HOUSTON – In the opening game of the Southland Conference schedule for HCU football, the Huskies made it a night to remember with the program's first-ever win over a ranked opponent and ran for a school record 414 yards in their 43-22 win over 22
nd-ranked McNeese on Saturday night.
The Huskies (3-3, 1-0 SLC) piled up 414 yards on the ground, averaging 7.1 yards per carry, while totaling 622 total yards of offense while holding the visitors to 341 yards of offense. The HCU ground game was led by a pair of 100-yard rushing performances by quarterback
Eli Brickhandler, who finished with a career-high 138 yards on 22 carries, and running back
Calvin Hill, who ended the night with 104 yards on 13 carries.
Darryle Evans added 70 yards while
Jesse Valenzuela had 55 and
Champ Dozier had 44. The program's previous single-game high for rushing yards in a game was 345, set in 2016 against Nicholls. The 622 yards of total offense is third-most in a game.
HCU opened the game with the ball, starting at its own 20-yard line. The Huskies methodically moved the ball down to the McNeese (3-3, 1-1 SLC) 10-yard line on a 15-play drive that resulted in a
Dillon Fedor field goal and a 3-0 lead. The Huskies' defense forced a quick three-and-out on the Cowboys' first possession and took over at their own 15. HCU again moved the ball, taking it 58 yards on 10 plays, setting up Fedor for a 45-yard field goal and six-point advantage with 6:35 to go in the first quarter.
McNeese answered with a drive that gave the Cowboys a first-and-goal situation at the Huskies' nine-yard line. After a pass interference penalty, McNeese had first-and-goal from the two but the HCU defense stepped up and made multiple stops at the line of scrimmage and a big third-down tackle for loss by
Braden Hay forced the field goal unit on to the field and a successful kick made it 6-3.
Three plays into the next drive, Brickhandler rushed up the middle for 20 yards and on the next play, a trick play caught McNeese off guard with a quick screen out to
AJ Wilson who found
Jesse Valenzuela open and streaking downfield with a perfect pass for a 49-yard score and a 13-3 lead early in the second quarter.
After both teams had short possessions, McNeese took over after an HCU turnover on downs and Kamden Sixkiller led the Cowboys to the HCU 10 where Tyler Larco split the uprights from 28 yards out for another field goal with 9:32 still on the clock. The next HCU drive started at the 25 following a touchback and just three plays in Brickhandler found
Deuce McMillan on a crossing route and the receiver scampered 55 yards after the catch for a big score and put the Huskies up by two touchdowns, 20-6.
A stingy HCU defense again forced a three-and-out, starting the next possession at the Huskies' 15-yard line. The Huskies moved the ball 85 yards on nine plays in just 2:49 with Evans scoring on a six-yard rush up the middle and HCU led 27-6 with 4:01 remaining in the half. McNeese got great field position following a 31-yard kickoff return by Jamaal Levi and a face mask penalty against the Huskies tacking on an extra 15 yards and setting the visitors up at their own 46. 11 plays and 36 yards later, Larco again came out and connected on a 35-yard field goal for a 27-9 score at the intermission.
In the second half, the HCU defense held the Cowboys to -15 yards on their first two possessions and started its second possession on its' own 25. That possession resulted in a 29-yard field goal by Fedor to push the HCU lead to 21, 30-9, midway through the third quarter. The McNeese offense started showing signs of life with a 15-play drive that covered 75 yards and earned the team's first touchdown of the night when Sixkiller rushed up the middle for four yards and the score early in the fourth quarter.
HCU recovered an onside kick attempt and chewed up more than seven minutes of clock, getting down to the visitors' four-yard line and adding three with another short Fedor field goal. McNeese scored one more touchdown followed by a failed two-point conversion attempt and the Huskies closed out the scoring with one more Fedor field goal after a 54-yard run by Hill moved the Huskies into the red zone on the first play of the drive.
Brickhandler's 138 yards on the ground is the 10-most single-game rushing yards by an HCU player, just a yard behind Terrence Peters' 139-yard performance against Southeastern in 2015.
Defensively, Hay and
D.J. Harris led the way with 10 tackles each. Hay had a pair of tackles for loss with two quarterback hurries and one breakup. Safety
Zayteak McGhee recorded his first interception as a Husky and added seven tackles.
Markeis Sykes had a strong night, totaling 1.5 sacks to go along with three tackles while
Khary Crump had three pass breakups.
HCU remains at home next Saturday, Oct. 12, to host Southeastern at 2:00 p.m. at Husky Stadium.
