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Belton, TX – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor football team used Bryson Tucker's huge rushing day and another dominating defensive effort and the Cru posted a 21-0 victory over Southern Oregon University Saturday afternoon in Belton. UMHB, ranked 8
th in the country by D3football.com, improves to 6-1 on the season with the victory. The loss drops the Raiders to 2-6 on the year.
UMHB set the tone on the game's opening possession when the Cru defense forced a fumble and recovered it on the SOU 32-yard line. LiDarral Bailey threw a 32-yard TD pass to Ervin Johnson on the next play, but a UMHB holding call wiped out the play. The Cru would be forced to punt, but UMHB forced another SOU fumble on the next series and recovered this one at the Raider 13-yard line. Bryson Tucker would score on a four-yard run three plays later to give the Cru a 7-0 lead with 10:10 remaining in the first quarter. It would stay that way deep into the second quarter before Tucker came up big again. He broke a tackle, reversed field and dashed 90 yards for a touchdown to give UMHB a 14-0 lead with 6:31 left to play in the first half. The Cru would have a chance to extend the lead in the third quarter, but UMHB missed a pair of field goals and settled for a 14-0 lead at the end of the third quarter. Bailey would score on a six-yard run 1:14 into the fourth quarter to give the Cru a 21-0 lead. The UMHB defense would then force an SOU punt on the Raiders next possession and the Cru would pick off a pair of Paul Sweeney passes on the final two SOU drives of the game to nail down the victory.
Tucker finished with a career-high 218 rushing yards on 24 carries and he added a pair of rushing touchdowns in his first game at running back since last year's NCAA Division III National Semifinals. The 218 rushing yards also represent the fourth-highest single-game total in UMHB football history. Tracy Cooper added 62 yards on 10 carries in his first action at running back for the Cru. Jerrad Jefferson led the UMHB defense with 14 tackles. Brett Parker intercepted a pass to become the Cru's career leader with 12 interceptions. Jeremy Salinas added 11 tackles, a forced fumble and an interception for the Cru. The UMHB defense forced five turnovers and held the Raiders to just 196 yards of total offense.
Brandon Baldwin led the Southern Oregon offense with 118 rushing yards on 36 carries, but he managed just 26 yards in the second half and fumbled the ball away three times. Sweeney was 9-22 passing for 77 yards and he had a pair of passes picked off. Vance Beach caught four passes for 31 yards for the Raiders. Gary Boubon had a team-high nine tackles to lead Southern Oregon.
The Cru will continue its home stretch with a return to American Southwest Conference play next weekend. UMHB will host East Texas Baptist University for a 1:00 PM kickoff at Tiger Field.
