Three ASC Teams Win Season Opener, UMHB Extends Win Streak to 45 Games
9/7/2014 8:20:32 AM
No. 2 Mary Hardin-Baylor 43, Millsaps College 7 - Box Score
JACKSON, Miss. – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor football team dominated the second half as the Cru rolled to a 43-7 victory over Millsaps College in the 2014 season opener Saturday night. UMHB is 1-0 to start the year while the Majors start at 0-1.
The Cru opened the scoring with Zach Anderson's 13-yard touchdown run with 7:21 left in the first quarter. Millsaps tied the game on Zak Thrasher's 40-yard touchdown strike to Zachary Borne just 2:19 later. UMHB would answer with Anderson's 59-yard touchdown toss to Kamray Runnels and the Cru missed a late field goal try to leave it 14-7 at halftime. UMHB stretched it to 17-7 on Jacob O'Neill's 42-yard field goal on the opening possession of the second half. UMHB forced a fumble on Millsaps' opening drive and Anderson scored from nine yards on the next play to give the Cru a 23-7 lead. Chance Sheffield returned an interception 45 yards for a score and Eric Allen added a 48-yard punt return for a touchdown and Duane Thompson closed out the scoring with a nine-yard TD run in the fourth quarter.
UMHB rolled up 395 yards of total offense with 209 of those coming through the air. The Cru defense held Millsaps to 218 yards of total offense and just 49 rushing yards. UMHB also forced four turnovers while giving the ball away just once. The Cru was penalized 13 times for 122 yards in the win.
Anderson was 12-of-23 passing for 185 yards and a score. Runnels had two catches for 75 yards and Michael Carpenter ran for 50 yards on nine carries. Ten different players carried the ball for UMHB and eight different receivers caught passes. UMHB held Millsaps’ All-American running back Mike Barthelemy to just 40 yards on 16 carries. Thrasher threw for 150 yards and a touchdown. Deshon Kinsey led the Cru defense with nine total tackles and Sheffield, Kris Brown and James Mason all intercepted passes for UMHB.
The Cru has now won 45 consecutive regular season games. UMHB will return home to host University of Redlands for a 6:00 PM kickoff next Saturday at Crusader Stadium.
Louisiana College 49, Huntingdon College 42 - Box Score
PINEVILLE, La. - During the week leading up to the game, Louisiana College quarterback Easton Melancon called his team's matchup with Huntingdon College "a must win."
Saturday, Melancon helped deliver that win in dramatic style. His 18-yard touchdown pass to junior receiver Ladarius Gardner with eight seconds left in the game lifted the Wildcats to a 49-42 come-from-behind win over the Hawks in the season opener for both teams.
The winning score came after a Huntingdon punt was shanked out of bounds at the Hawks' 31-yard line with 44 seconds to play. Melancon's winning throw to Gardner came on the third play of the drive and put a cap on a comeback that saw the Wildcats trailing throughout most of the second half and 42-35 early in the fourth quarter.
Melancon was nothing but sensational in the first start of his sophomore season. He finished the game 25-of-42 for 363 yards and three touchdowns. He also added 37 yards rushing and two more scores on the ground. A two-point pass play to fellow sophomore Jake Dunbar in the third quarter meant Melancon had his hand in 36 of his team's 49 points.
As is almost always the case in games between LC and Huntingdon, this one came down to which team had the ball last. The Wildcats actually jumped out to a quick lead in the game. Melancon's 63-yard touchdown pass to Gardner on the Wildcats' first possession gave LC the first score of the game. Following an Adan Olivares 35-yard field goal, one of two on the day for the senior, Melancon found Dunbar for a 16-yard strike to give LC a 17-0 lead after the first quarter.
With that first quarter field goal and two extra points, Olivares upped his career total to 203 points and in the process broke the career scoring record at LC of 202 points held previously by wide receiver and kick returner Jordan Rideaux.
Huntingdon found its offensive rhythm in the second quarter by using a combination of play action fakes and run-or-pass option plays keyed by their senior quarterback, Taylor Hughes. Touchdown passes by Hughes to Darius Dawsey and Brantley Carr saw the Hawks cut the LC lead to 17-14 at the half.
As the third quarter got underway, Huntingdon took its first lead of the game. The Hawks capped a 3-play, 49-yard drive with John Iwaniec's 6-yard score to make it 21-17. Iwaniec finished as Huntingdon's leading rusher with 61 yards on 19 carries.
The Wildcats drew three points closer on Olivares' second field goal of the game, this from 29 yards out to make it 21-20, but Huntingdon extended its lead to eight points when Iwaniec scored his second touchdown of the game to make it 28-20.
