Sep 27, 2008
Cowboys Move To 4-0
ABILENE, Texas - Hardin-Simmons' 12th-ranked football team moved to 4-0 with a 35-27 win over Mississippi College in American Southwest Conference action Saturday afternoon at Shelton Stadium.
After Mississippi College went on top on a Desmond Mays 4-yard touchdown run to take a 6-0 lead in the first quarter, HSU rolled off 21 straight points to take a 21-6 second quarter lead.
Mychal Carrillo got the Cowboys on the board first with a 40-yard touchdown reception from Justin Feaster. HSU came right back with an eight-play 71-yard drive that ZaVious Robbins ended with a 20-yard touchdown catch.
Derrick Grant then scored his first career touchdown on a 29-yard run with 8:56 to play in the second quarter to cap an 8-play, 73-yard drive.
MC came right back and went 77 yards in nine plays and Mays capped it with a 1-yard run.
HSU took the opening kick of the second half and went 60 yards in five plays. Jerrad Grisham capped the drive with a 30-yard touchdown catch. MC again responded with a long scoring drive that Mays finished off with a 15-yard run to make it a 29-20 game with 10:17 to play in the third quarter.
The Cowboys went 64 yards in seven plays and Grant scored again from 10 yards out to make it 35-20. After stops by each team, MC then went 96 yards in 10 plays to make it 35-27 with 7:02 to play. Mays again found the end zone from three yards out.
HSU then fumbled on its next drive, but the defense came up with a stop on fourth down. After the Cowboys drive stalled and HSU punted it back to the Choctaws. Again the Cowboy defense came up with a big play as Michael Tracy intercepted the first pass of the drive to seal the game.
The Cowboys had 503 yards of total offense in the game and MC had 455. Feaster threw for 361 yards and three touchdowns. Grant had his first 100-yard rushing game as a Cowboy with 127 yards on 13 carries. Carrillo had 10 catches for 130 yards and ZaVious Robbins had seven catches for 97 yards. Mays had 189 yards on 30 carries for the Choctaws.
Defensively, senior safety Matt Warnasch had a career-best 15 tackles. Ricky Poe added 14 tackles and a forced fumble and Tracy had 12 tackles and an interception.
HSU will play at third-ranked Mary Hardin-Baylor on Saturday at 2 p.m. The winner of that game has won at least a share of every ASC championship since 1998.
--- HSU ---
