For the first time in over two years, SAGU had a new starting quarterback in sophomore Lincoln Kenitzer. If he was new to leading the offense, you wouldn’t have been able to tell in the first half. SAGU was the first to score after JP Lowery had a three yard touchdown run.
Chadd Dearen answered a Cowboys touchdown in the second quarter when he kicked a 35-yard field goal to make the score 14-10, HSU.
SAGU’s Ricky Bickham scored off a nine-yard touchdown run with 3:33 left in the half. The touchdown tied the game at 17.
HSU was able to answer and score after Reese Childress had a six-yard touchdown run. However, SAGU wasn’t done scoring either. With 1:26, Jeremy Carr caught a 48-yard pass from Kenitzer to make the score 24-24. To end the half, HSU’s Tyler Smith kicked a 24 yard field goal to put the Cowboys up 27-24.
“The first half we competed really well. We capitalized on some of their penalties and had good field position,” says Tristan, “In the second half, back-to-back turnovers really hurt us and that’s when the game got out of hand. We also couldn’t get off the field on third down defensively.”
In the second half, SAGU’s lack of depth began to show. With nine starters out for the week, the Lions got down and couldn’t regain the momentum. At the end of the third quarter, SAGU had back-to-back turnovers, which resulted in two HSU touchdowns.
“I was very proud of our effort throughout the game. With nine starters out, there was obviously a depth issue. I felt like we competed better than we have in the first two games,” explains Tristan.
For SAGU, JP Lowery had 153 yards on 24 carries with one touchdown. Ricky Bickham had six carries for 44 yards.
Lincoln Kenitzer was 16-of-25 for 188 yards passing with one touchdown and one interception. Jeremy Carr had three receptions for 82 yards.
Defensively, Ethan Eastwood led the Lions with nine tackles. Coby Roach had eight tackles and Philip Robledo added seven tackles.
Next week the Lions will host Austin College on Saturday, September 24, 2016 at 6pm. AC is currently 2-1.
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]
