Mississippi College, Hardin-Simmons, Mary Hardin-Baylor and Louisiana College all protected their home fields with victories on Saturday (Oct. 30) during Week 9 of the American Southwest Conference football season. All four squads scored more than 30 points and didn’t allow more than three scores. Only East Texas Baptist was idle.
Mississippi College 38, Sul Ross State 21: Austin Divinity ran for 154 yards and a touchdown on 31 carries as the Choctaws won in Clinton, Miss. MC (4-4, 2-4 ASC) scored four second-half touchdowns – including two scoring tosses from Tommy Reyer to Randall Pharr – to break open a 10-7 game at halftime. Monte Morales had three TD passes – including a pair to Louis Aguillar – and Lee Carothers caught seven balls for 121 yards for SRSU (1-6, 1-5 ASC), which lost its fifth straight. Jeremy Bertrand and Darren Watts each had an interception to spearhead MC’s defense. Robery Pyssen (20), Kellen Gierke (12), Keyston Player (11) and Charles Bryant (10) all had double-digit tackles for SRSU.
Hardin-Simmons 34, McMurry 13: ZaVious Robbins had 16 catches for 193 yards, Derrick Grant ran for 125 yards on 20 carries and the Cowboys defense held McMurry to a season-low 221 yards to prevail at home in Abilene, Texas. Nationally-ranked HSU (8-1, 6-1 ASC) extended its winning streak against McMurry (5-3, 3-3 ASC) to 23 games and retained the Wilford Moore Trophy. After McMurry took a 7-0, HSU responded with three straight scores – including two TD tosses by Justin Feaster – to build a 21-7 lead early in the third quarter. L.C. Cisneroz and Hank Hornsby had nine tackles, while Garrison Hardin and Patrick Flaherty had two sacks each to fuel the Cowboys’ defense, which did not allow a point in the fourth quarter. D.J. Baiza and Kerry Gamble each had 10 tackles for McMurry.
Mary Hardin-Baylor 45, Howard Payne 3: The nationally-ranked Cru exploded for 26 points in the third quarter and went on to cruise to victory in Belton, Texas. UMHB (8-0, 6-0 ASC) broke open a 9-0 game at halftime with a touchdown run by Stephen Salinas, a LiDarral Bailey scoring toss to Damian Davis, a Micah Spicer interception return and a scoring dash by D.J. Monroe. Quincy Daniels ran for 104 yards and a TD on 18 carries to also lead the Cru. The only points by HPU (2-7, 1-5 ASC) came on a 21-yard field goal by Mitchell Bailey in the fourth quarter. AlanMunoz made two field goals for UMHB. Javicz Jones had nine tackles and Ty Dooley had four pass break-ups to fuel the UMHB defense. Demetrius Cody (11) and Germaine Gilbert (10) had double-digit tackles for the Yellow Jackets.
Louisiana College 38, Texas Lutheran 21: Ben McLaughlin threw for 302 yards and Darnell Williams had 120 yards receiving and took back a kickoff 84 yards for a touchdown as the Wildcats prevailed in Pineville, La. LC (5-3, 5-1 ASC) extended its winning streak to four games. TLU (3-5, 2-4 ASC) took an early 7-0 lead on a TD pass for Mitchell Bunger to Steven Thrash before Williams answered with the kickoff return. LC then went on to score three times – two rushing TDs by CeDerrick Tyson and a field goal by John Michiels – before halftime to take a 24-7 lead. Jordan Rideaux had a game-high 12 catches and a score to also chip in for LC. Nate Janzen had 11 tackles and Peter Ford recorded two sacks and a forced fumble to spearhead the Wildcats’ defense. Charles Cooper ran for 146 yards on 20 carries and Thrash finished with nine catches for 127 yards and two TDs to lead TLU.