HBU, Zappe "More Than Shine" in 35-33 loss to Texas Tech

File photo by
Darla S Tamulitis, La Vita Loca Photography
Copyright 2020 All Rights Reserved

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2020 All Rights Reserved

LUBBOCK, TEXAS (September 12, 2020) In a game that they were slated as a 41-point underdog, the HBU Huskies fell to the Texas Tech Red Raiders by the score of 35-33 at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock. With the near loss, the Huskies dropped to 0-2 in the pandemic-shorten season, with a two week break until the face Louisiana Tech in Ruston, Louisiana on Saturday, September 26. The Tech win was the first in as many games for the HBU's Big 12 foe.

Husky quarterback Bailey Zappe (shown above left) connected on 30-of-67 apsses for 567 yards and four touchdowns. His frequent targets were the brothers Sterns. Jerreth caught 12 passes for  130 yards and one touchdown, with Josh having five receptions for 209 yards and two TDs. DJ Dormeus had three catches for 82 yards and one touchdown. Defensively, Brennan Young tallied 13 tackles, 12 of them solo with Caleb Johnson also accounting for 13, eight of them solo. Isaiah Cash had the game's lone interception, which he returned for 15 yards.

Zappe, in twe games, has completed 73 passes on 111 attempts for 1.047 yards and seven touchdowns without throwing any interceptions. Against North Texas, on September 5,  his longest completed pass was 71 yards. Versus the Red Raiders, had-a 75-yard completion to Josh Sterns in the fourth quarter for the second of his scores.

The Husky's game against Louisiana Tech on September 26 will be broadcast on ESPN3 and on the Husky Sports Network (KKME Digital) with Lonnie King behind the microphone.

HBU falls to SHSU in final game of season

Photo by
Darla S Tamulitis
La Vita Loca Photography
Copyright 2019 All Rights Reserved

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2019 All Rights Reserved

HOUSTON, TEXAS (November 23, 2019) Wide receiver Ben Ratzlaff (shown right) scored two touchdowns but it was not enough to overcome an early 27-0 of the Sam Houston State Bearkats, as the HBU Huskies dropped a 37-14 decision in the final game of the 2019 season for both teams.

The Bearkats jumped out to a 20-0 lead in the first quarter and extended their lead in the second quarter before Ratzlaff (Westview HS, San Diego, CA) could get the Huskies on the scoreboard. At the 6:39 mark, he covered the final 17 yards of a 78-yard drive when Bailey Zappe (Victoria East HS, Victoria, Texas) connected with the junior wide receiver for his first touchdown. The Huskies added their second TD with the Zappe-Ratzlaff connection scoring on a 25-yard pass to complete a nine-play, 87-yard drive.

Zappe, who completed 29-of-64 passes for 367 yards, had trouble with the Bearkat defense; throwing two interceptions while being sacked three times. Ratzlaff caught 13 passes for 178 yards while Ean Beek (Taylor HS, Katy, Texas) carried the ball eight times for 33 yards. Defensively, Tra Fluellen (Gilmer HS, Gilmer, Texas) recorded 14 tackles with Philip Ossai (Oak Ridge HS, Conroe, Texas) and Cotton Manning (Allen HS, Allen, TX) accounting for eight.

The Huskies finished the season with a 5-7 record, with a 2-6 record in Southland Conference action. They will kickoff the 2020 season on September 5 against North Texas in Denton.

HBU head coach Vic Shealy, players speak at Southland Conference football media day

Photo by Darla S Tamulitis
La Vita Loca Photography
Copyrightr 2019 All Rights Reserved

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2019 All Rights Reserved

HOUSTON, TEXAS (July 18, 2019) The 2019 Southland Conference football media day was held at the Hilton Post Oak in Houston with all 11 schools represented to discuss their upcoming season and field questions from the 50-plus media in attendence.

Houston Baptist University was represented by head coach Vic Shealy (shown left), who is in his sixth season at the helm of the Huskies. HBU returns 17 starters, nine on offense and eight on defense, along with exceptional talent on both sides of the ball. Senior defensive end Andre Walker, who enters the season as the Huskies' all-time sacks leader, is a preseason all-conference selection. Junior linebacker Caleb Johnson ranked fifth in the league in tackles per game, recorded 102 total stops on the year and tied for the league lead with four fumble recoveries to earn preseason all-conference honors. Sophomore wide receiver Jerreth Sterns led the conference in receptions in his rookie campaign and earned preseason all-conference honors. Junior quarterback Bailey Zappe tied for the league lead with 23 touchdown passes, while setting nearly every HBU single-game, single-season and career passing record.

