MARSHALL, Texas - After their offense put up 21 points, the East Texas Baptist University football team saw their defense hang on to a 24-15 win over McMurry University in their home opener at Ornelas Stadium. The Tigers are 2-1 overall and 1-1 in the conference.
ETBU had 333 yards of total offense on the night, which was 15 less than the War Hawks.
Troy Yowman threw 209 yards on 16-of-31 completed passes and three touchdowns.
Josh Lister ran 70 yards on the ground on nine attempts.
Tariq Gray recorded five receptions for 51 yards, while
Dony Givens had a 65-yard touchdown reception on his only pass caught. Also catching touchdown passes were
Qua Heath and defensive end
Cameron Kaufert. ETBU's defense forced six turnovers, including two interceptions from
Trint Scott.
Kade Stephenson also had an interception while birthday boy
Chase Thompson (eight) and
Joey Johnson (nine) combined for nine tackles.
Two plays into the game, ETBU fumbled the ball and the War Hawks recovered for a touchdown and a 6-0 lead following a blocked extra point attempt. The Tigers answered back with a touchdown ending with Yowman hitting Givens for 65 yards. ETBU's defense then forced two McM turnovers with a turnover on downs and a fumble recovery. However, they were unable to score on their own and the 7-6 lead entered into the second quarter.
McM then fumbled another possession to open the second quarter and the Tigers would take over. The 12-play drive that followed covered nearly four-and-a-half minutes and it would end with a gutsy fourth-and-goal decision as Yowman threw a pass to
Cameron Kaufert for a touchdown to take a 14-6 lead. McM then drove down the field, but after two touchdown catches that were ruled incomplete, the War Hawks luck worsened as ETBU blocked a field goal. Though the Tigers didn't capitalize on the ensuing possession, they would recover the ball on a muffed punt and score on a pass from Yowman to Heath. McM closed the gap to 21-9 at halftime with a successful field goal.
The War Hawks began the second half with possession and drove to the Tiger 32 when Scott recorded his first interception. Each team wound up punting on their ensuing drive as the Tigers were unsuccessful in scoring in the third quarter while their defense got ETBU the ball at the 48-yard line. However, the War Hawks intercepted a pass in the end zone and would score a touchdown with 12 seconds left in the third quarter to trail 21-15.
After ETBU punted early in the fourth quarter, the War Hawks drove down to ETBU's 12-yard line. On third down, Scott snagged his second interception in the end zone and the Tigers took over. After an exchange on punts, the Tigers used a 26-yard rush by Lister to spark a drive that ended with
Alberto Garcia icing the win with a field goal. McM's last drive ended with an interception by Stephenson. The Tigers return to Ornelas Stadium next week to take on Howard Payne University. Kickoff starts at 1:00 PM.
