Midlothian, Texas- September 5, 2015- For the first time since 2008, the Southwestern Assemblies of God University (SAGU) football team won their season opener. The Lions beat the Westminster College Blue Jays, 30-17.
“I was very pleased with the effort from our guys. Offensively, we had several explosive plays especially in the run game. With a very inexperienced offensive line, I didn’t anticipate that being the case,” says first-year head coach Frank Tristan .
On the second drive of the game, SAGU went 49 yards in three plays. The drive was capped off by a 23-yard touchdown reception by senior tight end Caleb Shelly from sophomore quarterback CJ Collins . The extra point by junior Chadd Dearen was good, putting SAGU ahead 7-0.
At the end of the first quarter, WC’s Kevin Ludwig kicked a 33-yard field goal making the score 10-3.
WC’s C. Weeden Jr intercepted a pass intended for SAGU’s Toras Hill at SAGU’s 36 yard line. Weeden ran it back for a touchdown, tying the score 10-10.
SAGU’s Dearen kicked a 42-yard field goal, giving SAGU the lead 13-10 going into halftime.
With 0:01 left in the third quarter, Collins punched it in from one yard out, extending the Lions lead 20-10.
In the fourth quarter SAGU was able to score 10 points quickly. Dearen made a 46-yard field goal to increase the lead to 23-10. Next, Ricky Bickham scored on a 12-yard touchdown run to put the Lions up 30-10.
The Blue Jays were able to put one more scoring drive together to make the final score 30-17.
First-year offensive coordinator Paul Hansen is pleased with the way his players stuck to the game plan, “I’m really happy with how the offense executed this week. I felt the guys played hard and made the plays we needed them to make.”
Offensively, five different running backs combined for 218 yards rushing on 40 carries. Collins was 19 for 29 on passing for 195 yards with a touchdown, throwing one interception. Andrez Brewster led the receivers with five catches for 84 yards.
Defensively, newcomer D’Vonn Brown made an impact in his first game as a Lion. Brown had 14 tackles and 4.5 tackles for loss. Junior Deonte Morrison had two interceptions along with five tackles. Senior Shakeem Taylo r added eight tackles for SAGU.
“Overall I was very proud of the effort and execution,” says Tristan, “But I was very disappointed in the lack of discipline that led to 11 penalties. That will be a focus for this week of practice.”
The Lions will play NCAA Division III Austin College on Saturday, September 12, 2015. Game-time is 1:00pm. Austin College is 1-0, after beating Hendrix College 55-41.
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]