Shealy discussed his view of the upcoming season;  stating to the press:

“These are good days at HBU with great things happening in our program. I can’t wait to see these guys. We play, in my opinion, in the best FCS conference in the country and I think this year, what makes it more difficult, is the strength from top to bottom. You look at the quality of teams that you have to play week-in and week-out, our league exposes areas where you are not very good. By the time you get to a playoff, you are a hardened team."

He added:

"I think this year will be one of the most fun years I’ve ever had as a coach. I believe in this football team we have, this is the best team we have had in our years here at HBU. The six years have gone by fast and what I see with this team, is that since we said goodbye to them before Christmas until they came back in January, they have not missed a step toward the expectations on their plate.”

In addition,

“Some of the success that we’ve seen, particularly on offense last year, the ability to generate points and do things with the football, are good indicators of where we are. This year we are going to be a fit for team’s in this league to handle, because both sides of the ball have the ability to trend up in incredible fashion.”

The Huskies open camp Monday, August 5 with a 7:30 p.m. practice at Husky Stadium. The 2019 season kicks off against FBS and Conference USA foe UTEP Saturday, Aug. 31 at 8 p.m. CDT at the Sun Bowl in El Paso.

HBU QB Bailey Zappe off to great start after two games

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 14, 2018) Following a 51-34 lost to the No. 14 McNeese State Cowboys this past Saturday, in which HBU quarterback Bailey Zappe (shown left) threw for 348 yards, the Huskies will face the Abilene Christian Cowboys at Husky Stadium on Saturday, September 15, 2018. The Husky take a 1-1 record into the game, having defeated Southwest Baptist 49-7 in their opening season game on September 1. The Cowboys also bring a 1-1 record into Houston; having dropped a 55-27 decision to the Baylor Bears on September 1 and downing Angelo State 41-24 this past Saturday.

Zappe, who is on track to having a banner sophomore season, has completed 39 passes on 66 attempts for 552 yards and six touchdowns. In 2017, he appeared in 10 games, starting in nine, and completed 150-of-266 passes for 1,548 yards, including five touchdowns. He also rushed for 50 yards and two touchdowns. He set school records, as a true freshman in passing completions, attempts, and yards. In high school, he was at three-year letterwinner at Victoria East High School, passing for 3,370 yards and 37 touchdowns along with rushing for 650 yards and 15 touchdowns.

He will be facing a Wildcat defense that has given up 79 points and 878 yards in two games. HBU has played Abilene Christian each of the past four seasons; posting a 1-3 record. The lone win was a 27-24 decision in 2016, at home. The dropped their initial meeting, in 2014, by the score of 59-14. They followed that up with another loss in 2015 (49-21), along with 2017 (24-3).

Saturday's game is "Family Weekend" at HBU, with the game to be broadcast on ESPN3. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. CDT.

Last minute field goal by Northwestern State leads to HBU loss

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2017 All Rights Reserved

HOUSTON, TEXAS (October 28, 2017) The Northwestern State Demons kicked a 36-yard field goal with three seconds remaining game to down the Houston Baptist University Huskies by the score of 10-7 at Husky Stadium in Houston on Saturday, October 28, 2017. After 55 minutes of scoreless football, both the Houston Baptist University Huskies and Northwestern State Demons scored in the final five minutes of regulation. The Demons took the final kickoff of the game; moving the ball 29 yards in five plays to boot the field goal and pick up their first Southland Conference win of the season.

The first three possessions by the Huskies ended with fumbles, but HBU found that fate swung back in their favor when the recovered a Demon fumble at the 10:28 mark in the second quarter. They began their fourth drive of the game on their own 40-yard-line. Being unable to secure the first down, the Huskies were forced to punt and give the ball back to Northwestern State. The Demons were also unable to capitalize on the possession when safety Nicholas Smith found himself in position to intercept a Clay Holgerson pass; returning it to the the Demon 31-yard-line. After three plays, the Huskies attempted a 50-yard field goal; which was low. Northwestern State took possession of the ball. They ended the drive with their own field goal attempt; which was wide left. With 1:11 remaining in the half, HBU took possession to close out the first half.

