Box Score

Bolivar, Mo. - The Southwest Baptist University football team exploded for 49 points in their season opening 49-35 victory over Eastern New Mexico. With the win, SBU improves to 1-0 on the season, the first opening day victory since 2011.

After a pair of three-and-outs by both teams to open up the game, the Bearcats were the first to strike in their second offensive possession. The Bearcats used rushes of 10+ yards from Bubba Jenkins and TJ Edwards before Edwards hit Chris Robb with a 12 yard touchdown strike to give SBU a 6-0 lead. The SBU defense stepped up on the following drive, forcing a turnover on downs, giving the ball back to the offense with 6:03 left in the first quarter. Jenkins opened up the drive with a 12 yard run, followed by a ENMU personal foul, before Edwards hit Kendrick Payne with a 41 yard pass. On third-and-goal from the 11 yardline, Jenkins found Cassian Foreman in the back of the endzone to extend the SBU lead to 13-0. SBU concluded their strong first quarter when Shaun Hutchinson picked off to ENMU quarterback to give SBU the ball back and a 13-0 lead heading into the second quarter.

In the second quarter Eastern New Mexico got on the scoreboard with a touchdown with 2:41 remaining in the half, cutting the Bearcat lead to 13-7. However, two quick scores from the Bearcats pushed the Bearcat lead back to double-digits. After a short five-yard pass from Edwards to Foreman, Jenkins ripped off a 70 yard touchdown run up the middle to put SBU on top 21-7. Then after a ENMU fumble on the kickoff, coupled with unsportsmanlike conduct pentaly, Edwards found Payne on an eight yard touchdown pass to extend the lead to 28-7. Eastern New Mexico would add another score before the end of the half as SBU took a 28-14 lead into the break.

The start of the second half saw three scoreless possessions before the Bearcats once again bumped their lead to 21 points. On second and nine from the SBU 31, Edwards hit Foreman with a 63 yard pass, setting up a 6 yard touchdown run to give SBU a 35-14 lead. ENMU bounced back with a touchdown of their own, before the Bearcats responded again. The Bearcats used passes of 12 and 48 yards from Mason Farquhar to set up a 2-yard touchdown run from Jenkins to give SBU a 42-21 lead with 0:03 remaining in the third quarter.

After a pair of three-and-outs, Eastern New Mexico added another touchdown to cut the Bearcat lead to 42-28. The SBU special teams came up with another big turnover, recovering a fumble on the ENMU 15 yardline to set up another Bearcat score. Farquhar hit Connor Still in the endzone for a 5-yard touchdown to give the Bearcats a 49-28 lead. Eastern New Mexico added another touchdown, but the Bearcats would cruise to the 49-35 victory.

The SBU offense was on fire, collecting 549 total yards of offense on the evening. On the ground Bubba Jenkins rushed for a game high 173 yards with a pair of scores, while Kendrick Payne hauled in 6 grabs for 126 yards and a touchdown. TJ Edwards threw for 261 yards and 3 touchdowns, connecting with five different receivers on the evening. Defensively, Shaun Hutchinson led the way with 9 tackles and an interception, while Nick Burns also recorded 9 tackles and Via Manuma registered the only Bearcat sack on the evening.

The Bearcats will return to action on Saturday, September 10 when they travel to Tarleton State. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m. from Stephenville, Texas.