ABILENE, Texas – McMurry University Football used a strong second quarter and a high-octane offense to pick up its first win of the season Saturday, racing past Southwestern with a 41-31 win at Wilford Moore Stadium.
McMurry improved to 1-2 overall and in American Southwest Conference play, while snapping a five-game losing skid in games against Southwestern.
The War Hawks and Pirates (1-3, 1-2 ASC) each racked up 456 yards in the contest, but it would be McMurry who won the battle of possession and made the most of its drives with four touchdowns and four field goals by junior Jared Mendoza.
Southwestern controlled the early portion of the game, but McMurry went on to score 21 unanswered point late in the first half to take the lead – including back-to-back touchdowns in the final minute before halftime. From there, the War Hawks stayed ahead the whole way, leading by as many as three touchdowns early in the fourth quarter.
McMurry also won the turnover battle, grabbing two interceptions and a fumble recovery while not allowing an offensive turnover.
Stats Summary
Sophomore quarterback Dexter Wyble made his first career start, and while the offense was slow out of the gate, he found his rhythm. Wyble finished 16-for-28 passing for 235 yards and one touchdown. He also rushed nine times for 21 yards and a score.
Third year head coach Jordan Neal expected the run game to have a bigger part in today's game, and it did. The duo of senior Kameron Session and junior Dee Robinson kept the chains moving with each totaling 15 carries. Session had 54 rushing yards and added 54 receiving yards – including a 52-yard touchdown before halftime. Robinson only had 18 rushing yards, but impacted the passing game with four catches for 48 yards. He had one rushing touchdown and one receiving touchdown.
Sophomore Aeneaus Gray led the backfield with 78 rushing yards on three carries, the bulk of which came on a long 75-yard run in the fourth quarter.
Junior Jermond Lovely once again led the receiving corps with six catches for 94 yards, while junior Montrel Motton had three catches for 62 yards. Sophomore Kristopher Martin had 40 yards on four catches.
Junior Xavier Gayle and freshman Timothy Leatherman led the defense with seven tackles each. Gayle had six solo tackles, two pass breakups and a sack that resulted in a 17 yard loss for Southwestern. Junior Brenden Torrence also had a bounce back game, factoring in six tackles, one tackle for loss and an interception.
Sophomore safety Coryell Fillmore had the team's other interception, while fellow safety Ke'Shaun Jnofinn added two pass breakups and three tackles.
Senior Josh Smith had six tackles on the day, remaining fourth on the all-time career tackles list with 318. He is 10 tackles away from moving into third place past Kevin Hirst (1991-94) with 327.
First Quarter – Southwestern 10, McMurry 3
The Pirates sailed to an early lead in the first quarter, driving down and kicking a field goal on its opening possession while forcing McMurry to punt from midfield. On the third play of its second drive, Southwestern quarterback Landry Gilpin found Austin Castilleja for a 70 yard score to make it 10-0.
McMurry began moving the ball on its next drive with 6:10 showing on the clock, down two possessions. Three run plays and a pair of big yardage passing plays allowed McMurry to creep toward the red zone, but a holding penalty killed the momentum. Eventually, Jared Mendoza would kick a 40-yard field goal through the uprights to make it 10-3.
Second Quarter – McMurry 21, Southwestern 10
The turning point for McMurry came in the second quarter, as the War Hawks outscored Southwestern 18-0 to take the lead and control. It all started when Josh Smith hurried Gilpin's throw on 3rd and 10, forcing a punt past midfield from the 42 yard line.
McMurry was forced to punt inside its own 20, but made another key defensive stop on the next drive. Southwestern went for it on 4th and 3 at the McMurry 28 yard line with a quarterback run, but Gilpin was stuffed by Smith and Rance Russell at the line.
That turnover on downs energized the crowd, and McMurry rode that wave with a long 12-play, 52-yard drive that took 5:09 off the clock. The drive ended with Mendoza's second field goal of the day – this one from 38 yards out.
After making a big defensive stop to retain a 10-6 lead, Southwestern had a miscue on the ensuing kickoff return and coughed up the football. Coming out with it was freshman Tyler Harris, giving McMurry the ball just outside the red zone.