The second half was pretty much a continuation of the first half; minimal offense and mistakes on both sides. Nonetheless, both squads  tried very hard to find any weakness in their opponent's defense to get the ball over the goal line or between the uprights. The Demons finally would the opening with 4:55 remaining in the game when Chris Jones rushed up the middle for 23 yards and the touchdown for the score. Eric Piccione added the kicking conversion to give the Demons a late 7-0 lead.

HBU took the kickoff and began their drive on their own 29-yard line; driving 71 yards in 13 plays to tie the score; on a two-yard pass from Bailey Zappe to Terrance Peters with 1:05 to play. NSU took the kickoff and moved the ball down the field to kick the field goal for the win.

Lamar Cardinals down HBU Huskies in Southland Conference acrtion

Photo by Darla Tamulitis-La Vita Loca Photography
Copyright 2015 All Rights Reserved

By Robert H Kelly

Copyright 2015 TexSport Publications

HOUSTON, TEXAS (October 31, 2015)  HBU quarterback Tony Dawson completed 16-of-36 passes for 136 yards and rushed for 56 yards but it was not enough to overcome the offensive punch of Lamar as the Huskies fell to the Cardinals by the score of 55-7 at Husky Field in Houston, Texas on Saturday, October 31, 2015. The Huskies lone touchdown can with 41 seconds remaining in the first half on a 34-yard run by Dawson and the kicking conversion by Travis Shinn.

The Cardinals ripped off 568 yards of total offense with 324 of those yards coming on the ground. The Huskies could only manage 233 yard of total offense, with 146 yards in the air. Lamar jumped out to a 14-0 lead after the first quarter and increased that lead to 34-0 with 41 second remaining in the first half. That was the point where Dawson scrambled for his 34-yard touchdown run. Lamar added 14 additional points on the third quarter and closed out their scoring with seven points late in the fourth quarter.

HBU head coach Vic Shealy, in the post-game press conference, discussed the HBU effort.

“We knew coming in Lamar was an extremely explosive offense and they had the ability. I thought our defense, outside some of the explosive plays that happened in the passing game, did a lot of good things today. We’ll go back and look at the tape, but I think we’ll find some things that are consistently happening, where we don’t make some mistakes mentally, that physically we are closing the gap and are able to play.”

Defensively, the Huskies were led by Eric Amoako and Garrett Dolan with 12 tackles, followed by Cody Moncure with 11. On the offense side of the ball, Ethan Fry caught four passes for 47 yards and Terrance Peters carried the ball 10 times for 41 yards.

The Huskies will have the next week off prior to their final two games of the season. They will face Stephen F. Austin on Saturday, November 14, 2015 and will close out the season against Incarnate Word on November 21, 2015 at home.

HBU comes from behind to down Nicholls 31-21











Photo by Darla Tamulitis-La Vita Loca Photography

Copyright 2014 All Rights Reserved







By Robert H Kelly

Copyright 2014 TexSport Publications

HOUSTON, TEXAS (October 25, 2014) The Houston Baptist Huskies scored two touchdowns and two extra points in the fourth quarter, coming back from a four point deficit, to down the Nicholls Colonels by the score of 31-21 at Dunham Field in Houston on Saturday, October 25, 2014. The vicrory marks the Huskies' first ever win against a Southland Conference opponent and raised their season record to 2-6.

Nicholls wasted no time getting on the scoreboard, driving 75 yards in 11 plays, resulting in a five yard run by running back Michael Henry. The three minute, 25 second drive was capped off with a Conner Fryouz extra point to give the Colonels a 7-0 lead.

HBU responded a bit over eight minutes later when running back Larry Day carried the ball the final yard of a 60 yard drive for the touchdown. Travis Shinn booted the ball through the uprights for the conversion to even the score at seven.

After short stints of possession by both teams, the Huskies began a drive with 22 seconds remaining in the first quarter which lasted 7:46. They drove ball 83 yards in 17 plays for their second touchdown of the game; a five yard pass from quarterback Jonathan Fleming to wide receiver D’Angelo Wallace.

Shinn added another point to his season total for the extra point; making the score 14-0. The right-footed kicker from Rockwell, Texas added another field goal to his season total with no time remaining on the clock to give HBU a 17-7 lead going into the locker room at halftime.

