Around the ASC: Austin College gets in the win column, Hardin-Simmons shuts out Southwestern (Oct. 22)

Above photo by Russell Marwitz/True To The Cru/russellmarwitz.com

Week 8 in the ASC did not disappoint. Here is a closer look at the four ASC games that were contested on Saturday afternoon.

This article is presented by Duke Realty, a proud sponsor of True To The Cru

Austin College defeats ETBU, 13-10

There is no getting around it. Austin College’s victory in Marshall on Saturday afternoon is the upset of the year in the ASC, at least at this point, through six weeks of conference play. With the contest pitting ETBU at home in its homecoming game against a winless AC squad, the Tigers appeared as the clear favorites, especially after weathering the storm of consecutive weeks against nationally-ranked opponents in UMHB and Hardin-Simmons. Factor in that ETBU entered the matchup ranked third in D-III football in team tackles for loss per game (10.2), and it seemed the Tiger defense would be able to carry the hosts to victory, regardless of the offense’s performance.

But the ‘Roos came prepared, wearing down the ETBU defense on a 16-play drive that ended in AC’s first touchdown of the game at the 1:40 mark of the first quarter. That was the only scoring play of the first half, as both defenses stepped up, but the visitors from Sherman extended their lead by two scores on their first drive of the second half. With AC holding a 13-0 lead, ETBU finally got on the board with a field goal late in the third quarter, before scoring the Tigers’ only touchdown of the game with 2:41 left in the game. Though ETBU’s defense came up with a late stop, and put the ball back in the hands of the Tiger offense, the rally fell short, as ETBU turned the ball over on downs with just seven seconds remaining.

The critical piece in AC establishing its early lead came on the defensive end, as the ‘Roos recorded fourth-down stops on three straight ETBU drives to open the game. Back-to-back fumbles recovered by AC in the two drives that followed did little to help the Tigers’ offensive production.

AC did not attempt a single pass in the contest, running the ball 55 times for 228 yards. Ben Merez led the rushing attack, with 98 yards on 22 carries and a touchdown.

Montgomery Chiropractic has been serving the Belton community since 1981 and is a proud sponsor of True To The Cru

No. 10 Hardin-Simmons shuts out Southwestern 68-0

The Cowboys proved once again why they are a Top 10 team, scoring at least two touchdowns in all four quarters. HSU quarterback Gaylon Glynn threw for three touchdowns to three different receivers in the first half alone, establishing a 33-0 halftime lead.

The second half was much of the same, though the defense provided HSU’s first two touchdowns with Terre Franklin and Davonte Nephew returning interceptions for touchdowns in the third quarter. Nephew’s interception return was registered as going 100 yards, which ties the ASC record.

The Cowboy defense limited Southwestern to a third-down conversion rate of 26 percent and just 12 first downs. HSU’s offense tallied 216 more yards of total offense than the Pirates, with 398, including 229 through the air. Glynn threw for 165 of those yards, on eight completions, while the rushing attack was composed primarily of Colton Marshall and Myles Featherston, who each ran for at least one touchdown.

The Shady Villa Hotel is located in nearby Salado, Texas, and a proud sponsor of True To The Cru

Texas Lutheran defeats McMurry, 17-10

ETBU was not the only ASC program to lose its homecoming game on Saturday afternoon. McMurry did as well, unable to overcome the 14-3 lead TLU held entering the fourth quarter. Though the Warhawks reached the end zone on a two-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Andrew McBride with 24 seconds left, the comeback came too late, as the Bulldogs won for the third time on the road this season.

It was 7-3 at halftime in favor of TLU, though Seth Cosme’s second touchdown pass of the day with 3:51 in the third put the pressure on McMurry, as the Bulldogs led 14-3 at that point. Neither team scored for much of the fourth quarter before TLU’s Joaquin Rodriguez came up with a 15-yard field goal with 2:06 left that put the game out of reach.

Cosme was 20-of-26 passing for 165 yards. The TLU defense forced three interceptions along with two sacks, as 10 points were scored off turnovers.

Navcon Group, LLC. is a general contractor based out of Central Texas and a proud sponsor of True To The Cru

No. 4 UMHB defeats Sul Ross State, 45-14

In the Crusaders’ first home game since Oct. 1, they came up with two forced turnovers to open the contest, and pulled away from SRSU in a 21-point second quarter.

UMHB quarterback Kyle King broke the program’s record for career touchdowns with his eight-yard completion to Jerry Day Jr. in the end zone with 8:18 left in the third quarter. King was 19-of-31 for 250 yards, with four touchdowns and two interceptions. Running back Aphonso Thomas recorded 121 rushing yards for his second 100-plus yard rushing performance of the season. Day set career-highs with 150 receiving yards on seven receptions and two touchdowns.

SRSU threw for 251 yards, with Trent Graves accounting for 236 of those. Though the Lobos had several weapons at the receiver position, UMHB’s defense was exceptional, holding SRSU to three first downs on 15 third-down attempts.