LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. - It was an unforgettable day for a pair of SCAC schools. In Georgetown, though it may have taken a year, the first victory couldn't taste sweeter as they knocked off Sul Ross State in front of their home crowd by a score of 27-20.
Meanwhile in Abilene, revenge also couldn't taste sweeter. A year ago, the Cowboys of Hardin-Simmons gave Texas Lutheran their only loss of the season, 73-44. The Bulldogs returned to that scene on Saturday and scorched the Cowboys, 37-14, to win in Abilene for the first time in school history.
Austin College and Trinity also were in road battles this past weekend.
Austin College
The 'Roos played their first road game of the season, heading to Marshall, Texas to battle the East Texas Baptist Tigers (1-1). Another slow start would haunt Austin College as 29 first half points led the Tigers to a 43-27 win.
Austin College tied things up at 14 early in the second quarter, but 22 unanswered points, going into the third quarter was enough for ETBU to cruise to the win. Noah Jesko led the way offensive for the 'Roos, going 24-for-45 with 293 yards and two scores while Bryce Murphy added 116 yards rushing on 19 carries. Kyle Crawford was unstoppable, catching six balls for 153 yards and a score. Defensively, Brooks Ward led the way with 13 tackles and an interception.
Austin College (0-2) will return home to Sherman this upcoming week as they welcome in the Occidental Tigers (1-0).
Southwestern University
After mother nature lit up the sky and terminated the Pirates first matchup, Southwestern returned home to take on Sul Ross State (0-2). It ended up being a historic day as the Pirate picked up their first win in the sport of football since 1950.
The Pirates got excellent play from their defense, forcing seven turnovers on the day to take the 27-20 win. With the Pirates up 14-13 to start the third quarter, Tanner Rogers came away with a huge interception to set up the offense deep in Lobo territory. A Bryan Hicks pass to Dante Smith moved the game to an eight point lead. Later in the quarter, the Pirates got another touchdown pass from Hicks to Justin Pelt and used strong defense to take home the win.
Defensively, Rogers had 11 tackles, a sack, four tackles for loss, two quarterback hurries, and an interception. Justin Broussard added 10 tackles, two sacks, 3.5 tackles for loss, and three forced fumbles while Nik Kelly had two interceptions. Hicks finished the day 14-for-37 with 185 yards through the air and four touchdown passes. Pelt added 105 yards on the ground and 20 receiving with a score.
Southwestern (1-0) will hit the road for the first time this season as they head to Marshall, Texas to take on the East Texas Baptist Tigers (1-1).
Texas Lutheran University
In a historic 2013 season, the Texas Lutheran Bulldogs suffered one defeat that kept them out of the NCAA Postseason. That one defeat came to Hardin-Simmons in Abilene. This past Saturday, the Bulldogs got a little revenge, scoring 16 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to take a 37-14 win.
The Bulldogs got it done on the ground, scorching the Cowboys (0-1) for over 300 yards rushing and four scores. Marquis Barrolle, Trenton White, and A.J. Saucedo all found the endzone on the ground to take a 21-7 lead going into the break. After no scoring in the third, the Cowboys opened the fourth quarter with a score to cut the deficit to seven. After a quick three-and-out by the TLU offense, Hardin-Simmons was looking to tie, but Drake Dowling erased all thoughts of a comeback with a 57 yard interception return to increased the lead to 28-14. The Bulldogs carried that momentum in the quarter en rout to their first win ever in Abilene.
Barrolle was excellent, carving up the Cowboy D to a tune of 218 yards rushing on 46 carries and two scores. White was only 11-for-20 in the game with 90 yards. Defensively, Dowling had seven tackles, one tackle for loss, and the key interception while Bryan Doolittle added three sacks on the day.
Texas Lutheran (2-0) will remain on the road as they head to Pineville, La. to do battle with the Louisiana College Wildcats (1-1).
Trinity University
The Tigers hit the road for the first time in 2014, battling Willamette in the northwest. Trinity found themselves down 13-10 at halftime, but the Bearcats outscored the Tigers 21-0 in the second half to take a 34-10 win on Saturday afternoon.
Trinity scored the games opening points on a short touchdown run by Desmond King in the second quarter. Willamette (1-0) got back-to-back touchdowns while the Tigers ended the half with a field goal. From there, the Tigers just couldn't get any offensive rhythm in the second half.
Travis Williams led the offense with 54 yards on 13 carries while LeAndrew Gordon caught two balls for 49 yards. Mason Blaschke struggled, only going 9-for-33 for 89 yards and an interception. Defensively, Connor Yorloff led the Tigers with 11 tackles, three tackles for loss, and a sack while Luke Packard added seven tackles, a forced fumble, and an interception.
Trinity (0-2) will remain on the road next weekend as they travel to Alpine, Texas to battle the Sul Ross State (0-2).