COMMERCE, Texas – HCU used a 26-point third quarter to take a 40-28 lead but ultimately fell by a 41-40 final to East Texas A&M on Saturday afternoon in a Southland Conference matchup at Memorial Stadium.
Both teams went three-and-out on their first possessions and neither offense got much going early. The Huskies (4-7, 2-4 SLC) opened the scoring when senior
Semaj Brown came up with a one-handed interception at the Lions' (3-8, 2-3 SLC) 36-yard line and returned it untouched for a score and a 7-0 lead with 7:28 on the clock. After a defensive stop, ETAMU came up with a strip sack on the second play of the HCU drive and recovered the fumble at the Huskies 35-yard line.
Five plays later, BK Jackson found the end zone on a one-yard run to even the score. The Huskies got the ball near midfield on their next drive but a third-and-nine pass from
Cutter Stewart was picked off by Max Epps who returned it 55 yards for a score and a 14-7 ETAMU lead. The Lions came up with a stop on the next possession and then engineered an 11-play, 85-yard drive to take a two-score lead, 21-7, with 7:48 left in the half.
Later in the half,
Khary Crump came up with his third interception of the season thanks in large part to the pass deflecting off the helmet of DJ Harris, returning it 21 yards to the HCU 42-yard line. Four plays later, Stewart found
AJ Wilson downfield at the 11 and he took it the rest of the way for a touchdown and set the Huskies up to trail just 21-14 at the half.
Jesse Valenzuela returned the opening kick of the second half 72 yards to the Lions' 23 to set up a 36-yard field goal from
Dillon Fedor to make it a 21-17 game. The HCU defense then forced a three-and-out and took over at their own 36. The Huskies drove downfield into the red zone and pulled within one, 21-20, on another Fedor field goal, this time from 29 yards.
After another three-and-out from the defense, the Huskies struck on the second play of the next drive with Stewart and Wilson connecting on a 67-yard touchdown pass down the left sideline. After a failed two-point try, HCU led 26-21. ETAMU moved the ball on its next possession, getting down to the Huskies' 24 but a big stop on fourth-and-one gave HCU a turnover on downs.
On the first play from their own 25, the Huskies again went to Wilson with Stewart finding him downfield for a 75-yard score. With the score now at 33-21, Peace went 5-of-5 on the Lions' next possession with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Christian Jourdain again making it a one-score game 33-28.
On the kickoff following the ETAMU score,
Champ Dozier fielded the kick at the HCU three and took it 97 yards to the house to make it 40-28 in the Huskies' favor. The Lions again answered on the next drive, however, moving the ball 74 yards on seven plays with Jourdain again hauling in a touchdown pass and bringing it to 40-35 at the end of the third quarter.
Both defenses stepped up in the fourth but it was the Lions who managed to put points on the board with a 10-play, 56-yard drive that ended with a two-yard touchdown pass. Leading 41-40, the Lions went for two but it was stopped. With 36 seconds to go, HCU took over at their own 25, quickly driving to the ETAMU 35 with just five ticks left on the clock. Fedor came out to attempt a 44-yarder that fell short but an illegal formation penalty on the defense gave the kicker another shot from 39 with time expired. His kick from 39 misses wide right to end the game.
Wilson finished the day with 206 yards on four receptions with three touchdowns. That marks the second-highest receiving yard total in a game in program history and ties for the most touchdowns in a single game. It's also the sixth-highest all-purpose yards in a game by an HCU player.
Stewart finished the game 15-of-30 passing for 310 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. Valenzuela led the Huskies with 51 yards on the ground and had 129 all-purpose yards.
Defensively, Harris had a monster game with 15 tackles, 2.5 sacks, five tackles for loss, two quarterback hurries and one pass breakup. Brown and Crump's interceptions were the third of the season for both defenders.
The Huskies conclude the 2024 season next Saturday, Nov. 23, at Husky Stadium when they host Northwestern State at 2:00 p.m.
