DALLAS – It is week eight of American Southwest Conference football action. All eight ASC teams lineup against each other for three consecutive weeks. The top half of the standings will all be on the road for their matchups as Mary Hardin-Baylor and Hardin-Simmons look to remain perfect and East Texas Baptist and Howard Payne build off its great wins last week.
2023 Football Schedule
(Matchups to Watch) (October 21)
(10/21) Hardin-Simmons at Sul Ross State (12:00 PM)
(10/21) East Texas Baptist at Texas Lutheran (4:00 PM)
FOOTBALL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK AND TOP PERFORMANCES
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Noah Garcia, RB, So., Hardin-Simmons
Hardin-Simmons sophomore running back
Noah Garcia (Abilene, Texas) had 111 yards rushing and 58 yards receiving and scored a touchdown rushing and receiving. His 44-yard reception in the third quarter included a spin move that got him into space and then he won the sprint to the end zone.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Dominick Williams, DE, So., East Texas Baptist
East Texas Baptist sophomore defensive end
Dominick Williams (Houston, Texas) defensive presence was felt in the win over McMurry as he blocked the extra point that would have tied the game at 14 and had two sacks in the fourth quarter. He finished with five tackles with two sacks for eight yards. With 5:07 to go in the 3rd quarter, he blocked the McMurry extra point to keep the one-point lead, 14-13. In the 4th quarter when MCM was driving into ETBU territory, he had a sack on a 3rd-and-5 at the ETBU 46-yard line to force a punt. With under a minute to play in the game at the MCM 35-yard line he had a 7-yard loss sack for his second of the game forcing a 2nd-and-17.
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Christian Piazza, P, Jr., East Texas Baptist
East Texas Baptist junior punter
Christian Piazza (Sugarland, Texas) put McMurry deep in their territory for most of the game. He had four punts for 168 yards. He had a 58-yard punt and three punts within the 20-yard line. His three punts within the 20-yard line were at the 5, 13, and 20-yard lines. His punting made MCM have to drive a long field in the second half.
ASC IN RANKINGS
Top 25, 2023 Week 7 D3football.com
Hardin-Simmons – No. 20 (141 pts.) (Prev. week No. 20)
Mary Hardin-Baylor – No. 23 (96 pts.) (Prev. week No. 22)
AFCA Division III Coaches Poll (Week 7)
Hardin-Simmons – No. 21 (203 pts.)
Mary Hardin-Baylor – No. 25 (66pts.)
Howard Payne – RV (6 pts.)
LINKS AND NOTES
Mary Hardin-Baylor’s Coach Jack Johnson, Durand Hill speak on NCAA DIII Small Talks Series
Campbell Trophy Semifinalists
Gaylon Glynn from Hardin-Simmons and
Malachi LeCadre-Grey from McMurry
ASC STANDINGS
Hardin-Simmons leads with three wins. Mary Hardin-Baylor is other unbeaten team in the league. Howard Payne and East Texas Baptist also have two-wins, while remainder of standings seek first wins.
ASC STATISTICS
ASC RECAP
Hardin-Simmons edged Texas Lutheran to win its third straight game, all at home, and improve to 4-0 at the friendly confines. The Cowboys got off to a 14-8 edge in the first quarter and would keep the Bulldogs from coming back as the final score held after three quarters. Noah Garcia had 111 yards rushing and scored a 28-yard touchdown rush that opened a 14-0 lead at the time. Gaylon Galynn secured 224 yards passing on 22-of-29 throws. He threw a pair of touchdowns. Javion Mays and Cason Hanna each had nine tackles with 13 combined solo tackles.
Texas Lutheran got a touchdown from Caden Bosanko on the ground with 87 yards rushed. DaKory Willis also had a touchdown on the ground. Jermario Thomas had seven solo tackles for all his stops. Cameron Welch had a great punting game with seven punts averaging 51.6 yards and had two inside the 20 yards. He is top 10 in Division III punting average.
East Texas Baptist scored all 14 points in the second quarter and made it last as a one-point margin was the difference in the win against McMurry. Carlos Garibay completed 15 passes with 246 yards, with 49 yards long and two touchdowns. Zay Thomas and Trayjen Llanas-Wilcox had the scores. Thomas totaled 114 yards. Joey Verret led the defense with eight tackles and seven solo tackles with an interception and pass breakup. Chrisitan Piazza had 168 yards with three punts inside the 20.
McMurry fell for the second time in a row by three points or less and the second time by a point this season. The War Hawks got two touchdowns by Jess Hoel with 26 completions. He logged 226 yards and his longest completion was 38 yards. Kristopher Martin and Karmelus Card grabbed the scores and Martin did accumulate a game-high 141 yards. Marshall Tovar led the defense with 11 tackles and seven solo tackles.
Mary Hardin-Baylor pulled away in the second half to defeat Sul Ross State, 37-13. The Lobos trailed 16-13 at halftime and battled on the road, but a 21-0 run that included 14 in the final quarter helped UMHB extend its winning streak to three. Isaac Phe went 10-for19 on 152 yards passing and had two touchdowns. Ozias Wright added a rushing touchdown, while Christopher Gacayan and Romello Cook added receiving touchdowns. Durand Hill led the defense with 10 tackles and Johnny Smith-Rider had a 41-yard interception.
Sul Ross State had Cyrin Myles complete 14 passes and threw for one touchdown. Isaiah Pena scored the lone touchdown. Carlos Arreola had two field goals with one heading into halftime from 40 yards out.
Howard Payne won back-to-back games against conference teams to get over .500 in league play and also improved to 4-0 at home. After holding a 7-5 lead through one quarter, the Yellow Jackets piled 28 points in the second quarter and went into halftime up 35-8. Landon McKinney completed 34 yards on 385 yards passing with three touchdowns. Jordan Carroll caught two touchdowns with his longest 27 yards and totaled 138 yards. Gus Charles also eclipsed 100 yards receiving 119 and got 10 receptions.
Austin got the lead with a safety to start things at 2-0. John Aldridge was three-for-three on field goals for the other scoring plays. His longest was 41 yards in the first quarter. Aldridge punted four times for 155 yards and had two inside the 20 yard-line. Brady Dygert led a trio of players in double-digits for tackles with 15.
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