BROWNWOOD, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor football team closed the 2023 season with a 35-10 win over Howard Payne University Saturday afternoon in Brownwood.
UMHB's offense opened the game with three unanswered scores to take an early lead.
Dillan Botts intercepted Howard Payne's second play from scrimmage to give UMHB the ball on the Yellow Jacket 29-yard line. UMHB capitalized five plays later with a one-yard touchdown punch from
Kenneth Cormier, Jr. for a 7-0 lead at 12:29.
Isaac Phe found
AJ Williams for 33 yards and another touchdown at 9:58 before Phe threw another 30-yard touchdown pass to
Stanley Asiegbu for a three-score lead with 9:21 left in the first quarter.
The Yellow Jackets drove 70 yards on eight plays to close the quarter, scoring off a nine-yard touchdown pass to cut the gap to two possessions. Howard Payne tacked on another score with a 37-yard field goal at 11:24 to cut the distance to just 11 points. The Yellow Jackets threatened again, driving all the way to the Cru 36-yard line but
Johnny Smith-Rider intercepted a pass at the 19 to thwart the drive. Both teams punted their next possessions to end the half with a 21-10 Cru lead.
UMHB totaled 110 yards of offense on 25 plays in the first half with 89 passing yards and three touchdowns. The Yellow Jackets tallied 235 yards on 41 total plays, holding the ball for 18:32 of the opening 30 minutes.
Howard Payne opened the third frame with a long drive, going 39 yards on eight plays. The Yellow Jackets set up for a 32-yard field goal but
Trashawn Adams blocked the attempt to leave them empty on the drive.
Dillan Botts recovered a fumble on their next drive to give UMHB the ball at the HPU 21-yard line. The Cru capitalized on that field position with a touchdown pass from Phe to
AJ Williams two plays later for a 28-10 lead.
UMHB added one more fourth-quarter score on a 20-yard touchdown pass to
Jerry Cephus for the 35-10 win.
Phe totaled 15 completions for 194 yards and four touchdowns in the win.
AJ Williams led the Cru with three catches for 65 yards and a pair of scores while
Jerry Cephus and
Stanley Asiegbu both added touchdown grabs.
Kenneth Miller, Jr. led the Cru with seven rushes for 68 yards while
Ozias Wright added 30 yards on nine carries. UMHB totaled 320 yards of offense on 62 plays.
Durand Hill led UMHB's defense with eight tackles while
Titus Dunk and
Myles Terry each added seven.
Dorian Pittman led the front line defense with 1.5 sacks while Dunk forced one fumble and
Johnny Smith-Rider had one interception.
UMHB ends the 2023 season with a 6-4 overall record and 5-1 mark in American Southwest Conference action.
