Saturday, October 24, 2009
Fifteenth-ranked Mississippi College used a balanced offensive attack to wear down East Texas Baptist University en route to handing the Tigers a 26-7 homecoming loss in front of a big crowd Saturday night at Ornelas Stadium.
Adam Shaffer finished 19 of 34 for 261 yards and one touchdown, completing passes to six different players, while Steven Knight added 110 rushing yards and two scores to help the Choctaws (6-1, 4-0) remain unbeaten in American Southwest Conference action.
 Courtney Case/News Messenger |
| East Texas Baptist Unversity quarterback Seth Hubbard loses the ball as he is hit from behind during an American Southwest Conference football game Saturday night at Ornelas Stadium. |
The Tigers (2-6, 2-4), meanwhile, dropped their fourth consecutive game after opening conference play with a pair of wins.
ETBU took an early 7-0 lead after driving 69 yards in six plays on the game's first possession.
Trevor Cavness ripped off a 37-yard run to start the drive while quarterback Seth Hubbard added a 34-yard scramble later in the march.
Hubbard eventually found Trent Ledkins on a fade route in the left corner of the end zone with 11:10 showing in the first.
Cavness led ETBU with 85 rushing yards on 16 carries while Hubbard completed 16 of 29 passes for 131 yards.
The Tigers held onto their lead until 2:44 remained in the half, when Mississippi's Renard Ellis hauled in a 13-yard touchdown pass across the middle from Shaffer, capping a 14-play, 84-yard drive.
Ellis had six receptions for 90 yards and a score while Brian Richardson led all players with six grabs for 108 yards. The Choctaws tacked on a field goal to their cushion as time expired in the second on a drive that began after Dale Meitzler recovered an ETBU fumble that was forced by Quartez Ashmore on a 4th-and-1.
ETBU kept the gap at one possession until late in the third and then caught a break when Chris Anderson blocked a 15-yard field goal attempt with 4:42 left, but Cavness coughed the ball up on the next play, and Mississippi's Brad Holt recovered to set up an easy score for the Choctaws when Knight punched it in from seven yards out, giving Mississippi a 19-7 lead.
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