MARSHALL, Texas – Playing in the "Battle of the Border Claw" game, East Texas Baptist University will be trying to keep the "Claw" for the third year in a row when they host rival Louisiana College on Saturday. ETBU has won the last two meetings after LC had previously won the seven before.
 
ETBU is coming off a tough loss to Texas Lutheran where they fell 41-34 on their homecoming game. Dru Smith went 14-of-29 with 239 passing yards and two touchdowns. Xavier Grey caught six passes for 108 yards. Ty Parsons posted a career high 20 tackles while Zackary Biles added 14 of his own.
 
The loss has done nothing to shaken head coach Scott Highsmith's confidence in the team. "I've heard the old heads talk about the taste of the bitter pill," said Coach Highsmith. "It was a bitter pill for us to swallow. It was very disappointing. I'm not disappointed in our kids or anything like that. To lose close games is always tough and to be defeated when you think there's still a chance that you're going to win it, it's always tough. But hey, life happens. It happens to all of us. All across America, I don't care whether you're talking high school, college, or pro, half of the football coaches in this country are happy right now and half of them are sad because it's a win or lose deal. We're going to be fine and we look forward to this next game."

ETBU can now turn around and focus on a rivalry with Louisiana College. This will be the 20^th meeting all-time between these two teams with the record 9-9-1. Last season, ETBU won an epic thriller down in Pineville, La., by the final score of 64-62. That game saw Smith break school records with 530 passing yards and six touchdowns on 39 completions. Richard Johnson added 163 yards and three touchdown receptions, which tied a then school record for most touchdown receptions. It was Jeremiah Simpson's game-saving tackle that prevented LC to tie on a two-point conversion.
 
But last year's victory takes nothing away from the fact the rivalry is there as head coach Highsmith explains. "It's just a typical rivalry," says Coach Highsmith. "We're both going to play well. It means something to both teams. We both basically recruit the same athletes. It's a situation where a lot of their kids we're recruited by us and a lot of our kids we're recruited by them. It's a state-by-state situation. It's the state of Louisiana vs. the state of Texas. So it will be everything that Texas-OU is, but certainly on a smaller scale but it's that type of atmosphere for us."
LC is coming off a 52-34 win against McMurry for their first conference win of the season. At 2-4 overall, LC is scoring 36 points per game while giving up 37.8 points per game. Leading the offense for LC is quarterback D'Ondre Joseph, who has thrown for 1259 yards and 15 touchdowns while leading the team in rushing with 351 yards. Shedrick Davis has five receiving touchdowns on 516 yards receiving to lead the Wildcats. On defense, Ryan DeMattie leads with 54 tackles and two fumble recoveries. Orel Ledet Jr. has picked off three passes while Cade Maxwell has three sacks.
 
Despite the win-loss record, ETBU expects the same intensity as their previous meetings. "They're always athletic," says Coach Highsmith. "They're always well-coached. They had a coaching change, but he's carrying out the tradition. I know they're a little bit down as far as the won-loss record. But they still have the same athleticism, the same drive, and the same type of character that they've always had. It's going to be a tough battle and we're looking forward to it."
 
Kickoff starts is at 2:00 PM in Ornelas Stadium.