SEGUIN, Texas – Sophomore wide receiver Jermond Lovely had a career day for McMurry University with three second quarter touchdowns, but Texas Lutheran would limit the War Hawks offense in the second half for a 51-21 win at Bulldog Stadium on Saturday.
After falling behind 17-0 in the first quarter, McMurry (1-2) began to battle back with a pair of quick touchdowns by Lovely within two minutes of each other. The first score came on an 83-yard pass from Carlos Garibay with 12:54 to go. Jared Mendoza made the extra point to make it 17-7.
On the next possession, sophomore lineman Devin Nixon forced a fumble near the TLU red zone, which was recovered by junior linebacker Micheas Garibaldi at the home 26 yard line. A few plays later, Garibay reconnected with Lovely for a 15 yard score. The PAT was blocked.
TLU – who ends the regular season with a 3-1 record – scored on its next possession to extend its lead to 24-13, but McMurry answered near the end of the half with Lovely's third touchdown on a six-yard goal line fade. The War Hawks went for two and were successful, as junior tight end Reagan Sullivan caught one in the back of the end zone to make it a three-point game at the break.
McMurry was unable to find points in the second half against a stingy TLU defense, but the War Hawks kept things manageable in the third quarter by forcing two field goals with clutch defensive stops. The Bulldogs were just too much in the fourth quarter, scoring three rushing touchdowns for insurance.
The War Hawks had a season-high 327 yards with 194 passing and 133 on the ground. TLU totaled 515 yards of offense, doing most of its damage in the run game with 389 rushing yards on 65 attempts. The Bulldogs had 32 first downs, while McMurry finished with 19.
Garibay finished 14-for-27 passing with 164 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. One of his interceptions came on a pass targeted for Lovely in the end zone on what would've been a game-tying touchdown down 27-21.
Lovely ended with a career-high 106 receiving yards – more than double his previous total of 51 yards – and three touchdowns. Prior to today, Lovely had never met the end zone.
Sophomore running back Dee Robinson kept the offense moving with 18 carries for 82 yards, while junior Kameron Sesson added six carries for 30 yards.
Defensively, freshman linebacker Aeneaus Gray led the team with 12 total tackles, six solo, while Nixon and sophomore Xavier Gayle added 10 tackles. Nixon had one tackle for loss and forced one fumble. Senior Ethan Blocker also had a big day, recording nine tackles with two tackles for loss.
McMurry will end the regular season next Saturday, March 20 at Howard Payne University. Kickoff from Brownwood is set for 1 p.m.
