MARSHALL, Texas — Shutting out Centenary College (La.) in the second half, East Texas Baptist University scored 34 unanswered points across five scoring drives from the third quarter into the fourth quarter for a 46-14 victory on Family Weekend. ETBU trailed 14-12 at the half before coming out with adjustments for the second half.
The Tigers erased a 14-12 deficit with that surge. The offense produced 290 rushing yards and 222 passing yards, while the defense held Centenary (LA) to 175 total yards, including 93 on the ground.
Paul Woodard finished with 202 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 19 carries, with a 74-yard run included in ETBU's early scoring drive.
Calvin Ruzicka credited ETBU's halftime response after the win, saying, "I'm really proud of the coaching staff and the players and how they were able to make some adjustments at halftime." Ruzicka said, "We started slow, moving the ball, but it just seemed like we couldn't get everything clicking at once before we came in at halftime," as the Tigers regrouped for a stronger finish. He also pointed to the offense's depth, saying, "You know, there's a lot of weapons, and I, I would hate to defend this group right here because you can't just focus on one, and it's good to see that we're distributing the football."
Paul Woodard rushed 19 times for 202 yards and four touchdowns and added two catches for 18 yards. It is the second game in a row for him to go over 200 yards rushing as he now has 10 touchdowns on the year.
EJ Stovall caught six passes for a career-high 173 yards and a touchdown.
Jack Crawford completed 10 of 16 passes for 164 yards and two touchdowns and added 21 rushing yards with one score.
Toby White led ETBU with eight tackles as Eldrick Murray added seven and a sack.
Adrian Porter had a fumble recovery, and
Josiah Dawsey picked up a sack for 10 yards.
Woodard broke a 74-yard run on fourth-and-6 and later scored from 1-yard out to give ETBU a 6-0 lead in the first quarter. Centenary (LA) answered with a touchdown and extra point to move ahead 7-6, but the Tigers responded by driving to the Centenary (LA) two-yardline before the quarter expired.
The Tigers opened the second quarter with a 3-yard touchdown pass from Crawford to
Brandon Kennedy, moving ahead 12-7 with 14:08 left after the conversion attempt failed. ETBU threatened again after a 49-yard completion from
Jaylen Spriggs helped move the ball to the Centenary (LA) 10, but
Mitchell White's 27-yard field-goal attempt was no good. Centenary (LA) later finished a 16-play, 80-yard drive with a touchdown and extra point in the final minute, leaving ETBU behind 14-12 at halftime.
ETBU did all of its third-quarter scoring through Woodard, who ran for touchdowns of 1, 39 and 7 yards as the Tigers outscored Centenary (LA) 20-0 in the quarter. The defense added a fourth-down stop at the ETBU 34, then Porter recovered a fumble at the Centenary (LA) seven-yardline to set up Woodard's final score three seconds later. The Tigers finished the quarter ahead 32-14.
The Tigers scored touchdowns on their first two possessions of the fourth quarter, with Crawford throwing a 13-yard touchdown at 10:26 and running for a 23-yard score at 6:12. The defense held Centenary (LA) without a first down and to 0-for-4 on third down in the quarter, and ETBU closed out a 46-14 win.
ETBU will host Texas Lutheran University on Saturday, September 26, at 1:00 p.m.
QUARTER BREAKDOWN
First Quarter
- ETBU rushed for 119 yards on six carries, highlighted by Paul Woodard's 74-yard run and 1-yard touchdown.
- Centenary (LA) controlled possession for 10:53 and converted three of five third downs and its only fourth-down attempt.
- The Tigers moved to the Centenary (LA) 2 on their final possession of the quarter but trailed 7-6 after the first quarter.
Second Quarter
- Crawford hit Kennedy for a 3-yard touchdown at 14:08, giving ETBU its only score of the quarter.
- The Tigers finished the quarter 2-for-8 passing for 52 yards and went 0-for-2 on third down, with a 27-yard field goal attempt also missing.
- Centenary (LA) held the ball for 10:08, converted 4 of 6 third downs and closed a 16-play, 80-yard drive with a 2-yard rushing touchdown and PAT to make it 14-12 with 34 seconds left.
Third Quarter
- ETBU outscored Centenary (LA) 20-0 in the quarter and took a 32-14 lead into the fourth quarter.
- Paul Woodard scored all three Tigers touchdowns in the quarter on runs of 1, 39 and 7 yards.
- ETBU finished the quarter with 73 rushing yards and 98 passing yards, while Centenary (LA) had 1 rushing yard and 11 passing yards.
- Porter's fumble recovery at the Centenary (LA) 7 set up a one-play scoring drive, and Montrevian Cushionberry broke up a fourth-down pass at the ETBU 34 earlier in the quarter.
Fourth Quarter
- ETBU scored the only 14 points of the quarter and finished off a 46-14 win.
- Crawford accounted for both fourth-quarter touchdowns, throwing a 13-yard score and adding a 23-yard touchdown run.
- The Tigers rushed for 81 yards, converted both third-down attempts and finished with six first downs in the quarter, while Centenary (LA) had no first downs and went 0-for-4 on third down.
- The defense held Centenary (LA) to 10 rushing yards and 0 passing yards in the quarter, with Elidrick Murray recording a 9-yard sack.
ETBU Top Performers
Paul Woodard
- 202 rushing yards on 19 carries
- 4 rushing touchdowns
- 2 receptions for 18 yards
EJ Stovall
- 6 receptions
- 173 receiving yards
- 1 receiving touchdown
Jack Crawford
- Completed 10 of 16 passes for 164 yards
- 2 passing touchdowns
- 21 rushing yards
- 1 rushing touchdown
Toby White
- 8 total tackles
Elidrick Murray
- 7 total tackles
- 1 sack