The LC offense, which seemed to sputter in the second and early third quarters finally found its pace again when the Wildcats put together a 6-play, 72-yard drive capped by Melancon's 1-yard bootleg run off a handoff fake. LC made the decision to go for two in order to tie the game at 28, though the conversion had to come after a holding penalty pushed the ball back to the 12 yard line.
In what was becoming a see-saw affair, Huntingdon regained the lead in unusual fashion. Hughes had to temporarily leave the game after his legs started cramping. Backup Luke Bailey promptly came in and on connected on his first play for a 41-yard touchdown pass to Willie Coleman to put the Hawks up again, 35-28.
But, that lead would disappear on Huntingdon's first possession of the fourth quarter. The Hawks, who had snap issues on punts for much of the game, had disaster strike when punter Jamichael Bibb couldn't handle the snap and tried to kick the football out of the end zone for a safety. Instead, LC junior Dayshun Johnson fell on the football in the end zone to tie the game again at 35.
Huntingdon took its final lead of the game on its next possession, a six-play, 57-yard drive capped by Hughes with a two-yard touchdown run. However, the cramping issues Hughes experienced would keep him out for the rest of the game. He finished with 275 yards passing on 18-of-27 with two touchdowns and ran for 38 yards on nine carries. With Hughes out, Huntingdon , leading 42-35, would not score again.
Meanwhile, the Wildcats tied the game again on an impressive 77-yard drive on five plays capped by Melancon's second touchdown run of the game, this from five yards out, to make the score 42-42 with 9:55 to play – setting the stage for the Wildcats' final scoring drive.
Gardner finished as the Wildcats' top receiver with five catches for 146 yards and the two touchdowns. Senior Kyle Galyon grabbed seven passes for 48 yards and sophomore Shedrick Davis finished with five catches for 71 yards. Dunbar also had six catches for 86 yards, but had to leave the game in the fourth quarter after apparently being knocked out cold on a collision with a Huntingdon defensive back on a pass play. Dunbar would walk off the field, but did not return to the game.
Perhaps the most pleasant surprise of the game for LC came in the backfield where the Wildcats, who are looking to replace ASC offensive player of the year Ryan Montague, rushed 40 times for 157 yards as a team led by sophomore Aurren Cooksey with 16 carries for 104 yards.
Now 1-0 on the season, the Wildcats will have another strong test for their next game, Saturday, Sept. 13 at FCS school Alcorn State. Kickoff for that game will be 2 p.m.
Howard Payne 30, Trinity (Texas) 27 - Box Score
SAN ANTONIO – Howard Payne quarterback Richard Young threw for 365 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Yellow Jacket football team to a 30-27 season opening victory over Trinity (Texas) University.
Down 27-23 after a Trinity touchdown with 3:45 left in the game, the Yellow Jackets got a 60-yard kickoff return by Victor Gonzales down to the Trinity 32 yard line to set up the game winning score.
Young then hit Cameron Wong on a 10-yard shovel pass for a TD with 2:28 left in the game. The Joshua Martinez extra point was good to give the Jackets the lead 30-27.
Trinity then returned the HPU kickoff down to the HPU 39 yard line. The HPU defense come up big and forced a fumble which was recovered by Austin Williamson to stop the Trinity drive and secure the win.
Colby Mica was Young's favorite target in the game with 14 receptions for 145 yards. Young was 36-of-51 passing for 365 yards, two TDs and one interception.
The Yellow Jacket offensive line was solid not giving up a sack all game.
After a Howard Payne muffed punt, Trinity scored on an eight-yard run with 5:03 on the clock in the first quarter to open a 7-0 lead.
The Yellow Jackets responded on their next drive when Blayne Parisher caught a 19-yard TD pass from Young. The drive took nine plays, 88 yards, over 2:42 tying the game at 7-7.
HPU would score on their next possession to take the lead 13-7 (Martinez kick failed). Justin Acosta ran it in from four yards out capping a six-play, 44 yard drive taking 1:32 off the clock in the second.
With 7:17 remaining in the first half, Trinity took the lead 14-13 on a four-yard TD pass from Mason Blaschke.
HPU then gained the lead back 16-14 right before the half when Martinez hit a 26-yard field goal with no time on the clock. It capped an 11 plays, 71 yard drive that took 3:04.
After a scoreless third quarter, the Jackets had their best drive of the game. A 16 play, 97-yard drive taking 5:12 off the clock that finished with a one-yard run by Zarron Dove put HPU ahead 23-14.
Trinity then scored on consecutive possessions to take a 27-21 lead with 3:45 left in the game.
Dove finished with 73 yards on 15 carries and caught three passes for 35 yards. Sayvon Young-Cormier had four catches for 65 yards.
