ABILENE, Texas – McMurry University Football had a lot of adversity thrown its way on Saturday at East Texas Baptist, falling on the wrong end of a close 24-15 loss in Marshall, Texas for its first American Southwest Conference road game.
The War Hawks (0-2, 0-2 ASC) took the early momentum with a scoop-and-score by Devin Nixon on the opening drive, but allowed ETBU (2-1, 1-1 ASC) to score 21 unanswered points in the first half. McMurry remained in striking distance the rest of the way, but were unable to capitalize.
McMurry's hopes of a comeback ended with 23 seconds to go, as an interception by ETBU's Kade Stephenson allowed the Tigers to kneel out the clock.
Both teams moved the ball well, including 23 first downs by the War Hawks, but three interceptions and three fumbles proved to be too much to overcome. Additionally, starting quarterback Ritchie Luna exited the contest late in the first half due to injury. Last week, Luna threw for 415 yards and three touchdowns.
Meanwhile, the McMurry defense forced two turnovers of its own, including Nixon's sack that resulted in a scoop and score. Later in the game, freshman Timothy Leatherman had an interception in the end zone to set up a touchdown drive – making it 21-15 late in the third quarter.
ETBU did most of its scoring early, including a 65-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter and two second quarter touchdowns. ETBU also kept McMurry off the board with a blocked extra point and a blocked field goal attempt, but Jared Mendoza atoned for the miscues with a 28 yard field goal as time expired for halftime.
After Leatherman's interception, momentum swung in favor of McMurry as an 8-play, 80-yard brought McMurry within one possession. Junior running back Dee Robinson punched it in from two yards out to cap the drive. The big play of the drive was a 61-yard catch by Kristopher Martin.
Sophomore Dexter Wyble led a valiant fourth quarter effort at quarterback, finishing the game with 17-of-26 completed passes for 198 yards. The comeback effort fell short and ended with a red zone interception.
After running for 96 yards on ETBU in 2019, senior running back Kameron Session had a near-identical performance against the Tigers with 17 carries for 90 yards to lead the team in rushing. Martin was the team's leading receiver with three catches for 81 yards. Twelve players caught at least one pass in a spread attack.
On defense, sophomore safety Coryell Fillmore led the team with seven tackles, while senior linebackers Josh Smith and Micheas Garibaldi added six. Xavier Gayle made an impact in key passing situations, recording two pass break ups to go with three tackles.
McMurry returns home for its next game on Saturday, Sept. 25 as it welcomes Southwestern. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. The game will serve as part of McMurry's Hall of Honor Weekend.
