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ABILENE, Texas – After a record-setting victory over East Texas Baptist Saturday in Abilene, McMurry University's football team will look to build momentum against a struggling Howard Payne team in Brownwood at 2 p.m. Saturday at Gordon Wood Stadium.
 
Fresh off a 63-31 win over ETBU, the War Hawks (2-2, 1-1) will look to get above the .500 mark in American Southwest Conference play while ETBU enters the game with a 1-3 overall record and a 1-1 mark in ASC play.
 
McMurry senior safety Will Morris said that the team is looking to put it all together as the War Hawks look to string good performances together.
 
“I think a lot of it is momentum. We saw what we can do when we are at our best, and now it's putting all those pieces together at the same time instead of just those three quarters,” Morris said.
 
Howard Payne defeated Sul Ross State in the ASC opener Sept. 17, but took a beating Saturday in Seguin falling 51-13 to Texas Lutheran. McMurry lost its ASC opener Sept. 17 to Mary Hardin-Baylor 28-27.
 
Third-year head coach Hal Mumme and McMurry have had success against the YellowJackets since his arrival in 2009. That season, McMurry defeated HPU in Brownwood 37-13. Last year, it was more of the same and even more lop sided in Abilene as McMurry won 51-19.
 
The War Hawks set an ASC record for passing yards Saturday vs. ETBU with 617 yards passing, and they were just give yards shy of the ASC record for total offense with 853.
 
Howard Payne will need to play well to offset McMurry's high-powered offense, particularly in the pass game. The Yellow Jackets have played well defensively until Saturday's loss to TLU. HPU allowed only an average of 133.7 yards passing on defense the first three games and kept opponents' total offensive output under 300 yards each game.
 
The Bulldogs posted 379 yards of total offense and 207 yards passing in their 51-point effort against HPU. However, TLU scored two defensive touchdowns and settled for three field goals in the win.
 
Offensively, Howard Payne will need vast improvement averaging only 13 points per game and 224.8 yards of total offense per contest. HPU has five offensive touchdowns in 2011. Rushing the ball, HPU averages 147 yards per game, but has only managed two touchdowns on the ground. However, the passing game has been dismal and the YellowJackets have alternated between two quarterbacks Thomas Head and Marcus McAdoo who each are completing just over 40 percent of their passes.
 
Defensively, Demetrius Cody is one of the top playmakers in the ASC leading the team with 37 tackles, four tackles for a loss, one interception, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.
 
Mumme said that despite Howard Payne's struggles much has to do with the YellowJackets changing their offensive and defensive systems, and he said that means that at any time HPU could get hot.
 
“The idea is to keep things rolling. They're kind of a team that is in transition. They've changed their offense and defense, and they are learning how to play,” Mumme said. “The thing you always worry about with those teams is when are they going to get hot? When are all the lights going to come one, so it's going to be our job to keep that from happening.”
 
HPU will have to contend with Jake Mullin who had 1,187 passing yards and eight touchdowns in the first four games. He threw for 448 yards Saturday against ETBU and had the 10^th game of his career with at least four touchdown passes when he threw four scores.
 
McMurry's run game has struggled in 2011 averaging just 45 yards per game through four games, however, the War Hawks may have taken a turn Saturday when the team scored three rushing touchdowns on the ground for the first time since 2008 and gained 136 yards as a team.
 
Defensively, all-American safety Will Morris leads McMurry with 29 tackles (22 solo), has two interceptions, three pass breakups, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and two defensive touchdowns.
 
With McMurry's move to Division II looming for next season, the storied history of HPU vs. McMurry in football could be over for foreseeable future. Saturday will mark the 74^th meeting between the two institutions with Howard Payne leading the series 27-44-2.
 
The game will air for McMurry fans on KZQQ 1560 AM and will be broadcast (technology permitting) online with video and audio on mcmurrysports.com/showcase with a subscription requirement.