The Southwest Baptist University football team earned a 52-29 victory over William Jewell on Saturday to improve to 4-3 (3-2 GLVC) on the season.
TJ Edwards led the SBU offense with 390 passing yards and 3 touchdowns, while adding 42 yards and a score on the ground. For the second time in school history three different wide receivers topped 100-yards. Cassian Foreman hauled in 9 receptions for 117 yards and a touchdown, Jerminic Smith had 10 receptions for 115 yards and a touchdown, while Kendrick Payne hauled in 110 yards on eight receptions and a score. Larry Nixon gave SBU the first 100-yard rusher of the season, collecting 107 yards on 21 carries. The SBU defense picked off five passes, two from Cory Hanger and one from Tyler Curts, Mygeish Dennis, and Quinlan Gaines. Brycen Gagnon had a team leading 12 tackles, while Curts also chipped in 9 tackles in the victory.
The Bearcats elected to defer to the second half, giving William Jewell the football to start the game. After three plays into the contest, Victor Clavier forced a fumble while also recovering the fumble giving the SBU offense their first possession of the game. The Bearcats used short passes and rushes to march 46-yards down the field where Jordan LeClair connected on a 26-yard field goal to give SBU a 3-0 lead. After a Jewell punt, the SBU offense went back to work. TJ Edwards hit Cassian Foreman with a 42-yard reception before rushes of 13 yards from Edwards and 18 yards from Larry Nixon put the ball into the redzone. Jerminic Smith capped off the drive with a 2-yard rushing touchdown to extend the Bearcat lead to 10-0.
On the following drive SBU picked up their second turnover of the day when Tyler Curts picked off WJC quarterback Brad Strauss. Edwards opened the drive with an 11-yard reception to Kendrick Payne, followed by a 7-yard reception to Nixon, and an 11-yard reception to Foreman. On third-and-eight from the Jewell 15-yarline, Edwards found the pilon with a 15-yard rush to push the Bearcat lead to 17-0. Jewell answered back with a rushing touchdown of their own, cutting the SBU lead to 17-7. Cory Hanger and Mygeish Dennis had back-to-back interceptions on drives by Jewell before SBU put up the final points in the second quarter. With the ball on the Jewell 36-yardline, Edwards hit Payne with an 8-yard pass followed by an 11 yard rush from Nixon. Edwards connected with Foreman on a 17-yard touchdown reception, pushing the lead back to 24-7.
Coming out in the second half, the Bearcats advanced the ball into the redzone, but a missed field goal kept the score 24-7. Jewell answered back with a touchdown to cut the SBU lead to 24-14. However, the Bearcats quick strike offense responded promptly in the following drive. Edwards hit Foreman with an 11-yard reception, Smith a 15-yard reception, and Payne then hauled in a 49-yard catch-and-run touchdown to push the lead back to 31-14. Again the Cardinals answered back with a touchdown of their own, as the Bearcats went into the fourth quarter with a 31-21 lead.
After a missed field goal from Jewell to open up the fourth quarter, the Bearcats again found paydirt. Edwards completed six passes on the drive, capped off with a 22-yard touchdown reception from Edwards to Smith to again push the lead to 17 at 38-21. The SBU defense responded, when Quinlan Gaines picked off the third pass of the day and returned it 75-yards for a pick six to push the Bearcat lead to 45-21. The SBU defense continued to feast on the Jewell offense, as Hanger picked off his second pass of the afternoon on the following Jewell drive. Backup quarterback Dylan Mountain used an 18-yard rush to put the ball into the Jewell redzone before punching it in from 3-yards out as SBU extended their lead to 52-21. Jewell added another late touchdown, but it wasn’t enough as the Bearcats claimed the 52-28 victory.
SBU will return to action on Saturday, October 28 when they travel to Missouri S&T. Kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m. from Rolla, Missouri.
