Football Recap (Week 11) - Around the SCAC

The Austin College football team capped off the season with a huge 35-7 win over Trinity, the program’s first win over the Tigers since 1993. The ‘Roos used a 28 point second half to take control and run away from the Tigers. Noah Jesko found Cooper Woodyard for the first of two touchdowns between the combination early in the second quarter, hooking up for a 65 yard score to make it 7-0. Trinity scored to send the game into the half tied 7-7. In the second half, the ‘Roos scored 14 in the third and 14 in the fourth, taking advantage of a pair of Trinity turnovers along the way. James Nwankpah scored two rushing touchdowns and Jesko hit Woodyard for a 58 yard touchdown and added a six yard strike to Gabe McCarthy. Jesko finished 16-of-23 for 274 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions, and Nwankpah added 90 rushing yards. Woodyard finished with four catches for 154 yards, and Brooks Ward finished with 10 tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss and a sack in the victory.

Wet and sloppy field conditions added to a tough afternoon for Southwestern as they fell to Southern Virginia, 40-0, in non-conference football action Saturday. The loss ended a historic return to the gridiron for the Pirates who finished the season 0-10 and 0-3 in SCAC play. Playing exclusively with underclassmen all season the Pirates battled every game and pushed veteran teams during the 10-game schedule for Southwestern. Saturday a very muddy field proved troublesome for the Pirates who were held to a season low 100-yards of total offense. The Pirate rushing attack saw Tyler Petrillo and Tate Taylor combine for 43 yards; however the total rushing numbers were skewed by seven sacks from Southern Virginia. Colten Shea led Southwestern with four catches for 36-yards as he was held out of the end zone Saturday. The Knights methodically drove 66-yards in seven plays to score their first touchdown on a 15-yard pass and catch from Andy Jones to Dee Sanford. Defensively Gregory Reeves led the Pirates with a game-high 15 tackles. Tanner Cervenka also picked off a SVU pass for one of two turnovers on the afternoon. The Knights added three more scores in the second half including one through the air from Jones who finished with 245 yards. On the season Southwestern was able to put up impressive number on both sides of the ball. The Pirate offense threw and rushed for more than 2,100 yards as Colten Shea finished with seven touchdowns and 673 yards receiving. Although he was held without a sack in each of the last two games, defensive end Justin Broussard led the SCAC with six sacks and added 10.5 tackles for a loss. With Cervenka’s interception against the Knights he finished the season with a team-high three picks as a trio of Pirates finished with two interceptions each.

Texas Lutheran ended the 2013 season at 8-1 with Saturday’s 63-14 home win over Howard Payne. TLU’s eight wins did not get the Bulldogs into the NCAA post-season. TLU learned of its NCAA Division III fate on Sunday as the playoff bracket’s release did not include the Bulldogs. TLU was looking for its first post-season football appearance since 1976. ... TLU’s eight wins are the most for a Bulldog football team since 1976, when the team won 10 and played in the NAIA-II national semifinal. ... In Saturday’s win over Howard Payne, TLU broke open a 14-14 game with 49 unanswered points. ... Bulldog senior Dominique Hardaway (Lockhart/Lockhart) rushed for a career-best 158 yards on just 13 carries. He scored three touchdowns, including a 91-yarder in the third quarter that broke the school record for longest rushing TD and longest rush from scrimmage. ... The Bulldogs rushed for 320 yards against Howard Payne and averaged 6.8 yards per carry. TLU tallied 669 yards of total offense (its second highest total of the season). The Bulldogs threw for 349 yards and four touchdowns. ... Senior quarterback Brent Peavy (Houston/St. Pius X) set the new TLU single-season record for passing TDs. He tossed four Saturday against HPU and threw for 337. Peavy’s 4 TD passes brought his season total to 28. Peavy also set the new school record for total offense in a season. Peavy’s new record total stands at 2,873, and he did it in just nine games.

Trinity finished its season in disappointing fashion with a 35-7 road loss against Austin College on Saturday afternoon. The Tigers fell to 5-5 with the loss, and finish third in the SCAC standings behind Texas Lutheran and Austin College. The loss to Austin snapped a streak of 16 consecutive wins in the series for the Tigers.  Trinity’s last loss to Austin came in 1993.  Trinity’s 1994 win over the ‘Roos ended a streak of 12 consecutive losses in the series.