"Wins are difficult to come by but every one of them is precious. I am extremely proud of the way our guys came out at halftime and responded," says head coach Mark Sartain. "We have some great really young men that are selfless and some really stellar players and I am hoping that remember this feeling and remanufacture it the rest of the season."
It was Seth Hubbard's day at Ornelas Stadium as he put his name in the record book four times. What started off with an interception in the first series turned into four single game records. Hubbard threw for 450 yards going 39-of-64 with five touchdown passes which all become records. He re-broke the attempts and completions that he set earlier this year at Willamette but then broke Phil Van Cleave's eight year old record for yards in a game which was 406. Hubbard finished with five touchdowns surpassing his own record from 2011 of four touchdowns vs. Sul Ross State.
Tyler Bates then posted a career day by catching three of Hubbard's passes in the end zone. He caught passes of five yards, 15-yards, and 33-yards to break his record. The three touchdowns come a week after he caught his first collegiate touchdown vs. Hardin-Simmons.
Throwing the ball 64 times and completing 39 passes for 450 yards, East Texas Baptist broke three single game records.
The day started off gloomy for East Texas as nobody scored in the first quarter and the Tigers first pass was intercepted. Howard Payne then jumped out to a 10-0 lead with 5:18 left in the second quarter. East Texas Baptist responded with a seven-play drive that ended with a Cory McNeil 30-yard field goal. Roy Denbow, who led the team in receiving with 139 yards, caught an 11-yard pass to tie the game at 10 with 41 seconds left in the game. Howard Payne took the final 40 seconds of the half and ended it with a 42-yard field goal for the three-point lead, 13-10, after two quarters.
It was a different game plan in the second half for East Texas Baptist as then jump started their offense scoring 42 points. Hubbard threw for 250 yards and four touchdowns in the second half as the Tigers came roaring back for their second win of the year. Butler caught his first of three touchdowns just under two minutes into the third quarter on a five-yard pass from Hubbard. Kailob Wallace knotted his first collegiate touchdown at the 8:56 mark on a four-yard pass from Hubbard, his third of the day, as the Tigers went up 24-13.
Howard Payne handed the ball back to East Texas Baptist on the next possession as Trevor Hamilton forced a fumble on the first play and Chris Frazier recovered on the 39-yard line. It only took 35 seconds for another East Texas Baptist score as John Gamble dance his way in from 18-yards out making it 31-13. Howard Payne was allowed three points in the third quarter at the 4:25 mark on a 41-yard field goal.
The fourth quarter brought 21 more points by the Tigers with two touchdown passes to Butler at the 14:15 mark and 12:04 mark on 15-yard and 33-yard passes. That sealed the win for the Tigers going up, 45-16. After Howard Payne recorded a touchdown with 6:12 left, Toi Glover rambled in from 11-yards out for the Tigers final score. Howard Payne did push in one last touchdown as time expired making it 52-28.
Gable finished the day with 39 yards rushing while Wallace led the team with 43 yards on two rushes. ETBU finished with just 138 yards rushing on 31 attempts and scored all six times they were within the 20-yard line. The defense forced three fumbles recovering two as Dylan Bethea led the team with 11 tackles. Dylan Maxwell recorded a sack and Mark Gray and Shaun Holmes picked off Howard Payne passes.
East Texas Baptist will try and make it two in a row as they travel to Clinton, Miss., next Saturday for a meeting with Mississippi College.