After what must have been an inspirational talk in both locker rooms, the Colonels came out of the locker room like a vengeance. Nicholls scored two unanswered touchdowns in the third quarter to take the score to 21-17 in favor of the Colonels.

Quarterback Beaux Hebert connected on a monstrous 60-yard pass to Demon Bolt for one touchdown at the 8:49 mark. Michael Henry rushed for the second touchdown with 38 second remaining in the quarter.

Trailing by four points with 15 minutes remaining in the games, the Huskies buckled down scored twice in the fourth quarter to secure the win.

With 12:41 remaining in the game. B.J. Kelly carried the ball the final 29 yards on an 85 yard drive to score his first touchdown of the game. Kenneth Bibbins added his own touchdown at 7:07 woth a 24 yard pass from Fleming to cap odd a 62 yard, eight play drive.

Kelly carried he ball 29 yards for 153 yards, averaging 5.3 yards per carry. Bibbins caught two passes for 57 yards and one score. Fleming threw for two touchdowns; completing 10 of 20 passes for 127 yards.

The Huskies will next face the Lamar Cardinals on Saturday, November 1, 2014 in Beaumont, Texas. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT.

HBU falls to SFA in power outage delayed game; 59-27

The HBU Huskies relaxed in their weight room during the
long delay due to the power outage.
Photo by Darla Tamulitis-La Vita Loca Photography
Copyright 2014 All Rights Reserved

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2014 TexSport Publications

HOUSTON, TEXAS (October 18, 2014) Falling behind 31-13 at halftime, the Houston Baptist UniversityHuskies could not overcome the deficit and fell to the Stephen F Austin Lumberjacks by the score of 59-27 at Dunham Field in Houston on Saturday, October 18, 2014.

The Lumberjacks quickly got on the scoreboard in 20 seconds at the beginning of the game. Braxton Beardon returned the HBU kickoff 65 yards to the Huskies two-yard line.

Running back Gus Johnson carried the ball the final two yards for the score. With the Jordan Wiggs kick splitting the uprights, SFA took a 7-0 lead.

After the kickoff by the Lumberjacks, Huskie quarterback Jonathan Fleming completed a 13 yard pass to wide receiver Ethan Fry for a first down.

Then the players, coaches, fans, and media had to wait one hour, 55 minutes for the next play.

As the play was under review, suddenly, the lights when out at Dunham Field and darkness covered field and stands. The only lights illuminating in the stadium complex were under the stands, in the press box and the concession stands at both ends of the bleachers.

Center Point Energy was notified and after nearly one and a half hour of darkness, lights were restored and both teams were given approximately 20 minutes of warmup.

After the restart, SFA rattles off 78 yards in three plays concluding with a 36-yard pass from quarterback Zack Conque to wide receiver Aaron Thomas for another six points. Wiggs again concerted the extra point to give the Lumberjacks a 14-0 lead at the 11:33 mark in the 1^st quarter.

The Huskies responded less than two minutes later with a Craig Bell 34-yard run to get the Huskies on the board. Kicker Travis Shinn missed the extra point to cut the SFA lead to 14-6.

The Lumberjacks added Conque quarterback keeper eight-yard touchdown run, another Wiggs extra point for seven more points. Wiggs added three points with a 33-yard field goal to close out the first quarter scoring.

SFA and HBU traded touchdowns in the second quarter with the Lumberjacks scoring on a 15-yard Gus Johnson run and another Wiggs extra point.

The Huskies closed out the half with a one-yard run by Bell for his second touchdown of the night. Shinn added the extra point to close the half out with SFA leading 31-13.

They again traded touchdowns in the third quarter with HBU scoring on a seven-yard pass from Jonathan Fleming to D’Angelo Wallace and a Shinn kick.

The ‘Jacks added seven more points on a 17-yard run by Gus Johnson and a Wiggs extra point to make the score 38-20 with 15 minutes to play.

With 13:57 remaining in the game, SFA padded to their lead with a seven-yard reception by Justice Liggins for the touchdown and another extra point by Wiggs.

Fleming then competed a 58-yard pass to Bibbins for their final touchdown of the game. Again, Shinn added the extra point to make the score 45-27

The ‘Jacks added three insurance touchdowns and extra points in the fourth quarter to close out the scoring at 59-27.

With the win, the 'Jacks raise their season record to 5-2 and their Southland Conference record to 2-1. The Huskies fall to 1-6 and 0-4 in conference play.