Chris Hickey had a team high 11 tackles for the Jackets followed by Jordan Shaw, Adrian Hopkins, Nigal Deas and Patrick Tobin all with nine apiece.
Trinity was led by Travis Williams with 137 yards on 25 carries and two touchdowns. Quarterback Mason Blachke threw for 208 yards and two scores but was sacked but the HPU defense three times. Jai Boatman and Camden Joubert each had 14 tackles for Trinity.
Howard Payne will be on the road again next week taking out Wayland Baptist University in non-conference action starting at 2:00 pm.
Texas Lutheran 61, Sul Ross State 15 - Box Score
SEGUIN, Texas - For the first half of the 2014 season opener the Sul Ross State football team gave Texas Lutheran all they could handle at Bulldog Stadium Saturday evening.
But TLU, which trailed the Lobos, 15-14 with 1:34 left in the first half, pulled away in the second half and went on to defeat Sul Ross State, 61-15, in the first game ever at Texas Lutheran's on-campus Bulldog Stadium.
Texas Lutheran drove 46 yards to score on their first possession, with Marquis Barrolle scoring from two yards out. But the Lobos cut the margin to 7-2 when TLU snapped the ball out of their own end zone on a punt late in the first quarter.
Sul Ross State took the lead for the first time in the second quarter when sophomore quarterback Derrick Bernard connected with senior wide receiver Xavier Jefferson on a 21-yard touchdown pass. The extra point by freshman kicker Adomaitis Valenzuela put the Lobos ahead, 9-7, with 4:32 left in the first half.
Bulldog quarterback Trenton White hit Dustin Hannon from 16 yards out with 2:28 left in the second quarter to put TLU back on top, 14-9.
SRSU sophomore defensive back Uriah Mosley returned the ensuing kickoff 99 yards to the Bulldog one-yard line, and Bernard connected with senior wide receiver Cordrick Mobley from five yards out to make it 15-14 with 1:34 left after the PAT was blocked. TLU then drove down the field, and Tyler Brandenburg's 35-yard field goal as time expired in the first half put the Bulldogs back on top for good at 17-15.
TLU took advantage of two lost fumbles and an interception in the third quarter to take a 41-15 lead. The Lobos lost a fumble at their own 21-yard line on the first play of the third quarter, held the Bulldogs to a field goal after a muffed punt at their own seven-yard line, and gave up a touchdown after the interception. The Bulldogs then added three more scores before the game ended.
Sophomore running back Chase Burns led the Lobos on the ground, gaining 55 yards on 25 carries. Bernard completed 9-of-21 passes for 144 yards and two touchdowns, while Mobley caught three passes for 72 yards and freshman wide receiver Roderick Owens caught two for 22.
Barrolle led the Bulldogs with 91 yards on 17 carries, White completed 27-of-45 passes for 277 yards and three touchdowns, and Williams caught six passes for 86 yards.
Sophomore defensive back Terrelle Owens led the Lobos on defense with 11 tackles, seven of them unassisted, while senior linebacker Earl Hines added 10 stops, including seven solos. Drake Dowling led the Bulldogs with 12 stops, six unassisted, while Darian Candler had 10 tackles, including five unassisted stops.
The Bulldogs improved to 1-0 with the victory, while the Lobos fell to 0-1 with the defeat. Sul Ross State will return to action when they visit Southwestern next Saturday.
Texas A&M-Commerce 98, East Texas Baptist 20 - Box Score
COMMERCE, Texas – Playing up a division to open the 2014 season, East Texas Baptist University had their work cut out for them facing a very talented and quick Texas A&M-Commerce. Down 57-20 at the half, ETBU was held scoreless in the second half as they dropped the season opener, 98-20.
Josh Warbington threw for over 300 yards for the third time in his career. Stephen Alfred opened up his career at ETBU with over 100 yards receiving and two touchdowns while R.J. Hester caught the other touchdown. ETBU scored all their points in the first half with their final score coming at the 7:18 mark.
Alfred caught a 75-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter from Warbington that made it 21-6. That pass reception is the seventh-longest in school history for a scoring pass. Hester caught the second touchdown of the night with 12:25 left in the second quarter on a 34-yard pass. Hester then threw the two-point conversion for ETBU’s 14th point. Alfred finished off the scoring on a 35-yard pass from Warbington with 7:18 to go in the first half cutting the lead to 20, 40-20. That is as close as ETBU would come the rest of the game.
ETBU will host Austin College on Saturday, September 13, at 7:00 p.m. at Ornleas Stadium in their home opener.
The Hardin-Simmons versus Southwestern game was cancelled and declared a no contest.