Southwestern Assemblies of God University (SAGU) football Arizona Christian University Central States Football League
Both teams remained scoreless in the first quarter. ACU was the first to put points on the board at the beginning of the second quarter. Quarterback Gerrit Groenewold completed a touchdown pass to Alias Sturges . In the next series, SAGU was able to tie the score at seven when JP Lowery had a one-yard touchdown carry.
With six minutes left on the clock, Groenewold connected to Streeter Turner for a 15 yard touchdown pass.
The Lions were once again able to answer and at the end of the half, with one minute left on the clock, SAGU quarterback Lincoln Kenitzer passed to Jeremy Carr for a 27 yard touchdown. The score at halftime was 14-14.
With nine minutes left in the third, SAGU’s Jamaal Fears sacked the quarterback in the end zone for a SAGU safety. This was the first time SAGU had the lead in the game and they held it until the start of the fourth quarter.
ACU’s Quinta Thomas had a 26 yard touchdown run with 12 minutes left in the game. Once again, SAGU was able to come up with a big play. Kenitzer completed a 21-yard touchdown pass to Toras Hill , who made an incredible end zone catch among two defenders. The Lions went for the two-point conversion, but they weren’t able to convert.
The Firestorm came up with the game’s last touchdown with a 27 yard touchdown pass to Donovon Smith. They were able to get the two-point conversion with a pass from Groenewold to Tyler Dunken , this made the score 29-22.
SAGU had one more chance to score. Kenitzer attempted a 21 yard touchdown pass to Toras Hill, but was intercepted by ACU’s Malik Sawyer at the ACU two-yard line.
The Lions may have gotten a loss, but head coach Frank Tristan was proud of the SAGU’s performance, “I was very pleased with our effort. We had several great individual efforts. We definitely had a chance to win the game, but I feel like this is another one that slipped through our hands. Next week is a new week and we will be ready for Wayland Baptist.”
For the Lions, Lincoln Kenitzer went 22 for 36. He threw for 269 yards, two touchdowns and had one interception. Ricky Bickham had nine carries for 33 yards. JP Lowery had 13 carries for 13 yards and one touchdown.
Toras Hill had six receptions for 117 yards, a long of 38 yards and one touchdown. Jeremy Carr had three receptions for 68 yards and one touchdown.
For the defense , Carl Morgan and Matt Williams each had one interception. Williams also had 12 tackles. Senior Ethan Eastwood had 20 tackles. Junior Matt Lighter had 11 tackles, two and half for a loss and one sack.
ACU’s Gerrit Groenewold went 20-for-30 for 196 yards. He had two touchdowns and threw two interceptions. Will Johnson had 13 tackles and one sack.
On October 15, 2016, SAGU will travel to Plainview, Texas to play Wayland Baptist University . WBU is currently 4-1 overall. Game time is at 2pm.
Southwestern Assemblies of God University is a private, Christian university located 30 minutes south of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex in Waxahachie, Texas. The university was established in 1927, and now offers more than 70 associate, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees on campus or online. More information is available at www.sagu.edu or by calling 1-888-YES-SAGU.
Contact: Natalie Tristan, SAGU SID, [email protected]