UIW Cardinals tame HBU Huskies in 31-8 win

By Mike Stockman

Staff Correspondent
Copyright 2014 TexSport Publications

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS (October 5, 2014) The Houston BaptistHuskies were unable to overcome the controlled attack of the Incarnate Word Cardinals in a 31-8 loss on Saturday, (October 4, 2014) evening at Benson Stadium in San Antonio, Texas 

 

Redshirt freshman running back B.J. Kelly's 64 yards rushing and a touchdown, along with redshirt freshman quarterback Ka’Darius Baker's 63 yards passing contributed to most of the Huskies’ 217 totals yards.

 

The Huskies defense was unable to stop the Cardinals who picked up 27 first downs and a total of 357 yards.

 

The highlight of the Huskies offense was a 52 yard pass from Baker to sophomore tight end Maxwell Brown in the first possession of the game. The drive would later die when a fumble gave the Cardinals the ball at their 24 yard line.

 

The Huskies will be traveling to Conway, Arkansas on Saturday, October 11, 2014 at 6 p.m. to take on Central Arkansas.

HBU Football falls to Northern Colorado, 28-20 in late game comeback

HBU will return home on September 27 to face
Abilene Christian on Family Weekend.
Photo by Robert H Kelly-Copyright 2014-All Rights Reserved

Bears overcome Huskies with two 4th quarter scores.

 
GREELEY, COLORADO (September 13, 2014) The HBU Huskies took a 20-15 lead into the fourth quarter, but Northern Colorado scored a pair of unanswered touchdowns over the final 10 minutes to pull out a 28-20 victory over the Huskies Saturday afternoon at Nottingham Field.
 
Sophomore quarterback Jonathan Fleming completed 21-of-35 passes for 159 yards and was intercepted three times for HBU (0-2). Freshman running back B.J. Kelly carried 11 times for 46 yards, while freshman Larry Day had seven carries for 36 yards and a touchdown. Freshman wide receiver Wesley Lewis made eight catches for 65 yards, and senior tight end Kenneth Bibbins had six catches for 42 yards.
 
The Huskies’ defense was solid, led by freshman linebacker Garrett Dolan’s 17 tackles and 1.5 sacks. Freshman linebacker Terrell Brown III added nine tackles, while junior defensive end Josh Jones recorded a sack and a forced fumble, which was returned by sophomore cornerback Eric Amoako for a touchdown.
 
Northern Colorado quarterback Sean Rubalcaba was 11-for-17 for 178 yards and a touchdown, and also rushed 13 times for 58 yards and a score for the Bears (1-1). Robert Holland rushed 16 times for 87 yards and a touchdown, while Darius Graham rushed for 58 yards and a touchdown. Stephen Miller made four catches for 58 yards, and Dimitri Stimphil had three receptions for 61 yards and a touchdown.
 
HBU’s defense forced a three-and-out on Northern Colorado’s opening possession of the game, and a bad snap on the ensuing punt gave the Huskies great field position. Junior kicker gave HBU an early 3-0 lead with a 35-yard field goal with 11:10 to go in the first quarter.
 
After freshman punter Christian Guzman pinned Northern Colorado back at the 4-yard line with a 56-yard punt, the Bears drove 96 yards on seven plays, capped by Rubalcaba’s 50-yard touchdown for a 7-3 lead with 2:16 remaining.
 
The Huskies answered with a 14-play, 78-play drive, which ended with Day’s four-yard scamper into the endzone to put HBU back up, 10-7. HBU’s defense held and gave the ball back to the offense with a chance to put points on the board before halftime, but Kyle Griffin’s interception and return down to the HBU 11 set up a 2-yard TD run by Holland. Thomas Singleton ran in the two-point conversion out of the wildcat to put Northern Colorado ahead 15-10 heading into halftime.
 
In the third quarter, Jones’ blindsided Rubalcaba for a sack, jarring the ball loose. Amoako scooped it up and returned it 31 yards for a touchdown that put HBU ahead, 17-15. Shinn then added a 24-yard field goal with 16 seconds left in the quarter to give HBU a 20-15 lead.
 
In the Bears’ drive at the start of the fourth quarter, Rubalcaba hit Stephen Miller for a 23-yard completion, Brandon Cartage added a 12-yard first-down run, and Holland had a 19-yard carry down to the HBU 4 to set up Rubalcaba’s 2-yard TD on a quarterback sneak. Northern Colorado once again went for two, but were stopped as they clung to a one-point lead.
 
