This past Saturday, the Houston Baptist Huskies defeated the Texas Southern Tigers in a close one, 24-20 at Husky Stadium on the campus of Houston Baptist University in Houston, Texas.
The Tigers were looking to rebound after a devastating loss to the Prairie View A&M Panthers in the Labor Day Classic last week.
Derrick Griffin, the star wide receiver at TSU, sat out the game with a knee sprain.
The Tigers did not start the game off on the right foot. The Huskies’ Terrance Peters got into the end zone early on a 34 yard run, and the Tigers found themselves down at the end of the first quarter, 7-0. Later in the second quarter, the Huskies drove the ball down to the TSU 35-yard line. Huskies kicker Alec Chadwick attempted a 43-yard field goal but missed it.
The Tigers’ offense was pretty quiet for most of the first half until late in the second quarter. The Tigers’ Averion Hurts passed the ball to Tony Upchurch for a 21-yard gain. That play set up Tylor Cook for a 16-yard touchdown run. In the very next series, Peters fumbled the ball and TSU’s Caleb Jenkins was able to recover. TSU was unable to capitalize, however, and at the half, the game was tied up at seven.
After the half, the Huskies drove the ball 86 yards and got to the Tigers’ 9-yard line, but were unable to cross the goal line. The Huskies would have to settle for a 22-yard field goal. The next series, the Huskies sacked Hurts and he fumbled the ball. Terrance Manderville of the Huskies scooped the ball up and took it the house for a touchdown.
The Huskies were led TSU at the end of the third quarter, 17-7.
The Huskies’ offense had been able to successfully move the ball all game on the Tigers’ defense. Chadwick attempted his second field goal of the game early in the fourth quarter, this being a 35-yard field goal, but missed again. On the Tigers’ next series, Hurts threw an 8-yard touchdown to Austin Watts. The extra point was blocked.
The Tigers’ defense was finally able to get a stop on the Huskies and turned it into points for them. Watts returned a punt 93 yards for a touchdown to give the Tigers their first lead of the game. That lead did not last long for the Tigers. On the very next series, the Huskies’ Peters took the ball to the house for a 51-yard touchdown.
It was obvious that the Tigers missed star player Derrick Griffin, because the receivers were unable to get open down the field for the majority of the game. Hurts had a mediocre game, throwing for only 143 yards and a touchdown. The Tigers’ defense could not stop the run. They gave up 315 yards on the ground.
Coach Haywood and his team will have to go back to the drawing board if they want to be successful this season.