HBU drops hard-fought match to No. 14 McNeese State, 51-34

Photo by Darla S Tamulitis, La Vita Loca Photography
Copyright 2018 All Rights Reserved

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2018 All Rights Reserved

HOUSTON, TEXAS (September 8, 2018) The HBU Huskies put 34 points on the scoreboard, but it was not enough to overcome the offensive punch of  McNeese State quarterback James Tabary. The 6-2, 251-pound senior was shooting bulls eyes; completing 25-of-32 passes for 355 yards and four touchdown as his No. 14 Cowboys downed the Huskies 51-34 at Husky Stadium in Houston,

In their second-ever meeting, HBU and McNeese battled thorough the game, which saw a few missteps, some amazing plays, and an all-out effort from both teams trying to win their second game of the season

The Cowboys were first to find the end zone at the 12:25 mark in the first quarter. The score came after a bizarre change of events that had both sides of the field cheering and moaning, abet at different times.

HBU receive the initial kickoff and were moving the ball well down the field. Husky quarterback Bailey Zappe threw a pass, intended for David Racine, down the field and was quickly picked off by McNeese cornerback Darion Dunn. Dunn returned the ball eight yards before fumbling the ball, which was recovered by Husky wide receiver Nick Sexton. HBU took possession of the ball at midfield and began a fresh set of downs. HBU attempted to rush the ball on first and ten, and fumbled the ball, which was recovered by freshmen defensive lineman Tyrique Gibson at the HBU 23-yard line. Four plays later, Tabary carried the ball the final one-yard of the 23-yard drive for the touchdown. Kicker Gunnar Raborn split the upright for his first extra point of the game; putting the Cowboys up 7-0.

Photo by Darla S Tamulitis, La Vita Loca Photography
Copyright 2018 All Rights Reserved

They added two more scores in the first quarter to push their lead to 21-0 after only nine minutes, 24 seconds of play. Tabary completed two passes, one to Austin Nelson and another to Cyron Sutton for the two touchdowns. The Cowboys finished the first quarter with a 21-7 lead. HBU scored on a one-yard run by Dreshawn Minniweather (No. 28, shown above) and a Alec Chadwick extra points. The Huskies added four more touchdowns and three extra points to compelet their scoring for the evening. McNeese scored an additional 24 points after the first quarter to secure their win

Minniweather tallied 146 yards on 17 carries and two touchdowns, while Zappe threw for 348 yards and four touchdowns. HBU put 493 yards of total offense on the field with David Racine catching three passes for 108 yards and one TD. Next up for the Huskies is a Saturday, September 15 home match up versus Southland Conference foe Abilene Christian. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. CDT in Houston.