A less than ideal start to Saturday’s homecoming contest at Gordon Wood Stadium saw the Howard Payne Yellow Jackets trailing after one quarter of play. But an interception return for a touchdown by KJ Kelley shifted the tide in favor of the home team, and the Yellow Jackets reeled off 28 consecutive points en route to a 35-11 victory over the American Southwest Conference foe Austin College Kangaroo.
Down 8-7 at the 10:43 mark of the second quarter after punting the ball away, the Howard Payne (5-1, 2-1) defense – which has forced 18 turnover this season – came up with a critical play. On the first snap from Austin College’s 25, quarterback Jaylon Talton dropped back to pass, but Kelley stepped in front of his offering at the Kangaroo 35 for an interception he returned to the end zone to put HPU back in front, 14-8.
The Yellow Jackets followed with three additional touchdowns before the end of the first half, opening a comfortable 35-8 advantage at intermission.
Facing a fourth-and-10 with 3:47 left in the second period, Howard Payne capped a 15-play, 99-yard scoring drive with a 26-yard touchdown pass from Landon McKinney to Gus Charles, who lunged across the goal line for a 21-8 lead.
Austin College’s next possession ended after four plays at the Kangaroo 5 as punter John Aldridge lost his handle on the snap. On the very next play, McKinney connected with Jordan Carroll on a 5-yard scoring toss, as the lead ballooned to 28-8 with 2:48 to go in the second period.
The scoring barrage for HPU wasn’t over, however, as after another three-and out, the Yellow Jackets took over at their own 20. Needing just 1:23 to journey 80 yards, McKinney and Carroll again connected on an 18-yard scoring toss with 11 seconds left before intermission to boost the advantage to 35-8.
Howard Payne amassed 394 yards in total offense while yielding 275 to Austin College. The Yellow Jackets threw for 385 yards and rushed for a season-low 9 with one turnover, while the Kangaroos passed for 181 yards, ran for 94 yards and also coughed up the ball once.
McKinney completed 34 of 53 attempts and had all the passing yards with three scoring tosses. Carroll finished with nine grabs for 138 yards and two touchdowns, Gus Charles secured 10 receptions for 119 yards with a trip to end zone, and Deon Collins pulled down five catches for 42 yards.
On the ground, Javian Myles rushed for just 11 yards and a touchdown but caught four passes for 34 yards, Reece Rodgers chipped in 9 rushing yards and caught three passes for 37 yards, and Blessing Ngene rushed for a team-high 14 yards with two grabs for 15 yards. McKinney was sacked three times which led to -22 rushing yards.
Talton connected on 15 of 35 passes for 181 yards with the pick six and rushed for a team-best 66 yards, while Colin Mushinski led the Kangaroos with five catches for 77 yards.
Defensive standouts for the Jackets included Jessie Paris and Cade Rochinski with eight tackles each, KC Cornelius with seven, and Jacob Urbina and Kelley with six apiece. Howard Payne also recorded four sacks – one each by Jaden Elie, Lance Robertson, Brevin Wilson, and Trevonn Williams-Franklin.
Austin College seized an early 2-0 lead as Howard Payne was called for holding in the end zone on its very first snap, which resulted in a safety.
The Yellow Jackets grabbed a 7-2 lead with 6:25 left in the opening quarter on a 3-yard touchdown run Myles, the last play of a 12-play, 63-yard march.
Howard Payne generated very little offense until after the Kelley pick, while Austin College received a pair of field goals from Aldridge – 41 and 19 yards – to grab an 8-7 lead at the 12:17 mark of the second quarter.
Aldridge also kicked a 26-yard field goal with 1:43 left in the game to account for the only points of the second half.
Next week, Howard Payne ventures to McMurry (2-4, 0-3) – which dropped a 14-13 decision at East Texas Baptist (3-3, 2-1) Saturday – for a 1 p.m. Saturday showdown in Abilene.
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| American SW Conference |
Conference Wins |
Conference Losses |
Overall Wins |
Overall Losses |
|
| Hardin-Simmons | 3 | 0 | 5 | 1 | |
| Mary Hardin-Baylor | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | |
| Howard Payne | 2 | 1 | 5 | 1 | |
| East Texas Baptist | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | |
| *Sul Ross | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | |
| McMurry | 0 | 3 | 2 | 4 | |
| Austin College | 0 | 3 | 1 | 5 | |
| Texas Lutheran | 0 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
* Not eligible for ASC Championship due to reclassification
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Week 7 Games (Oct. 12-14)
Howard Payne 35, Austin College 11
Hardin-Simmons 27, Texas Lutheran 22
Mary Hardin-Baylor 37, Sul Ross 13
East Texas Baptist 14, McMurry 13
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Week 8 Games (Oct. 19-21)
Howard Payne at McMurry
Hardin-Simmons at Sul Ross
Mary Hardin-Baylor at Austin College
East Texas Baptist at Texas Lutheran
