COMMERCE, Texas – Houston Christian University tried to rally late but to no avail, as the Huskies were outlasted by East Texas A&M University 37-32 on Saturday evening at Memorial Stadium. The Huskies took a couple of early leads in the first half and trailed by two at the break before the Lions scored 19 straight to take control before the late comeback attempt.
HCU got on the board first, capitalizing on an early turnover. A high snap got over the head of ETAMU quarterback Eric Rodriguez and trickled almost 30 yards before
Caleb King recovered the loose pigskin at the 12-yard line, setting the Huskies up in the red zone for their first offensive plays from scrimmage.
Four plays later,
Xai'Shaun Edwards plunged in from the two-yard line to give the Huskies an early 6-0 lead after the PAT was missed.
Nearly midway through the period, it was the Lion's turn to take advantage of a giveaway. Edwards lost the handle after a big gain, and the ensuing fumble recovery and return gave East Texas good field position at the HCU 39. Rodriguez would then toss a 14-yard touchdown pass to Devin Matthews, and the hosts had a 7-6 lead with each team cashing in on a turnover for a score.
The two teams would trade punts, and HCU got the ball back just before the end of the first quarter. They would drive 63 yards in 10 plays, with a healthy dose of Edwards, who tucked it away six times on the drive. A strong second-effort by Edwards on third and eight kept the drive alive and put the ball on the two-yard line and he would plunge in on the very next play to give HCU the lead back at 12-7 after the two-point conversion was no good.
East Texas A&M would get the ball one more time before the half at their own 19-yard line with just over two minutes to go in the half. The Lions would drive 81 yards in 10 plays, finished off with a seven-yard touchdown grab by Paul Odidi from Rodriguez, giving the hosts a 14-12 lead heading into the break.
HCU moved the ball into East Texas A&M territory to start the second half, but turned the ball over on downs at the 29-yard line. A KJ Shankle 28-yard run put the ball across midfield, and five plays later Rodriguez hit Joshua Pikl over the middle for a three-yard touchdown to finish off the drive and extend the lead to 21-12 with 6:38 remaining in the third period.
The ET defense would register a safety with under two minutes to play in the third as the hosts tried to pull away. Upon receiving the kick, ET would go 45 yards in six plays, capped by an EJ Oakman one-yard run that pushed the lead to 30-12 as the fourth quarter opened.
The Huskies finally got back on the board with 9:39 to play.
Jayven Anderson's big hit helped force a fumble which he then scooped up and returned 70 yards for the score.
Down 37-18, the Huskies wouldn't go quietly, putting two more scores on the board. The first came on an eight-yard touchdown pass from
Maddox Kopp to
Kyle Koontz that finished off a strong, nine-play, 83-yard drive that took just 2:15 off the clock.
HCU then stopped the Lions first attempt to run out the clock, getting the ball back with just under two minutes left and put together an 80-yard drive in nine plays that lasted just over a minute, ending with a seven-yard toss from Kopp to
Keith Wheeler as the Huskies cut the lead to 37-32 with just 45 seconds remaining. ETAMU would recover a final onside kick attempt and hold on for the victory.
The Huskies put up 417 yards of total offense.
Maddox Kopp rushed for a career-high 97 yards on 17 carries while also going 15-32 in the air for 182 yards and two touchdowns.
Adrian Green had four catches for 41 yards and Wheeler added 38 yards and a score on four grabs.
Xai'Shaun Edwards rushed for 95 yards on 21 carries with two scores, giving him 12 on the season.
Rodney Dansby led the defensive effort with 10 tackles while
Zayteak McGhee added seven tackles and two breakups.
Jayven Anderson had six tackles, a forced fumble and the touchdown return.
East Texas A&M (3-8 / 3-4 SLC) put up 411 yards of offense on the day, led quarterback Eric Rodriguez, who was 21-31 for 233 yards and four touchdowns. Devin Matthews caught four passes for 65 yards and two scores and Christian Jourdain added four catches for 69 yards. KJ Shankle rushed 10 times for 60 yards and EJ Oakman added 56 yards and a touchdown. Kyree Anderson led the Lions defensive effort with a game-high 12 tackles.
HCU falls to 2-9 overall and 1-6 in Southland Conference play. The Huskies will close out their 2025 campaign next Saturday when they host University of the Incarnate Word for Military Appreciation Day and Senior Day. Kickoff is slated for 2 pm from Husky Stadium.
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