MARSHALL, Texas – It was a game of firsts for East Texas Baptist University football as they unveiled their all black Nike uniforms for the home crowd and it is also the first time the football program has started 3-0 to begin a season. ETBU came from behind in the second half to beat Southwestern University 33-23.

Day'Lonzo Freeman had a career night for ETBU rushing for 151 yards on 11 carries for two touchdowns. Dru Smith then passed for 203 yards and three touchdowns as Richard Johnson was the top receiver at 68 yards on four catches. ETBU finished with ETBU finished the game with 17 first downs and 393 total yards of offense. Southwestern finished with 25 first downs and 591 yards of offense. Caleb Taylor led the team with 15, and Ty Parsons and Dylan Bowman pitched in 10 tackles each.

ETBU struggled to move the ball offensively in the first half as they only tallied two first downs in the first two quarters. Southwestern struck first with a three-yard touchdown pass from Hover to Smith. The game would remain 7-0 in favor of SU until a 77-yard run from Day'Lonzo Freeman. That would set up the final four yard plunge from Freeman to make the game 7-6. SU would convert a field goal late in the second half to make the contest 10-6 going into halftime.

ETBU was able to get the ball rolling in the second half as they scored 27 points in the final two quarters to take the lead and hold on until it until the final whistle sounded. Dru Smith found Xavier Gray for a 27-yard touchdown pass and catch to give ETBU the lead, and ETBU never looked back, with 6:20 left in the third quarter for a two-point lead, 12-10. ETBU took advantage of a blocked punt from Zack Walker that gave them a two-yard touchdown pass to Dominic Haggerty from Smith to extend the lead to 18-10. ETBU would force another punt and then would score on their third straight possession with another touchdown pass from Smith, this time to Richard Johnson for the 39-yard connection in the endzone at the 13:57 mark in the fourth quarter, 26-10. SU would fight back with a four-yard touchdown pass from Hicks to Smith to make the score 26-16 with just under 10 minutes left in the game. Freeman would find daylight for ETBU once again as he found a hole for a 36-yard touchdown run to cap off scoring for ETBU, 33-16, with 2:29 remaining. Southwestern finished the night off with a 20-yard touchdown pass from Hicks to Smith.

ETBU has a bye week and then will return to action in two weeks with a road contest at Belhaven University on October 1 at 1:00 p.m