had seven tackles and two tackles for loss and Brown added an interception for UMHB.
 
TLU's Marquis Barrolle was held to 91 rushing yards on 24 carries, nearly 100 yards below his per-game average entering the contest. White was 12-of-24 for 164 yards and a touchdown and Jonathan Olonade topped the Bulldogs with eight tackles.
 
The Cru (7-0, 2-0 ASC) return home to face conference rival Hardin-Simmons on Saturday. The UMHB-HSU winner has gone on to win at least a share of every ASC championship since 1998.
 
 
Hardin-Simmons 51, Howard Payne 20 - Box Score

BROWNWOOD, Texas -- The Hardin-Simmons won its fifth straight game with a 51-20 win over Howard Payne Saturday in American Southwest Conference action at Gordon Wood Stadium.
 
The Cowboys came out and dominated the first half. On the second possession for Howard Payne, HSU free safety James Place picked off HPU quarterback Richard Young to set up a short field. HSU quarterback Weston Garner capped a five-play 34-yard drive with a six-yard touchdown pass to tight end Taylor Rotenberry.
 
HSU made it 14-0 when Garner scrambled and found slot back Jessie Ramos, who went 54 yards for a touchdown with 2:20 to play in the first quarter.
 
Garner again scrambled and found Ramos on a broken play and he scored from 29 yards out and running back Kerry Sloan made it 28-0 right before halftime with a three-yard touchdown run.
 
Fullback Aroldo Nandin scored on fourth down for the Jackets from one-yard out to cap a 14-play 86-yard drive in the third quarter for HPU. Slot back Garrett Martin gave the Cowboys their only points of the third quarter when he blocked a punt out of the end zone for a safety to make it 30-6.
 
Running back Zarron Dove scored for HPU and Sloan answered for the Cowboys to make it 37-13. Young scored for HPU and running back Stehl Ratliff scored on a 17-yard run for the Cowboys.
 
On the next possession linebacker Darren Seamster, who tore his ACL earlier in the season, returned an interception 33 yards for a score to make it 51-20.
 
HSU rolled up 477 yards of offense, including 255 on the ground. Garner completed 20-of-26 passes for 222 yards and three touchdowns. Ramos had eight catches for 161 yards and two scores and Sloan had 142 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Matt Hawkins led the defense with nine tackles, and had two sacks and 2.5 tackles for loss.
 
HSU is 5-1 on the year and 2-0 in ASC action. The Cowboys face No. 2 Mary Hardin-Baylor Saturday in Belton for sole possession of first place in the conference. HPU fell to 4-3 overall and 1-1 in conference play.
 
 
Louisiana College 52, East Texas Baptist 49 - Box Score

PINEVILLE, La. - In a back-and-forth shootout between two of the nation's most explosive offenses, Louisiana College kept the "Border Claw" in Pineville for the seventh consecutive year with a 52-49 win over East Texas Baptist Saturday in Wildcat Stadium.
 
The Wildcats 28-point first quarter gave them the early momentum they needed, and outstanding individual performances from freshman running back Devin Sylve, seniors Shaquille Lewis, Beau Brewer and Ira Jewitt held off a late comeback attempt by ETBU.
 
The afternoon did not start out smooth for the Wildcats, as quarterback Easton Melancon was intercepted by ETBU cornerback Dominique Bailey and returned it inside the Wildcats' 10-yard line, which led to a four-yard touchdown by running back Kendall Roberson just two plays later to give the Tigers a 7-0 advantage less than three minute into the game.
 
The two teams would traded scores on the next three possessions, as Melancon hit wide receiver Ladarius Gardner for a three-yard touchdown on LC's next drive to tie the game at 7-7 before Roberson scored his second touchdown of the game from two yards out to put ETBU back ahead 14-7.
 
After Melancon hit wide receiver Farron Jones for a 39-yard touchdown to tie the game back up at 14, punt returner Ira Jewitt followed an impressive stop by LC's defense with a school record 91-yard punt return for a touchdown and a 21-14 Wildcats lead, which they never gave up the rest of the way.
 
Defensive back Shaquille Lewis, who tied the LC career record for interceptions (13) with two picks in the game, closed scoring in the wild first quarter when he blocked an ETBU punt, picked it up, and trotted into the end zone for a touchdown to give LC a 28-14 advantage.
 
Melancon closed out the first half with long touchdown passes to wide receivers Shedrick Davis and Cole Crook and the Wildcats took a 42-29 lead into halftime. It was the second time in Melancon's career that he had thrown four touchdown passes in one half, the first coming in 2013 against Sul Ross State.
 
The second half belonged to Sylve, who gashed the ETBU defense for 168 yards on 17 carries in the second half, as he accounted for 192 all-purpose yards overall in the contest. Sylve's nine-yard touchdown run at the 7:37 mark of the third quarter put LC ahead 52-35, which proved to be enough to keep a late ETBU comeback out of reach and secure the all-important win for the Wildcats.
 
Sylve's 192 all-purpose yards was one of many outstanding individual performances, as Lewis and Jewitt's efforts were matched by  linebacker Beau Brewer, who recorded an ASC season-high 21 total tackles, just one shy of Nate Janzen's single game school record against Mississippi College in 2010.
 
The Wildcats go to 3-4 on the season and 1-1 in the ASC, and host Howard Payne on Saturday. East Texas Baptist (3-4, 0-2 ASC) plays host to Sul Ross State on Saturday. The Lobos were idle this past weekend.