HOUSTON - HBU junior quarterback
Bailey Zappe set school records for completions, attempts and touchdowns, going 43-for-59 for 498 yards and seven touchdowns to lead the Huskies to a 68-31 victory over crosstown rival Texas Southern in FCS non-conference play Saturday night at Husky Stadium.
Sophomore wide receiver
Jerreth Sterns tied the school record with 12 catches for 104 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while junior receiver
Ben Ratzlaff made eight catches for 131 yards and two touchdowns for the Huskies (4-1). Senior
Trevor Larkin added nine catches for 87 yards. Junior running back
Dreshawn Minnieweather had 14 carries for 125 yards and two touchdowns and sophomore
Ean Beek rushed 13 times for 68 yards.
Junior linebacker
Caleb Johnson made 12 tackles, while sophomore linebacker
Brennan Young had 11 tackles, three for a loss, and junior linebacker
Tyrell Stewart had 10 tackles and recovered a fumble. Redshirt freshman defensive lineman
John Goree recorded 2.5 sacks and freshman safety
Tra Fluellen recovered two fumbles, giving him four takeaways on the season.
DeAndre Johnson was 25-for-37 for 420 yards and two touchdowns for the Tigers (0-4). Donnie Corley made 12 catches for 198 yards and a touchdown and Tren'Davian Dickson had four catches for 112 yards and a touchdown. Tylor Cook rushed for 58 yards and two touchdowns.
Marquel Daigle led TSU with 11 tackles and Jadrain McGraw had 10. Byron Edwards and Johs Murray each made eight stops and Edwards added an interception.
HBU piled up a school record 749 yards of total offense, with 499 passing and 250 on the ground. TSU had 503 yards, with 420 of those coming through the air. The Tigers lost four fumbles and the Huskies' lone turnover was an interception. HBU was penalized 13 times for 116 yards, while TSU committed six penalties for 55 yards.
TSU took the opening kickoff and Johnson found Dickson for a 64-yard completion on the first play of the game, but a backwards pass was recovered by the Huskies and they took over at their own 6. HBU then had a nine-play, 94-yard drive that only took 1:55. Minnieweather rushed for 64 yards on the drive and finished it off with a bruising 22-yard touchdown run.
After a TSU three-and-out, Zappe led a seven-play, 65-yard drive with four-straight completions, including a 15-yard touchdown to Johnson with just 8:07 on the clock.
Gino Garcia tacked on a 30-yard field goal with 28 seconds remaining for a 17-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
A snap over the head of TSU punter Nic Russo gave HBU the ball at the TSU 21, then Zappe completed three passes to Sterns, the last for a 10-yard touchdown, but the extra point was no good for a 23-0 lead. Zappe followed with an 18-yard swing pass to Minnieweather for a touchdown to extend the lead to 30-0.
TSU put together a 10-play, 78-yard drive, finished off by Cook's eight-yard touchdown run to cut the deficit to 30-7 with 8:06 remaining in the half. HBU wasted no time responding as Minnieweather reeled off a 22-yard run and Zappe found a wide open Ratzlaff for a 43-yard touchdown on the 23-second drive.
The Tigers came right back and Johnson hit Dickson for a 32-yard touchdown to make the score 37-14 with 5:16 left. TSU forced the first HBU punt of the night, but muffed it and senior wide receiver
Terry Tillmon recovered at the TSU 18. The Tigers kept the Huskies off the scoreboard as Edwards intercepted Zappe in the end zone. Johnson then hit Corley in stride for an 84-yard touchdown to cut HBU's lead to 37-21 at the half.
HBU opened the second half with a seven-play, 75-yard drive, with Zappe connecting with Ratzlaff for a 19-yard completion, followed by an eight-yard touchdown off a deflection to Ratzlaff. On the Huskies' next drive, Zappe found Beek out of the backfield for a 52-yard touchdown, aided by a great block by Larkin, for a 51-21 lead with 10:17 to go in the third.
The Huskies forced a fumble and recovered at the TSU 34, then Minnieweather plowed ahead from one yard out for his second touchdown of the game. TSU fumbled the ensuing kickoff with Fluellen recovering at the Tigers' 22. Zappe found Sterns for a pair of 11-yard receptions, the second a touchdown, for a 65-21 lead.
TSU took advantage of a roughing the passer penalty tacked on after a completion to get into field goal range and Ric Garcia connected from 33 yards out for a 65-24 score. HBU answered with
Gino Garcia's career-long 54-yard field goal to lead 68-24 just before the end of the third.
Johnson completed a 65-yard pass to Morbley to the HBU 3, then Cook punched it for a touchdown to cut the Huskies' lead to 68-31. TSU went on a 15-play, 84-yard drive, but turned the ball over on downs at the HBU 5.
HBU has won four-straight games for the first time in school history and already has matched its highest win total for a season.
The Huskies finish up a three-game homestand when they return to Southland Conference play against UIW Saturday, Oct. 5 at 6 p.m. at Husky Stadium.
