Southwestern Assemblies of God University (SAGU) football Texas Wesleyan University Central States Football League
The game was incredibly tight in the first quarter but SAGU was able to strike first with 2:38 left in the quarter on a CJ Collins 13 yard run. The junior quarterback would finish the day 8-17 on passes for 199 yards and three touchdowns. Senior running back JP Lowery rushed 75 yards and one touchdown and senior running back Ricky Bickham touted the ball 10 times for 66 yards to lead the Lions ground attack. Junior wide receiver Jeremy Carr had 130 yards receiving and four touchdowns for the Lions and wide receiver Blayne Rowe had 2 catches for 46 yards.
While SAGU, who is number 14 in the NAIA for scoring offense per game (44 PPG) looked sharp on the offensive side of the ball, Coach Frank Tristan believes that the Lions defense is what gave them a spark today. The turning point for SAGU was a Maliek Golden’s pick 6 with three seconds left in the first half. Golden’s interception and touchdown would give the Lions momentum heading into the second half.
“It’s a completely different ballgame when you go into halftime with the momentum on your side. Maliek gave us that fire that we needed,” explains Tristan.
The Lions started with possession in the second half and scored on the opening drive with a JP Lowery one-yard run. The third quarter would prove to be a big offensive quarter for the Lions. SAGU scored 21 of their 42 points in third. Tluang Hmung connected on all six PAT attempts to remain perfect on the season for the Lions.
Defensively, SAGU forced TWU quarterbacks into three interceptions on the day. Senior Matt Williams had one interception and returned it 24 yards, Coby Roach had one interception and the Maliek Golden interception that turned into a 57-yard pick six for the SAGU defense. Coach Tristan believes those interceptions were a game changer for SAGU. Tristan puts it simply,”The difference in the game today were turnovers. We capitalized on turnovers and they simply did not.”
SAGU will have to turn their attention quickly to a red-hot Arizona Christian team who travels to Waxahachie to take on the Lions on Saturday, September 30, 2017. The game will begin at 2:00 PM at Lumpkins Stadium.
According to Tristan, the ACU game will be a true test, “Next week we are going to have to put together a complete game against Arizona Christian. They are a team that has never lost in conference play.”
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: Tiffany Phillips, Sports Information Director, [email protected]