The War Hawks did not capitalize on this field position, as Mendoza missed his only field goal on five attempts with a kick that just missed up and to the right. It did not end up hurting them though, as Southwestern went three-and-out and punted with 1:24 to go in the half.
Things got very exciting for McMurry in the final moments of the half, as Wyble hit Session on a right side screen pass at midfield. Session broke one tackle and took it down the McMurry sideline for a 52 yard score. Mendoza's kick made it 13-10 in favor of McMurry.
Taking over with 16 seconds to go in the half, Southwestern elected to try and kneel out the clock. But that would not do for Coach Jordan Neal and company. McMurry used all three of its timeouts and forced a punt with less than 10 seconds to go.
The move paid off.
McMurry had a chance to run one last play from 37 yards out, sending in strong arm quarterback Vince James for the final play. James rolled right and heaved up a pass to the end zone, finding Dee Robinson in the crowd of receivers and defenders for the score. On the PAT, McMurry lined up to kick, but holder Carlos Garibay scrambled out and dumped a pass to Christian Morales for the two-point conversion.
Third Quarter – McMurry 35, Southwestern 17
Though Southwestern had the first 10 points, McMurry ended up on a 35-7 scoring run by the end of the third frame.
The lone touchdown for Southwestern in that span came on its first drive of the second half, forcing a McMurry punt and turning it into a touchdown drive. Gilpin found Ethan Powell for a seven yard score and the PAT made it 21-17.
The score never threatened the War Hawks, as the next drive saw Session go to work with three runs and a reception to move down the field. A large chunk of yardage came on 3rd and 5, as Wyble hit Jermond Lovely on a deep 41 yard pass. Later, Dee Robinson would punch it in from one yard away, making it 28-17 after Mendoza's kick.
Southwestern began trying to throw the ball on its next drive, but safety Coryell Fillmore ended up with an interception off the hands of a receiver and took it to midfield. That drive turned into another score, with Wyble coasting in on a read option at the goal line to make it 35-17 with 5:10 remaining in the third. Earlier on the drive, McMurry had a 4th and 1 situation and turned to fullback Caleb Wright to keep the drive alive – which he did with a two yard power run.
McMurry made another big defensive stop to end the quarter, as back-to-back sacks by Xavier Gayle and Brenden Torrence forced a punt from midfield. Before the sacks, Southwestern was at the McMurry 28 on second down, but Gayle blew up the play with a 17 yard sack.
Taking over with 1:26 to go in the quarter, McMurry took over on its own eight yard line, but had a gritty 75 yard run from Aeneaus Gray to flip field position into the opposing red zone.
Fourth Quarter – McMurry 41, Southwestern 31
The War Hawks added an early field goal from Mendoza to make it 38-17 with 12:05 remaining, taking its largest lead of the game.
Southwestern continued to battle, swinging a little momentum back on its side with a successful 4th and long conversion. On what appeared to be a punt play, punter Will Herbst broke the play and rushed for 15 yards to move the chains. Two plays later, the drive ended with an interception by Torrence.
The Pirates had another good opportunity gifted on the next drive, as a bad snap on a McMurry punt set up Southwestern near the red zone. This turned into a seven yard touchdown throw from Gilpin to Jaquon Marion to make it 38-24. The Pirates tried a surprise onside kick to try and get the ball back, but La'Darius Rucker fell with it for McMurry.
With time on its side, McMurry killed 4:24 off the clock on its next drive. The drive ended with a long 47 yard field goal by Mendoza – his career long – to make it a three possession game again at 41-24. Prior to that kick, he made one from 32 yards out, but it was nullified by an offensive face mask penalty.
Jared Mendoza finished 4-for-5 on field goals today, the most he's had in a single game, while kicking five touchbacks on eight kickoffs.
Southwestern did not have much time to work with at 2:52 to go, but managed one final score in the with Gilpin hitting Cam Collins for a 15 yard touchdown. This made it 41-31 with 11 ticks remaining. The final onside attempt was recovered by McMurry, ending the game.
Up Next
McMurry's shortest road trip awaits next week, as it travels minutes away to crosstown rival No. 6 Hardin-Simmons on Saturday, Oct. 2 for a 1 p.m. kickoff.
