HBU Huskies overwhelm Texas Wesleyan 58-13

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

By Robert Kelly
Copyright 2019 All Rights Reserved

HOUSTON, TEXAS (September 7, 2019) After trailing 7-0 at the 9:19 mark of the first quarter, the HBU Huskies jumped out to a 44-7 lead at halftime in route to a 58-13 trouncing of the Texas Wesleyan Rams at Husky Field on Saturday evening in Houston. Quarterback Bailey Zappe (shown left), who was taken out of the game midway in the second quarter, threw for 249 yards and three touchdowns, along with rushing for 47 yards. to cap his second game of the season. In the Huskies' 36-34 loss to Texas-El Paso on August 31, the junior from Victoria, Texas completed 27-of-37 passes for 300 yards and two TDs. 

The game was the perfect tuneup for their next opponent on Saturday, September 14, when they travel to Vermillion, South Dakota to face the University of South Dakota Coyotes. South Dakota comes into the game with a 0-2 record after dropping their season opener to Montana and a 70-14 loss to the Oklahoma Sooners in Norman. The Huskies tallied a total of 624 yards of total offense against the Rams and will hope to stay close to those numbers when they face South Dakota. The Coyotes have averaged 345 yards of total offense per game, against two highly regarded opponents.  

After dropping the season opener to UTEP, the Huskies came onto the field at Husky Stadium with the honor of receiving votes in the weekly FCS Coaches Poll. HBU received 11 votes, tied with Cal Poly for 43th place in the weekly ranking. Eight Southland Conference teams received votes with Nicholls State leading the way in 10th place (300 votes), followed by Central Arkansas (18th, 275 pts.), and Sam Houston State (22nd, 108 pts.). Also receiving votes were McNeese State (17), Abilene Christian (14), Incarnate Word (12), HBU (11) and Lamar (5).

HBU wide receiver Ben Ratzlaff caught seven passes for 110 yards, with a game-high longest 43-yard reception. Ben Beck carried the ball eight times for 88 yards and one touchdown with one rush for 33 yards. You can view his post-game interview with the press by clicking here.