Box Score Box Score
Clinton, MS— The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor football team used a big second quarter and a solid defensive effort in the rest of the game to post a 35-12 victory over Mississippi College Saturday night in Clinton, Mississippi. The Cru, ranked 3
rd in the country, improves to 5-0 overall and 4-0 in American Southwest Conference play with the victory. The loss drops the Choctaws to 2-3 overall and 1-2 in the ASC on the season.
UMHB squandered a pair of scoring chances early in the first quarter. The Cru took the opening kickoff and drove to the Mississippi College six-yard line. Three plays netted five yards and
Darius Wilson was stopped at the one-yard line on fourth-and-goal. UMHB's next possession would end with a missed 31-yard field goal try from
Chad Peevey. The Choctaws would turn an interception on the final play of the first quarter into Steven Knight's two-yard scoring run on the third play of the second quarter to make it 7-0 Mississippi College with 13:33 left in the first half. UMHB answered with a nine-play, 72-yard drive, capped by
LiDarral Bailey's one-yard plunge to tie the game at seven with 9:57 to go in the half. The Cru would force a Mississippi College punt on the ensuing possession and
Geoff Myles returned it 72 yards for a score to give UMHB its first lead of the game at 14-7 with 6:46 to go in the half.
Javicz Jones would intercept a pass on the next Choctaw possession and Bailey would add his second one-yard scoring run of the game to put the Cru on top 21-7 with 1:37 left on the clock. MC would drive down the field and cut it 21-10 on Chris Campbell's 36-yard field goal on the final play of the first half.
The Choctaws would close to 21-12 on a safety when Wilson fumbled into the Cru end zone on UMHB's first drive of the second half. It would stay 21-12 into the fourth quarter as the defenses took over. Jones would block a Choctaw punt that
Elijah Hudson pounced on in the end zone to give UMHB a 28-12 lead with 12:05 remaining in the game.
Silvio Diaz would force a fumble on a sack of MC quarterback Tommy Reyer late in the fourth.
Korey Steward would scoop up the loose ball and race 52 yards for the exclamation point and a 35-12 lead with 2:36 to go. MC would drive to the UMHB one-yard line on the game's final series, but turned the ball over on a fumble.
Wilson finished with 138 rushing yards on 23 carries while Bailey ran for 60 yards and two scores on 11 attempts. Bailey was just 5-14 through the air for 55 yards and he was picked off once.
Ty Dooley led the Cru defense with 15 tackles and Jones added 11 stops, two interceptions, a blocked punt and a half sack.
Silvio Diaz added two sacks for UMHB. Myles finished with 102 yards on four punt returns. His punt return for a touchdown was the third of his career and moves him to within one of the school record of four held by P.J. Williams.
Steven Knight ran for 118 yards and a score on 27 carries for the Choctaws. Reyer added 62 rushing yards on 21 carries and he was 21-37 through the air for 185 yards. Jarrad Craine and Sam Maze led the MC defensive effort with five tackles apiece.
The Cru rushed for 212 yards but only totaled 267 yards of total offense. UMHB turned the ball over just once. Mississippi College had 175 rushing yards and 360 yards of total offense, but the Choctaws turned the ball over four times and were penalized 11 times for 119 yards. The UMHB defense also posted five sacks.
The Cru had a 33-game ASC win streak snapped in a 17-14 loss to the Choctaws on UMHB's last visit to Clinton. Saturday's win was the 15
th conference win in a row, pushing the Cru to 48-2 in its last 50 league games. The Cru now leads the all-time series with MC 12-2.
UMHB will now return home to host Southern Oregon in a 1:00 PM kickoff at Tiger Field next Saturday in the final non-conference game of the year. The Cru will return to ASC play with a 2:00 PM home game against East Texas Baptist at Tiger Field on October 22
nd.
