HOUSTON – Senior running back
Darryle Evans rushed for 128 yards and the fourth 100-yard rushing performance in his last 14 games but HCU suffered a 37-7 loss to visiting Southeastern on Saturday afternoon at Husky Stadium.
Evans averaged 6.4 yards per carry and broke a 50-yard run in the first quarter for the Huskies (3-4, 1-1 SLC). His 128 yards are the 15
th-most in a single game in program history. Fellow running back
Champ Dozier broke a 40-yard touchdown run on the opening possession of the game for HCU and ended the day with 81 all-purpose yards, rushing three times for 43 yards and returning a pair of kicks for a total of 38 yards.
HCU took the opening kick with
Jesse Valenzuela returning it 23 yards to the HCU 30. A quick 21 yard scamper by quarterback
Eli Brickhandler moved the chains on the first play from scrimmage and on third-and-one from the SLU 40 Dozier took a rush up the middle and took it to the house, untouched.
The Lions (3-4, 2-0 SLC) answered with an 11-play, 75-yard drive that ended on a one-yard touchdown pass from Eli Sawyer to Cade Collier to even things up. That was it for scoring in the first quarter and the visitors took control in the second quarter before holding a 20-7 lead at the half.
The Huskies failed to get on the board in the second half with Southeastern holding a 236-139 advantage in total offense. The Lions got rushing touchdowns from Antonio Martin Jr. and Rodeo Graham Jr.
Linebacker
Braden Hay led all players with a career-high 16 tackles with one sack and 1.5 tackles for loss. His 16 tackles are tied for the fourth-most in a game by Southland Conference players so far this season.
Zae Smith recorded his second sack of the season while
KJ Makins and
Semaj Brown each finished with eight tackles.
Southeastern finished with 446 yards of total offense compared to HCU's 326 with 278 of those coming on the ground. Graham led the way with 109 yards while Martin added 93. Sawyer threw a pair of touchdowns, completing 18-of-26 passes for 144 yards.
The Huskies have their bye week ahead of them next weekend and return to the field with a trip to Nacogdoches, Texas to take on the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks at Homer Bryce Stadium at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 26.
