MARSHALL, Texas – Running down the ramp to Ornelas Stadium will take place one last time for 20 seniors on Saturday as East Texas Baptist University hosts North American University in the final game of the 2022 season. ETBU will be playing to finish at 5-5 for the second consecutive season after finishing 4-4 in the American Southwest Conference.
 
"We have 20 seniors we will recognize on Saturday. We have some that have already graduated and working on their masters and some graduating in December with their bachelors and master's degree. This is a special group as five years ago this was the first class that I brought in. It's a special time with them as you grow with them throughout the years. I am proud of what they have done and what they have meant to the program. We get one last game with them and want to send them out strong," says head coach Brian Mayper.
 
This group of seniors has won 24 games over the past five years with a shortened 2021 spring CoVID season of five games. They have never had a losing season and continue to keep the program in the top tier of the ASC. Several players have earned awards in as two have been All-Americans in KJ Kelley and Jordan Estes.
 
Saturday brings the final challenge of 2022 as a NAIA program from Houston in North American University comes to Marshall. The second-year program is in their first year of the NAIA and has all freshmen on the roster. They are 2-7 and have one common opponent in Texas Lutheran as they lost, 45-17, to the Bulldogs. Their two wins are over Louisiana Community Christian College, 20-14, and Arkansas Baptist College, 44-14. They play as independent in their first-year of the NAIA taking on teams from NCAA Division I Texas A&M Commerce and Arkansas Pine Bluff to NAIA teams in Texas Wesleyan and Southeastern to two community college programs.
 
ETBU's defense continues to be the cornerstone for their season compiling 31 sacks which is 10^th in NCAA Division III. Averaging 8.9 tackles for loss a game, ETBU is tied for fifth in the nation. Jahkamian Carr continues to lead the sack barrage with 5.5 sacks and Joey Verret leads the team with 61 tackles and nine tackles for loss. Trint Scott has picked off five passes and is 13^th in the nation for interceptions per game as the defense has 12 interceptions overall.
 
Offensively, ETBU is averaging 19.1 points per game and 310.2 yards per game. Cornelius Banks has passed for 1,362 yards with 10 touchdowns as Kaleb O'Bryant is the top receiver with 496 yards receiving and two touchdowns. Melek Hamilton leads the ground game with 490 yards and has three touchdowns while Kylon Ashton has four touchdowns.
 
The special teams is one of the best in the ASC led by Alek Child and Kristopher Creel. Child has recorded seven punts that were 50+ yards this year with seven touchbacks with his longest being 64 yards. He is averaging 39.6 yards per punt. Creel continues to be an exciting returner on both punt and kickoff return. He is averaging 8.3 yards per punt return and 20.4 yards on kickoffs with a 42-yard return as his best punt return.
 
Last week, ETBU closed out ASC play shutting down Sul Ross State University. The Lobos were averaging over 30 points per game coming into the contest and were held to just seven offensive points. ETBU came away with a 17-14 win as seven SRSU points came on a pick-six touchdown. The defense didn't allow any points the first three quarters of the game taking a 17-0 lead. ETBU rushed for 230 yards finishing with 330 yards of total offense as Hamilton rushed for 133 yards. Four different defenders in Scott, Robert Williams, Reiss Vickers, and Kenneth Bradley all had interceptions.
 
"Great team win for us. We made plays defensively all day long, ran the ball hard, burnt a lot of clock when we had to, and special teams too did great. All three phases did a great job for us. I am proud of our effort and how they fought the whole time," says Mayper.
 
Senior Day will take place on Saturday before the game at 1:00 p.m. in Ornleas Stadium.