BELTON, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor football team opened American Southwest Conference action in dominating fashion, earning a 50-9 win over McMurry University Saturday evening in Belton. The Cru allowed the War Hawks less than 150 total offensive yards in the contest. UMHB moved to 1-3 on the season and 1-0 in ASC play while the War Hawks fell to 1-2 overall and 0-1 in league action.
UMHB opened the game with a 10-play, 47-yard drive, highlighted by a 17-yard rush from Isaac Phe and a pair of completions for 30 yards. Jack Bruner capped the drive with a 45-yard field goal to put the Cru up 3-0.
McMurry started their first offensive drive on their own 32-yard line. Trace Holmes cut that drive short with an interception on the War Hawks' third offensive play, giving the Cru the ball back at the McMurry 19-yard line. Kenneth Miller, Jr. rushed for five yards on the next play before Phe found T.J. Rone in the end zone for a 10-3 UMHB margin.
The War Hawks drove 35 yards on their next possession but UMHB's defense forced a field goal to keep the lead at seven. UMHB opened the second quarter with another Bruner field goal to go ahead by 10 and held the War Hawks to just 13 total yards of offense in the second quarter. Dorian Pittman recovered a McMurry fumble with 18 seconds left in that frame to give UMHB the ball on the War Hawk three-yard line. Kenneth Cormier, Jr. rushed for three yards and the score two plays later, sending the Cru into halftime up 20-3.
Bruner kicked another field goal on the Cru's second offensive possession of the second half for a 20-point Crusader margin. Kenneth Miller, Jr. returned a War Hawk punt 54 yards on the next drive, giving UMHB the ball in the red zone with 6:03 to play in the third. Isaac Phe found Romello Cook for 12 yards and the score, putting the Cru up by 27.
UMHB's defense did not allow McMurry a positive-yard drive until 5:15 in the third when the War Hawks drove 36 yards on eight plays. UMHB held on fourth-and-seven to keep the shutout and embarked on its next scoring drive to open the fourth quarter. Ozias Wright highlighted the drive with 34 rushing yards, including the 10-yard touchdown rush.
McMurry went three plays for -7 yards in the next drive before UMHB's Jackson Tingler found Matthew Jackson for an eight-yard score at the 9:02 mark to put the Cru up 44-3. McMurry found the end zone with 1:59 in the fourth quarter but the point-after attempt failed, holding the game at 44-9. UMHB used just three plays to respond with Tingler finding Dyrius Toliver for 41 yards and a touchdown, giving the Cru a 50-9 lead with 28 seconds left to play. Solomon Hopkins ended the game for UMHB with an interception and 15-yard return on the War Hawks' next drive.
UMHB totaled 423 yards of offense, led by Isaac Phe with 232 yards in the air. Phe had 14 completions with a pair of touchdowns, adding 16 yards on the ground. Jackson Tingler completed six passes for 90 yards and a pair of scores.
Ozias Wright had a team-high 72 yards on the ground as UMHB totaled 134 total net yards. T.J. Rone led the Crusader receivers with three catches for 81 yards, followed by Dyrius Toliver with 41 yards and Will McClintock with 40 yards.
Jack Bruner totaled three field goals in the contest with a 45-yard long. Kenneth Miller, Jr. was the Cru's leading returner with 54 yards while Matthew Jackson added 32.
The Cru limited McMurry to just 148 total yards of offense on 61 plays. The War Hawks had just two net-rushing yards in the contest. Durand Hill led the Cru with eight total tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss and one pass breakup. Titus Dunk, Johnny Smith-Rider, Myles Terry and Nate Western each added five tackles while Te'Ron Brown and Abraham Ndofor both recorded a sack. Trace Holmes was a leader in the Cru secondary, totaling two interceptions for 66 yards returned.
UMHB has a bye-week next week and will return to action at Texas Lutheran University in a 1 p.m. contest on Saturday, October 7th. The Cru will return home for the annual TOUCHDOWNS game on Saturday, October 14th.
