MARSHALL, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor football team earned a 27-14 win over East Texas Baptist University Saturday afternoon in Marshall. The win improved the Cru to 5-2 on the season and 3-1 in American Southwest Conference play while the Tigers move to 5-3 overall and 1-3 in league play.
 
UMHB forced a punt on the Tigers' opening possession and followed with a 10-play, 74-yard drive to take a 7-0 lead. Jake Wright completed a pair of passes for 25 yards in the drive while Asa Osbourn and Kamerin Ferguson combined for eight carries, including Ferguson's 10-yard touchdown run.
The Cru forced a turnover on downs on ETBU's next possession, followed by a fumble recovered by Dillan Botts. UMHB's offense wasn't able to score on either of the ensuing possessions, holding the score at 7-0 after the first quarter. The Tigers opened the second frame with a scoring drive, going 90 yards on six plays to knot the game at seven. UMHB responded with 3:11 left in the half when Jake Wright found Asa Osbourn for a 10-yard touchdown pass. ETBU drove late in the half but UMHB's defense held, causing enough destruction to allow time to expire before the Tigers could attempt a field goal.
 
ETBU forced a punt on the first drive of the second half. The Tigers recovered a fumble on the punt return but UMHB's defense held again, forcing a turnover on downs. The Cru responded with a 74-yard drive, capped by a 37-yard touchdown pass from Wright to Ranius Daramola.
 
Gaige Sanders recorded a 17-yard sack fumble to end the Tigers' next drive, recovering the fumble and giving possession back to the Cru. An interception ended that threat but UMHB's defense held again, forcing the Tigers into fourth and nine and getting the ball back on downs.
 
UMHB again responded, driving 63 yards for a score. Jake Wright hit Christopher Gacayan for 23 yards and the touchdown, giving UMHB a 20-point lead with 5:39 to play. ETBU answered, going 74 yards with a 22-yard pass from Kaden Brown to Trayjen Llanas-Wilcox to cut UMHB's lead to 13 with 2:23 to play. The Cru drove late but wasn't able to score, ending the contest in a 27-14 UMHB win.
 
UMHB totaled 334 yards of offense with 192 yards in the air and 142 on the ground. Wright threw for 192 yards on 14 completions while Asa Osbourn led the run game with 63 yards on 14 attempts. A.J. Williams was the Cru's leading receiver with 41 yards on three grabs while T.J Rone also recorded three catches.
 
Durand Hill led the Cru with 13 tackles while Samuel Steffe added 11. Gaige Sanders was also a defensive threat for the Cru, recording 1.5 sacks for 19 yards lost.
 
The Cru returns to action next week in a 1 p.m. contest at Hardin-Simmons University on Saturday, November 9^th.