BROWNWOOD, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor football team blanked the Howard Payne Yellow Jackets 41-0 Saturday afternoon in Brownwood. The win improved the Cru to 4-2 on the season and 2-1 in American Southwest Conference action while the Yellow Jackets fell to 1-5 overall and 0-3 in league play.
 
UMHB got on the board early after a high snap on a Howard Payne punt went through the back of the end zone for a safety. UMHB's offense drove deep into Yellow Jacket territory but a fumble on the 13-yard line gave the Yellow Jackets the ball back. The Cru defense forced a three-and-out on the next series and drove 43 yards on four plays to score off a 13-yard touchdown pass from Jake Wright to Jerry Cephus. 
 
The Cru forced another three-and-out and marched back down the field, going 57 yards for another score. Kamerin Ferguson put the Cru in the red zone off a 27-yard rush then used three more carries to find the end zone for a 16-point margin. 
 
UMHB's defense recorded another safety after a six-yard sack from Justin Hines-Moore pinned the Yellow Jackets deep and another bad snap on punt sailed through the end zone. Defense held the Cru on the next possession before HPU got into UMHB territory off a 39-yard completion to Gus Charles. The Yellow Jackets drove down to the Cru 25 but turned the ball back over on downs. Wright led the Cru back down the field, constructing a nine-play drive that went 75 yards and scored off a three-yard pass to T.J. Rone. Neither team scored again in the quarter, giving UMHB a 25-0 lead after the first two frames. 
 
UMHB opened the second half with a 42-yard field goal from Edwin Lopez with 9:24 left in the quarter. Defense forced another punt with 8:29 to play and followed that with another 50-play scoring drive, ending with a 22-yard field goal from Lopez. Howard Payne ran just one play on the next drive before Joey Johnson intercepted a pass from Zy Gravitt, running it back 30 yards for a score. 
 
The Cru added one more score in the fourth quarter off a 29-yard field goal from Lopez to secure the 41-0 victory. UMHB totaled 484 yards of offense in the contest, putting up 216 yards on the ground and 268 in the air. Daunte Blake led the Cru with 76 yards on the ground off 10 total carries, followed by Asa Osbourn with 55 yards and Kamerin Ferguson with 52. Jake Wright led the air raid for the Cru, completing 22 passes for 268 yards and two touchdowns. Cephus and Rone led the Cru receivers with five receptions and one touchdown each. The Cru offensive line helped UMHB average 5.5 yards per carry and did not allow a sack in the contest. 
 
Defense limited the Yellow Jackets to just 186 yards of offense in the contest with only 24 rushing yards. Joey Johnson, Samuel Steffe and Gaige Sanders led the Cru with five tackles each while Sanders added a team-high 2.5 tackles for loss. Johnson, Joey Verret and Ethan Rayfield each added an interception while Sanders, Johnny Smith-Rider and Justin Hines-Moore all added a sack.
 
Lopez anchored the Cru's special teams, kicking a trio of field goals with a 42-yard long. He added eight kickoffs for a 61.1 average and two punts for 108 yards.
 
The shutout marked the Cru's first since a 54-0 win over Huntingdon College in the 2022 NCAA Division III Playoffs. UMHB returns to action on Saturday, November 2^nd in a 1 p.m. contest at East Texas Baptist University in Marshall.