Photo GalleryABILENE, Texas – HBU sophomore running backs
Terrance Peters and
B.J. Kelly combined for 203 yards, but Abilene Christian scored 21 unanswered points in the third quarter en route to a 49-21 victory over the Huskies in the Southland Conference opener Saturday night at Shotwell Stadium.
Peters rushed 13 times for a career-high 112 yards, the third 100-yard rushing performance in HBU history, while Kelly had 13 carries for 91 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Kelly had the other two 100-yard games last season, and the Huskies (1-2, 0-1 SLC) reached 200 yards rushing as a team for the fourth time in their history.
Sophomore quarterback
Max Staver went 9-for-22 with a pair of interceptions. Sophomore
Ethan Fry made two catches for 19 yards, while
Ricardo Barnett,
Mev Ajdin and
Brandon Taylor each had catches for 10 yards or more. Sophomore punter
Christian Guzman kicked six times for 48.5 yards, with a long of 56.
Sophomore linebacker
Garrett Dolan led the Huskies defense with 11 tackles, while sophomore linebacker
Cody Moncure had eight. Sophomore cornerback
Prince Sam, sophomore safety
Taylor Thompson and sophomore linebacker
Terrell Brown, recorded seven tackles apiece, with Brown also recovering a fumble. Sophomore safety
Jonathan Buffin had five tackles, forced a fumble and recovered a fumble, and junior linebacker
Dorrin Turner had five tackles and a sack.
Parker McKenzie completed 18-of-25 passes for 228 yards and three touchdowns for ACU (1-1, 1-0). De'Andre Brown rushed 15 times for 93 yards and a touchdown, while Herschel Sims carried 13 times for 78 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Jonathan Epps made six catches for 86 yads and two touchdowns, and Cedric Gilbert caught six passes for 59 yards and a score.
Sam Denmark made 12 tackles to lead the Wildcats, while Lnn Grady registered six and a sack. Jabari Butler recorded a pair of interceptions, returning them for a total of 56 yards.
After HBU went three-and-out on the game's opening possession, then ACU went 64 yards on five plays, finished by McKenzie's six-yard touchdown pass to Epps to give the Wildcats a 7-0 lead with 11:55 left in the first quarter. Midway through the quarter, the Huskies marched 66 yards on 10 plays, then Kelly broke through the middle for a 12-yard touchdown to tie the game with 1:23 remaining.
The Huskies forced the Wildcats into a three-and-out, then HBU took over at its own 37. A 16-yard run by Kelly and a 21-yard run by sophomore wide receiver
D'Angelo Wallace set HBU up with a first-and-goal at the three. A chop block pushed the Huskies back to the 18, but Staver hit Ajdin for a 14-yard pass. Staver was stopped just short of the goal line, before Ajdin punched it in to put HBU ahead, 14-7, with 9:31 left in the second quarter.
ACU tied the game on its next possession on a nine-yard touchdown run by Sims, then Butler's first interception gave the Wildcats the ball back on the HBU 40. A pass interference penalty in the endzone on HBU, set up a one-yard TD run by Brown to send ACU into halftime with a 21-14 lead.
McKenzie hit Gilbert for an eight-yard touchdown to open the second half, then Cody Ennis found Jamie Walker for a three-yard touchdown pass to extend ACU's lead to 35-14. Sims broke free for a 35-yard touchdown run with one tick remaining in the third as the Wildcats went up, 42-14.
After an ACU fumble, Kelly added a 12-yard touchdown run to make the score 42-21 with 11:25 to go, but McKenzie hit Epps with an eight-yard touchdown with 2:19 left for the game's final score.
The Huskies hit the road again next weekend as they face Sam Houston State in Southland Conference play Saturday at 6 p.m. at Bowers Stadium in Huntsville, Texas. The game will be broadcast on FOX College Sports.
