LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. - In front of close to 6,000 fans in Georgetown, Texas, the Southwestern Pirates football team returned to the gridiron for the first time since 1950. Texas Lutheran also made its debut as a SCAC member and picked up their first SCAC win over the Pirates, 44-14.
AROUND THE SCAC
The Austin College football team dropped a heartbreaker in its season opener at Rhodes, falling 24-21 in overtime to the Lynx. Bryce Murphy had a huge day on the ground to lead the ‘Roos offensively, piling up 161 yards on 22 carries and scoring all three touchdowns for Austin College, including the game-tying score with 41 seconds left to force overtime. Noah Jesko completed 27-of-44 passes for 259 yards, with Madison Ross and Cooper Woodyard being the primary targets on the afternoon. Ross caught seven balls for 71 yards and Woodyard hauled in five passes for 72 yards. Kyle Crawford added five catches for 53 yards. On defense, Tre Stewart and Brett Vaughn each had 10 tackles while Brooks Ward added nine stops, and Shane Hodge came up with an interception. This weekend the ‘Roos have their home opener when they take on East Texas Baptist at Apple Stadium at 2:00 p.m.
One of the most historic nights at Southwestern University saw the return of Pirate football with their first game since the 1950 season. Although the Pirates came up on the short end – falling 44-14 to Texas Lutheran Saturday night – there were plenty of bright spots for Southwestern. After a 63 year wait for football, Southwestern and Texas Lutheran was forced to wait an extra 40 minutes as lightning entered central Texas forcing a minor delay. However, once the storms moved out of the area, what is believed to be, a Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference record crowd of 5,851 fans kept Birkelbach Field rocking all night. After the adrenaline leveled the Pirates worked through first-half jitters to play a strong second half that found Southwestern facing a 17-0 deficit. Despite facing the uphill battle, Southwestern continued to fight back and made history at the 11:08 mark in the third quarter, as Dante Smith found Colten Shea down the middle of the left seam for a 68-yard touchdown pass and catch. Shea wasn't done making history for the Pirates, as he would hook-up with Smith again late in the fourth quarter for a 40-yard touchdown catch to finish the night with nine catches for 258 yards. His second touchdown closed the gap to 30-14 with 4:41 left in the game. In addition to scoring the program's first two touchdowns in 63 years, the first-year wide receiver was just 10 yards shy of breaking the SCAC single-game record for receiving yards. Set in 1978, Tom Mullady of Rhodes College finished his afternoon with 267 yards. Ultimately the Bulldogs would wear down the Pirate defense, which showed enough heart and grit of any college football team in the country Saturday.
Brent Peavy (Houston/St. Pius X) threw four touchdown passes (three to Deion Barnes) as the Texas Lutheran Bulldogs delivered a 44-14 defeat to Southwestern University in the Pirates' first college football game since 1950. Saturday evening at Georgetown ISD's Birkelbach Field, TLU opened a 24-0 lead in the third quarter as Barnes (Edna/Edna) caught his second scoring reception of the night. Barnes scored on a 4-yard pass in the second quarter, a 19-yard throw in the third, and a 7-yard connection in the fourth. TLU's game Saturday was its first football contest in the SCAC. Southwestern, a veteran of the SCAC in all other sports, also made its SCAC football debut. The Bulldogs and Pirates last faced each other in football on Sept. 29, 1940. Southwestern won that contest long ago by a score of 27-9.
Trinity opened the 2013 season with a 47-29 road win over Howard Payne University on Saturday evening. The Tigers used a 21-point second quarter to take a 28-7 lead into halftime, and then held on for the win in the final two quarters. Trinity improved to 11-16-4 with its fourth consecutive win in the all-time series with HPU. The Tigers have scored 40+ points in three of the four meetings since the series was renewed in 2010, which was the first meeting in 60 years between the two Texas schools. Quarterback Mason Blaschke accounted for three touchdowns, completing 9-13 passes for 186 yards and two scores, and rushing for 29 yards and another score. Running back Jeremy Simmons picked up his first career 100-yard rushing game in his first collegiate start, while tight end Sam Harford nabbed a pair of touchdown receptions among three catches for 91 yards. Defensively, the Tigers yielded just 90 rushing yards in the game, forcing one turnover, and tallying seven tackles for loss. Connor Yorloff led the team with seven total tackles, while Tomy Boboy had six stops, 1.5 for loss, and forced a fumble. This week, Trinity opens up conference play at home against Texas Lutheran University. The Tigers are 16-9 all-time against the Bulldogs, having won five of the last six meetings in the series. Last year, Trinity won 31-7 in Seguin, Texas.
To view the entire SCAC Gridiron Daily for week one, click here.
