HOUSTON – McNeese rushed for 346 of its 399 total yards in a 21-10 victory over HCU in Southland Conference football Saturday afternoon at Husky Stadium. Houston Christian University (HCU), formerly Houston Baptist University (HBU), underwent a name change in September 2022.
HCU played two true freshman quarterbacks, with
Scott Pfeiffer completing 8-of-15 passes for 106 yards, a touchdown and an interception, and
AJ Wilson completing 6-of-11 for 36 yards and rushing for 28 yards. Freshman
Ismail Mahdi rushed for 78 yards and junior
Ismael Fuller had two catches for 81 yards and a touchdown for the Huskies (2-8, 1-5 SLC).
Sophomore linebacker
Rodney Dansby recorded 15 tackles and interceptions, while freshman safety
Caleb Flagg had 10 stops and broke up the pass that led to Dansby's pick.
Xavier Toliver,
Jalyx Hunt and
Brennan Young each had eight tackles, with Toliver adding an interception.
Jordan Oliver also had an interception.
Deonta McMahon carried 27 times for 197 yards, while Marcus McElroy, Jr. had 12 carries for 136 yards and two touchdowns for McNeese (3-7, 1-4). Ryan Roberts completed 7-of-19 passes for 53 yards and three interceptions.
Amaud Willis-Dalton and Micah Davey each had 10 tackles for the Cowboys and Willis-Dalton had an interception return to set up a score. McNeese also came up with three sacks.
The Cowboys had 22 first downs to the Huskies' 12 and held HCU to 250 total yards. HCU was penalized six times for 50 yards and McNeese three times for 28.
McNeese got on the board first, with McElroy breaking away for a 16-yard touchdown late in the second quarter. HCU immediately answered with Pfeiffer finding Fuller for a 74-yard touchdown reception to tie the game, 7-7, with 4:55 remaining before halftime.
Brady Buell's 72-yard punt was downed at the McNeese 2-yard line, then the Husky forced a three-and-out and took over in Cowboys territory. HCU's drive stalled out in the red zone and
Nery Enriquez hit a 30-yard field goal to put the Huskies ahead, 10-7, with 4:10 to go in the third quarter.
Willis-Dalton's 35-yard interception return set up McElroy's 11-yard touchdown run as the Cowboys regained a 14-10 lead with 48 seconds left in the third. Roberts then scrambled for a 5-yard touchdown as McNeese extended its lead to 21-10 with 10:17 to go in the game.
The Huskies wrap up the regular season on the road with a non-conference FCS matchup against Tarleton Saturday, Nov. 19 in Stephenville, Texas.