Northern Colorado got the ball back at midfield with 8:46 left and took four minutes off the clock on a drive that ended with Graham’s seven-yard TD. The extra point gave the Bears a 28-20 lead.
 
On the Huskies’ final drive, Fleming completed 6-of-8 passes to get them to a third-and-goal at the 7. Fleming found a wide open Bibbins in the endzone for an apparent touchdown with 44 seconds left, but HBU was called for offensive pass interference, moving the ball back to the 22-yard line. Fleming was intercepted by Jaqueal Walker, and the Bears ran out the remaining 33 ticks.
 
HBU returns to action when it travels to face Texas College Saturday, Sept. 20 at noon at Trinity Mother Frances Rose Stadium in Tyler, Texas.
 
 

HBU Football Scrimmages Under Lights

Photo courtesy of HBU Athletic Media Relations Department

Several of Huskies' freshman shine before strong crowd.

 
HOUSTON, TEXAS (August 23, 2014)  Even though they couldn't yet sit in the bleachers at Husky Stadium, about 200 fans lined the sidelines Saturday night as the HBU football team scrimmaged in its final practice before classes start Monday.
 

"I think any time you can raise the importance of a workout, with much more of a game feel to it in terms of how we competed, you begin to understand more about the growth and maturity that's occurred in your returning players and the key thing for us as coaches is seeing how our younger players are going to respond," head coach Vic Shealy said. "I'm continually impressed with the way the freshman class shows maturity and the ability to compete, and I'm impressed by the overall football IQ of the program that we're trending towards and our ability to handle the volume of our schemes."

 
When class begins next week, HBU will practice Monday through Thursday from 6:30-8:30 a.m.
 

"Tonight, we tackled much better than we did in the first scrimmage and that was good to see," Shealy said. "I thought our quarterbacks did more to create offense, even though sometimes it was after the designated play broke down, they showed the ability to save a play."

 
Redshirt freshman quarterback Ka'Darius Baker and sophomore quarterback Jonathan Fleming split most of the snaps, while true freshman Isaiah Hall saw action in a third-down series.
 

"We spent a good bit of time in the red zone because from an offensive standpoint, you've got to get the ball in the endzone, and conversely on defense you got to force them to try a field goal instead of the offense scoring," Shealy said. "We worked on coming off the goal line and I think it's important to get a mass of third down work in, both in the goal line and open field area."

 
The Huskies scrimmaged for about 90 minutes, working on red zone, third down and goal line situations, as well as the kicking game.
 
HBU's running backs dominated early with redshirt freshman B.J. Kelly taking the first four snaps, carrying four times for 25 yards and capping it with an 8-yard touchdown. Redshirt freshman Craig Bell Jr. scored on a 33-yard draw play by bouncing it out to the left sideline, and true freshman Terrance Peters Jr. scored on a seven-yard gain and added a tough 15-yard run for a first down.
 

"Just to continue seeing us run the ball, I think we're doing a good job up front in terms of giving some holes to run through, but our backs are running with authority and toughness," Shealy said. "(Assistant coach) Shannon Kelley has done a tremendous job growing them, and I think tonight one of the things that really showed was Terrance Peters and his ability to play fast, be able to cut open field and make people miss. That's just an area now where it will be interesting to see who starts for us, because we've got about four guys where it doesn't matter who's in the ball game right now. It's a great challenge to have.

 
True freshman wide receiver D'Angelo Wallace made several receptions, including a 54-yard touchdown from Baker and a 30-yard gain on a third-down conversion on which Fleming scrambled to his right and hit Wallace on the sideline. On the defensive side, freshman Dominique Barnett and junior John Wesby each grabbed interceptions, while Kameron Lecoq had a sack.
 

"D'Angelo Wallace is just a guy when we recruited him, what we were looking for was a guy that was dynamic in his movement and great with the ball in his hands after a catch and a guy that really showed evidence of being a high-production player," Shealy said. "I wouldn't say D'Angelo's been a pleasant surprise, because we had high expectations for him, but it's been tremendous just to see him play fast and – frankly – I think it's going to be hard for our older guys to keep him off the field."

