ABILENE, Texas — Hardin-Simmons turned a halftime deficit into a season-opening victory Saturday, using a game-changing kickoff return and a dominant rushing attack to defeat Chapman 44-24 at Shelton Stadium.
Chapman (0-1) struck first when the Panthers went to the bag of tricks early in the game and Blaine Anderson connected with Ryan McKevitt for a 56-yard touchdown pass just 43 seconds into the game, giving the Panthers a 7-0 lead.
Hardin-Simmons answered with a pair of
Pedro Altamirano field goals from 43 and 25 yards to pull within 7-6 at halftime.
The momentum shifted immediately after intermission.
On the opening kickoff of the third quarter,
Dylan Hardin raced 94 yards for a touchdown, giving the Cowboys their first lead at 13-7.
After Chapman trimmed the margin to 13-10 on Carson Nichols' 31-yard field goal, Hardin-Simmons seized control with a pair of touchdowns in a 20-second span.
J.T. Washington broke free for a 27-yard scoring run to cap an eight-play, 68-yard drive, and moments later
Shawn Kazouh intercepted a pass and returned it 28 yards to set up
Ty Thompson's 17-yard touchdown run on the next play. The back-to-back scores pushed the Cowboys' advantage to 27-10.
Chapman responded late in the third quarter when Eli Brandt found Kash Henjum for a 29-yard touchdown pass, cutting the deficit to 27-17 heading into the fourth.
The Cowboys put the game away with a methodical 12-play, 69-yard drive that ended with
Keagan Ables' 8-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter. Altamirano later added a 23-yard field goal to stretch the lead to 37-17.
Chapman closed within 13 points on Andrew Latu's 5-yard touchdown run with 2:41 remaining, but Hardin-Simmons answered with a five-play, 29-yard drive capped by Thompson's 7-yard touchdown run with 20 seconds left to seal the 44-24 victory.
Thompson was efficient in his first career start as he directed a balanced Cowboys offense, completing 23 of 32 passes for 255 yards while adding 58 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Washington led Hardin-Simmons with 84 rushing yards on 14 carries and a touchdown in his first career start.
Through the air,
Jairdyn Anderson paced the Cowboys with six receptions for 89 yards, while
Justin Herman added 63 receiving yards.
Brandt finished 14 of 28 passing for 175 yards, one touchdown and one interception for Chapman. Henjum was the Panthers' top offensive weapon, hauling in five catches for 106 yards and a score. Chapman passed for 283 yards but managed just 39 net rushing yards and surrendered four sacks.
Hardin-Simmons recorded 28 first downs to Chapman's 18 and the Cowboys (1-0) scored 38 of the game's final 55 points and outgained the Panthers 450-322 in total offense while controlling possession for nearly 35 minutes.
All-American
Kaiden Roden led the defense with eight tackles, including a half-sack and two quarterback hurries.
Rowdy Rowan had seven tackles in his first career start.
The Cowboys hit the road next week to play at UW-La Crosse at 1 p.m. in La Crosse, Wis.
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