By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2016 TexSport Publications
HOUSTON, TEXANS (September 17, 2016) With the game tied at 21 after 60-minutes of play, Houston Baptist University and Abilene Christian University went to overtime, with the
Huskies pulling out a 27-24 win for their second straight win of 2016 and a
first ever win over the Wildcats. Saturday’s game was the fourth all-time meeting
between the two schools dating back to 2013. In the three previous matchups,
the Wildcats downed the Huskies 69-12 in 2013, 59-14 in 2014, and 49-21 in
2015.
After some heated play early in the game, the Huskies make
their first assault on the end zone at the 5:21 mark of the first quarter. HBU
quarterback Tony Dawson connected with wide receiver Wesley Lewis on a 69-yard first-and-ten
play; giving the Huskies a first down on the ACU 14-yard line. HBU completed
the drive three plays later with a Terrance Peters seven-yard rush for the
touchdown. Alec Chadwick converted the kicking extra point to give the Huskies
a 7-0 lead with 3:22 left in the first quarter. The Wildcats came right back after
the kickoff and marched 75 yards in seven plays; ending in a 23-yard pass from
quarterback Dallas Sealey to wide receiver D.J. Fuller for the score. Parker
McKenzie lobbed a pass to Dylan Douglass over the right side for the two-point
conversion; to give ACU an 807 lead after 15 minutes of play. With 61 seconds
remaining in the first half, Sealey carrying the ball on a quarterback keeper,
rushed to the right and found himself bottled up. He quickly reversed direction
and went to the left. He picked up some blockers and carried the ball 39 yards
to the ACU four-yard line. Five seconds later, on first-and-ten, he carried the
ball up the middle for the second Husky TD of the game. Chadwick added his
usual kicking extra point to put HBU up 14-8 with 55 second to go in the half.
After an ACU set of downs, where they advanced the ball deep into HBU territory,
Nik Grau kicked a 42-yard field goal to send both teams to the locker room at
halftime with HBU leading by the score of 14-11.
HBU Cheerleaders Photo by Darla Tamulitis, La Vita Loca Photography Copyright 2016, All Rights Reserved |
The Huskies began the second half with the ball and after a
short series of downs, took back the lead at the 1:08 mark in the third quarter
on a two-yard run by Peters. The run was set up after a 43-yard pass play from
Dawson to halfback Mev Adjin, for a first and goal from the ACU two-yard line. With
7:08 to go in the ball game, Sealey ran the final 12 yards of their 83-yard
drive for another ACU touchdown. Grau added the kicking extra point to tie the
score at 21. After some heated back-and-forth play, the game ended in regulation
in a 21-all tie; forcing the game to go to overtime.
HBU won the overtime coin flip and head coach Vic Shealy
elected to defend. ACU took possession of the ball on the 25-yard line. In
three down, they advanced the ball four yards. On fourth down, Grau kicked a
38-yard field goal to give the Wildcats aa 24-21 lead. HBU then took possession
on the ACU 25-yard line, and on the first play from scrimmage, Dawson hit Lewis
on a wide-out pattern to the right side end zone. The 6-6 wide receiver
out leaped is defender, brought the ball down in-bound sin the end zone for six
points and the win.
Junior linebacker Garrett Dolan accounted for 17 tackles
against the Wildcats, with 12 coming in the first half. Prior to the game,
Dolan, who played his prep ball at Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu, Texas,
led the Southland Conference, with 12.5 tackles a game. The post game interview with Dolan can be viewed by clicking here. In additon, the post game interview with Wesly Lewis can be viewed by clicking here, along with head coach Vic Shealy's interview here.
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