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SEGUIN - Marcus Franklin became just the sixth player in McMurry University's school history to score four touchdowns in one game, and the junior wide receiver helped McMurry to its fourth-straight game in a 36-23 victory over Texas Lutheran Saturday at Matador Stadium. Franklin hauled in eight catches for 149 yards, four of which resulted in touchdowns and Jake Mullin tossed a career-high five touchdowns.
After an 0-4 start, McMurry won all its games in the month of October with wins over East Texas Baptist (Oct. 3), Howard Payne (Oct. 10), Sul Ross State (Oct. 17) and TLU Saturday. With two games to spare, McMurry will look for its first winning season since 2000 when the team went 6-4 under head coach Steve Keenum. McMurry and the Bulldogs have reversed roles; TLU's loss gives the team 10-straight games without a win, and the last time the Bulldogs won came against McMurry Oct. 25, 2008 in an 18-0 victory. Prior to McMurry's win over East Texas Baptist Oct. 3, the team had lost 17 consecutive games.
Franklin tied the school record for touchdown receptions with four also accomplished by Dick Dunlap Sept. 17, 1937 against Southwestern Oklahoma. Franklin joined Bob Anthony (11/15/36), Dunlap, Elroy Payne (10/31/53), Ernie Davis (10/4/58 vs. TLU), and Sal Andrade (11/11/72) as the only players in McMurry history to score four touchdowns. Anthony, Payne and Davis are all members of the McMurry Athletics Hall of Honor.
Jake Mullin continued to re-write the McMurry passing record book, this time taking down two single-season records. After his 26 of 39 performance for 264 yards, Mullin passed Braxton Shaver for most completions in a season and passing yards in a season. Shaver had 205 completions in the 1997 season and threw for 2,492 yards in 1998. Both records fell Saturday and with two games to spare Mullin has 228 completions and 2,562 passing yards. Mullin has already moved to 10th place all-time on McMurry's career passing chart, and needs 50 yards to move to ninth ahead of Isiah Navarette.
McMurry was one interception shy of the school record for interceptions in a game tallying five as a team with Gene Hudson leading the charge with three. Hudson's three picks ties the school's single-game interceptions record. Hudson's six interceptions so far on the season also ties C.J. Villegas (2005) and Roque Vela (2000) for the single-season record since McMurry joined the American Southwest Conference in 1996.
The visitors jumped out to a 17-3 lead headed into the locker room thanks to two touchdowns from Mullin to Franklin and a 28-yard field goal by Jessie Garcia. The McMurry defense held TLU to just a field goal and 86 yards of total offense in the first half.
However, in the second half, the winless Bulldogs put up a fight. TLU scored on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Jarret Buchholtz to Steven Thrash to cap a seven-play 60-yard drive to open the third quarter and ate 4:35 off the clock going into 20-mile an hour south wind. With McMurry's strength coming in the passing game, the visitors responded with an 11-play 63-yard drive capped by a 1-yard touchdown pass from Mullin to R.J. Long and made the score 24-10. Long's touchdown pass was his seventh in the last four games while Franklin's four touchdowns gave him the team lead with eight on the season.
However, TLU drained the reaminder of the third quarter and scored 52 seconds into the fourth quarter on Quinnten Cleveland's 1-yard touchdown run making the score 24-17. McMurry's offense, which had been struggling compared to the team's other three wins this season, was then forced to play the fourth quarter into the wind. However, Mullin and Franklin responded connecting on two touchdowns with just 3:22 seperated between the scores giving McMurry an insurmountable 36-17 lead. The fourth touchdown catch of the day by Franklin was a 48-yard touchdown on a screen play, which was willed by the junior receiver who had to break two tackles before taking it past the goal line. That score was also set up by Andrew Wallace's first career interception.
Wallace, the senior from Midland, has 266 career tackles and 38 tackles for a loss through Saturday's win, but the interception was the first for the fourth-year linebacker. Wallace led the game with 11 tackles and was credited with 1.5 of McMurry's eight team sacks. Wallace has 85 tackles on the season and needs 15 to become the first McMurry player to record 100 tackles in a season since the program joined the ASC and the NCAA Division III in 1996. Josh McKinnis also had another big game for McMurry's defense with eight tackles, 2.5 tackles for a loss and a sack.
All three TLU quarterbacks threw interceptions in the game; Buchholtz was 8 of 19 for 115 yards, three interceptions and the touchdown. Luke Davis was 2 of 8 for 26 yards and an interception and Rocky Huff was 1 of 2 for 37 yards with an interception and a touchdown. Jonathan Randle caught four passes for 100 yards and a touchdown for TLU.
McMurry improved to 4-4 overall and 4-2 in league play and remains in third place in the ASC after Mississippi College and Mary Hardin-Baylor collected wins Saturday and remain first and second place respectively. TLU fell to 0-7 overall and 0-5 in conference play.
McMurry has a bye week before playing host to cross-town rival Hardin-Simmons Nov. 7 at Wilford Moore Stadium. McMurry hasn't defeated Hardin-Simmons since 1963.
