Waxahachie, TX

September 30, 2018 | Blake Cochran

The Southwestern Assemblies of God University (SAGU) football team got a needed conference victory Saturday as they defeated Ottawa University. This is the Spirits first year as a program and have been impressive putting up big numbers offensively. The Lions took control winning three of the four quarters for a 56-34 victory.

SAGU jumped out of the gates running with back to back touchdowns; Samuel Northey catches a 53-yard pass from CJ Collins then Christian Cross returned a 37-yard interception for a touchdown the next position. The Spirit did the same thing tying the game after two quick touchdowns before the Lions went on a tear offensively. SAGU scored four straight touchdowns; CJ Collins had three touchdown passes for 149 yards with two them to Northey for his third of the day and one to Jeremy Carr for 34-yards. Bryce Bailey then returned a 30-yard fumble recovery to give the Lions a 42-12 lead that the Spirit would be unable to come back from.

This is the Lions best game offensively of the season with 561 total yards of offense on 27 first downs and eight touchdowns (five passing, one rushing, and two on defense). CJ Collins put up huge numbers completing 32 of 48 pass attempts for 471 yards and five touchdowns for a season-high in both those categories. Running back, Michael Bledsoe rushed for 45-yards and a touchdown on 16 rush attempts. Receivers, Samuel Northey and Jeremy Carr did most of Collins damage as Northey had 256 receiving yards for three touchdowns and Carr with 130 yards and one touchdown. Defensively, Tori Williams had ten total tackles, Marco Mathews forced the fumble that Bailey scored on. Derek Shelby forced three tackles for a loss on defense to go along with six tackles.

Here is what Coach Ryan Smith had to say about the victory, “Character word of the week of the was courage , talking about the ability to bounce back would require courage. We demonstrated that Saturday, CJ managed the offense well and broke the single-game passing record. Northey and Carr both had 12 catches. OL did a great job of handling their guys up front and defensively, we did a great job of creating breaks. Christian Cross tied the single-game record for INT. Overall just a great performance but we will get better and we need to get better in order to be at an Elite level. Thanks to all of our SAGU Family that came out and supported.”

The Lions look to keep the momentum rolling as Texas College visits Waxahachie this Saturday at 6 pm. SAGU is 3-1 in their past four games and playing well at the right time. The Lions defeated the Steers 54-7 last year and will look to do the same next weekend.

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