Mary Hardin-Baylor 51, Christopher Newport 19
From UMHB:
Belton, TX – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor football team accomplished a variety of goals in the 2007 season opener. The Cru avenged last season’s opening loss to Christopher Newport, opened the season on a winning note and sent a message with a dominating performance against a ranked opponent. Fourth-ranked UMHB cruised to a 51-19 victory over the 12th-ranked Captains Saturday night in Belton to open the season at 1-0 and drop CNU to 1-1 on the year.
Christopher Newport jumped out to a 7-0 lead when Todd Faison hit Jesse Bradshaw with a 36-yard TD pass with 1:58 left to play in the first quarter. But it would be all Cru from that point on. Chris Owen capped am 11-play, 72-yard UMHB drive with a four-yard TD run to tie the game at seven on the ensuing possession. A Derrick Williams interception would set up Joel Munoz’s 27-yard field goal to put UMHB up 10-8. Patrick Oliver then caught 25-yard and 14-yard touchdown passes to give the Cru a 24-7 edge and Quincy Daniels ran 35 yards for a score on the final offensive play of the first half to make it 30-7 UMHB at halftime.
Josh Welch ran 18 yards for another Cru touchdown on the second UMHB possession of the second half and Daniels exploded for a 79-yard TD run on the next Cru possession to make it 44-7. The Cru starters on both sides of the ball were finished after the Welch TD run. A Josh Saenz 10-yard touchdown run gave UMHB a 51-7 lead with 6:53 remaining in the third quarter. The Captains added two late touchdowns against UMHB reserve defenders to provide the final margin.
UMHB dominated the game on both sides of the ball as the Cru outgained CNU 500 yards to 287 yards. The Captains were held to 107 yards of offense in the first half and turned the ball over four times in the game. UMHB did not play a flawless game, turning the ball over once, fumbling three times and giving up 130 yards on 15 penalties.
Daniels led UMHB with 158 yards and two touchdowns on just 10 carries and Jarvis Thrasher added 113 yards rushing on 15 totes. Welch was 5-10 passing for 65 yards and two touchdowns and Oliver caught three passes for 46 yards and two scores in his first collegiate football game after a four-year basketball career. Brett Parker also returned three punts for 125 yards for UMHB and Jerrell Freeman led the Cru defense with seven tackles despite taking most of the second half off.
UMHB fell to CNU 15-10 in the 2006 season opener in Virginia last season. The Cru will return to action with the start of American Southwest Conference play next Saturday. UMHB will host Sul Ross State (2-0) for a 1:00 PM kickoff at Tiger Field. The Lobos are coming off a 39-7 victory over Southwestern Assemblies of God University.
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