 

"Then on the other side of the ball, there's Dominique Barnett with the interception he made and the consistency with which he's been playing," Shealy said. "That play is indicative of the way he's been playing the last couple of weeks and he's so explosive and the learning curve is continuing to go up. He's thinking less and playing faster."

 
The Huskies are preparing for the season opener at home against McMurry on Sept. 6 at Husky Stadium to kickoff the program's first official season as a member of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and the Southland Conference.

HBU falls to Texas A&M-Commerce, 55-21 to finish 2013 season

Larry Day (33) scored HBU's first touchdown vs. TAMU-Commerce.
Photo by Darla Tamulitis-La Vita Loca Photography
Copyright 2013, All Rights Reserved

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2013 TexSport Publications

HOUSTON, TEXAS (November 10, 2013) The Houston Baptist Huskies finished their inaugural season of college football on Saturday night, November 9, 2013, with a 55-21 loss to the Texas A&M-Commerce Lions at Crusader Stadium at Strake Jesuit College Preparatory School in Houston, Texas.

With the loss, the Huskies season record fell to 3-4 as they begin early Monday morning to prepare for their entry into competition on the gridiron in the Southland Conference.

HBU scored 14 of their points in the first quarter on a six-yard run by Larry Day at the 9:38 mark and on a 25-yard pass from Ka’DariusStewart to Wesley Lewis with 4:19 remaining in the quarter.

Their final score came in the third quarter on a one-yard run by B.J. Kelly at the 4:20 mark.

Travis Shinn (37) was perfect in extra points for HBU.Photo by Darla Tamulitis-La Vita Loca Photography
Copyright 2013, All Rights Reserved

Travis Shinn (shown right) connected with the extra point on all three scores.

HBU tallied 389 yards of total offense with the yardage split pretty even between rushing and passing (197 and 192 respectively).

Baker completed 18-of-31 passes for 192 yards and no interceptions while Kelly carried the ball 16 times for 116 yards.

The 2,752 fans in attendance saw homecoming activities occur at halftime with the 2014 homecoming coming at the new on-campus stadium, scheduled to be ready by August, 2014.

Statistically, HBU was 8-of 19 in third-down conversions and 2-of-4 in fourth down conversions.

They also scored twice on three tries inside the red zone and advanced the ball 121 yards on nine kickoff returns.

Head coach Vic Shealy and his staff will now begin to prepare for the 2014 season, which will include visits to upcoming high school football playoff games that will begin this coming week.

HBU downs Texas College 49-7; raises season record to 3-3

Photo by Darla Tamulitis-La Vita Loca Photography

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2013 TexSport Publications

HOUSTON, TEXAS (November 3, 2013) Under a clear blue sky on a mild, fall Texas afternoon, the Houston Baptist University Huskies rattled off 49 unanswered points to win their third game of the 2013 season by the score of 49-7 over the Texas College Steers on Saturday, November 2, 2013 at Crusader Stadium on the campus of Strake Jesuit Preparatory School in Houston, Texas. 

The Huskies had 356 yards of total offense with 289 of that coming on the ground.

With the win, HBU raised their record to 3-3 heading into their final game of the season against Texas A&M-Commerce on Saturday, Nov. 9.

Running back B.J. Kelly rushed for 111 yards on 16 carries and score one touchdown; a nine-yard run with 2:45 left in the first half.

Larry Day also showed the crowd that he wanted in on the scoring action; carrying the ball 10 times for 46 yards and two touchdowns.

Jackie Robinson and Craig Bell added to the Huskies ground assault; rushing for 60 and 46 yards, respectively while scoring one touchdown each.

Wesley Lewis caught the ball a single time; a 38-yard reception for second touchdown of the season.

On defense, linebacker Garrett Dolan accounted for 10 solo tackles and three assists.

Terrell Brown and Ore Bankole each had five solo takedowns.

Photo by Darla Tamulitis-La Vita Loca Photography

Quarterback Ka’Darius Baker competed five-of-ten passes for 87 yards and one TD.

His longest was the 38-yard bomb he threw to Lewis for his score.

Texas College got on the scoreboard with 4:26 remaining in the game when Curtez Griffen carried the ball one-yard for the score.

With the loss, Texas College falls to 1-7 for the season.

When the Huskies take to the field for their homecoming game on Nov. 9; they will be facing a Texas A&M-Commerce team that in 6-3 in 2013 and is 2-3 in the Lone Star Conference.