MARSHALL, Texas — Ty Thompson ran for two second-half touchdowns, Kyle Brown threw for two scores and Harrison Foster returned an interception 97 yards for a touchdown as Hardin-Simmons pulled away for a 34-16 win over East Texas Baptist on Saturday afternoon at Ornelas Stadium.
 
The game was delayed by over an hour in the second half due to lightning.
 
Hardin-Simmons (6-0, 3-0 ASC) opened the game with a bang when Brown found Kris Sims for an 80-yard touchdown strike on the first offensive play from scrimmage, capping a one-play, 80-yard drive in just 12 seconds. East Texas Baptist (4-3, 0-3) responded on the ensuing possession with Jaylen Spriggs connecting with Kyler Paul on a 40-yard touchdown pass to tie it at 7-7.
Brown, who completed 14 of 17 passes for 181 yards, answered later in the first quarter with a 25-yard scoring toss to Dozie Ifeadi to put the Cowboys ahead for good.
 
HSU's defense turned in a momentum-shifting play late in the first half. With the Tigers driving, Foster jumped a route and raced 97 yards for a touchdown with three seconds left before halftime. The extra point was blocked and returned for two points by Neiman Sullen, trimming the Cowboys' lead to 20-9 at the break.
 
Thompson extended the lead with a pair of scoring runs in the second half — a 5-yarder midway through the third quarter and a 6-yarder early in the fourth — finishing with 68 yards on 11 carries.
 
East Texas Baptist's only second-half points came on defense, when ETBU scooped up a fumble at the 1-yard line and returned it 99 yards for a touchdown with 2:45 to play.
 
The Cowboys outgained ETBU 420-272, piling up 239 yards on the ground. Noah Garcia led the rushing attack with 76 yards, while Brown added 181 through the air with no interceptions. Sims finished with three catches for 80 yards and
a touchdown.
 
Defensively, Kaiden Roden led HSU with 11 tackles, while senior defensive end Hayden Hays added two sacks. They held ETBU to just 1 of 10 on third down.
 
Spriggs led the Tigers with 180 passing yards and a touchdown but was intercepted once and sacked three times. Paul was his top target with three receptions for 45 yards.
 
Hardin-Simmons improves to 6-0 for the third time in the last four seasons and has now won 22 straight regular-season conference games.
 
The Cowboys return home next week to host Nelson University and ETBU travels to Howard Payne.
 
--- www.hsuathletics.com ---