ABILENE, Texas  — Hardin-Simmons rushed for 381 yards en route to a 59-24 win over Howard Payne in homecoming and American Southwest Conference action at Shelton Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Senior running back Tevin Mitchell ran for 243 yards and two touchdowns and Bryce Johnson added 81 yards and three more scores.

The Cowboys jumped to a quick 14-0 lead as Mitchell capped a six-play 77-yard drive with a 10-yard touchdown run. After a quick defensive stand Josh Christian hit Jessie Ramos on a 30-yard touchdown pass to make it 14-0 with 8:10 to play in the first quarter.

HPU answered with a Joshua Martinez 22-yard field goal after a 79-yard drive stalled in the red zone. Mike Hursh added a30-yard field goal for HSU on the first play of the second quarter.

Zarron Dove scored on a 1-yard run capping a 13-play, 74-yard drive and then Kevin Dominguez scored on a 2-yard pass from Richard Young to tie the game at 17 with 6:04 to play in the first half.

Johnson then scored the first of his three touchdowns on an 8-yard run with 3:39 to play in the first half.

Jessie Ramos took the second half kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown. It was his second touchdown on a kick return this season. It was also his fourth career return for a TD, tying Jared May's school record.

Dove scored on a 33-yard run for HPU with 12:38 to play in the third quarter. It was the last time the Yellow Jackets would score.

HSU added a 2-yard touchdown run by Mitchell, a 42-yard fumble return by freshman J.W. Barnes and Johnson scored on runs of 12 and 8 yards to give HSU the final 28 points of the game.

Senior linebacker Jonathan Wilder had 17 total tackles in the game to set a career high. Korey Zavala had five tackles and a pair of sacks. Jordan Shaw led HPU with 13 tackles.

Richard Young completed 36-of-53 passes for 280 yards for HPU and Josh Christian was 14-for-24 for 168 yards and a touchdown.

HSU rolled up 587 yards of total offense in the game.

HSU is now 2-3 on the year and 1-1 in ASC play. Howard Payne fell to an identical 2-3 overall and 1-1 in league play.

The Cowboys play at East Texas Baptist next Saturday at 6 p.m.

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