SEGUIN – It took just two snaps for the Howard Payne Yellow Jackets to find the end zone, and much-needed points continued to pile up during Saturday’s season and American Southwest Conference-opening 59-45 road victory over the Texas Lutheran Bulldogs.

The Yellow Jackets (1-0, 1-0) finished with 610 yards of total offense – 496 passing and 114 rushing – but yielded 486 yards – 275 through the air and 221 on the ground – as second-year head coach Jason Bachtel said earlier in the week he was unsure of what to expect from Texas Lutheran (0-1, 0-1) this season with a new head coach and staff.

HPU quarterback Landon McKinney, who led the ASC in passing yards last year as a freshman, completed 20 of 33 passes for 496 yards with four scoring tosses and no interceptions. Eleven Yellow Jackets caught at least one pass including Hunter Cheek with three grabs for 157 yards and two touchdowns, Jordan Carroll with two receptions for 108 yards and a trip to the end zone, and Otis Lanier pulled down four catches for 32 yards and scored once.

On the ground for the Jackets, Javian Myles rushed for a team-best 50 yards and a touchdown, Stephen Willis chipped in 34 yards and reached the end zone once, and Tauren Bradley contributed 33 yards and crossed the goal line.

Defensively, top tacklers included Jarett Brown with 10 and one for loss, Kyle Bell with nine and a pass break up, Peyton Lowe and Jaden Elie with seven apiece, Jessie Paris with six, and Aaron Alderete, Jaylen Roberson and Brayden Rhea with five takedowns each.

Texas Lutheran quarterback Seth Cosme passed for 236 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 28 yards and another score. Jacob Forton compiled 88 yards rushing and three Bulldog touchdowns while DaKory Willis tacked on 67 yards. Trent Stefka led the receiving corps with 62 yards on three catches and Keon Torello tallied a team-best four catches for 46 yards.

After an incompletion on the first play from scrimmage, McKinney connected with Cheek on a 75-yard scoring strike which resulted in a 7-0 Howard Payne lead just 19 seconds into the contest.

The Yellow Jackets tacked on two more first-quarter touchdowns on a 77-yard punt return by Lanier and an 18-yard carry by Myles to open a 21-0 cushion before Texas Lutheran lit up the scoreboard with 60 seconds left in the opening stanza.

Howard Payne scored three more times in the second period to maintain its 21-point lead at intermission.

First, McKinney hooked up with Lanier on a 20-yard scoring toss just 1:23 in the second quarter, capping an eight-play, 62-yard march for a 28-7 lead.

At the 8:09 mark of the second, Harris Pustilnik booted a 31-yard field goal to make the score 31-10, ending an eight-play, 56-yard trek.

Then, with 1:26 left in the first half, Willis scored on a 14-yard carry to put the finishing touches on a seven-play, 55-yard journey for a 38-17 halftime lead for Howard Payne, which amassed 312 yards over the first two quarters, including 240 passing.

TLU closed to within 38-24 early in the third period, but McKinney and Cheek connected again on another long strike as the 78-yard touchdown pass was the culmination of a three-play, 82-yard, 46-second drive that staked Howard Payne to a 45-24 lead at 11:25 of the third.

At the 9:45 mark of the third quarter, the Yellow Jackets increased the advantage to 52-24 as only one play was required on the possession, a 63-yard scoring toss from McKinney to Carroll.

The Yellow Jackets’ largest lead of the game, 28 points, was cut in half with 10:27 left in the contest as TLU scored on drives of 14 plays, 91 yards and 13 plays, 80 yards to close the gap to 52-38.

But with 6:04 to go, Bradley completed a 10-play, 71-yard drive with a 1-yard plunge that extended the Yellow Jackets’ advantage to 59-38.

Next week, the Yellow Jackets kick off their home schedule with a 7 p.m. non-conference game at Gordon Wood Stadium against the George Fox Bruins, who opened their season late Saturday night against Redlands.