Bolivar, Mo. – After an initially scheduled bye for week one of the season, SBU Football opened their fall season at home this Saturday against the University of Texas Permian Basin. A tightly contested game ended in favor of the Falcons by a score of 24-16, dropping the Bearcats to 0-1 (0-0 GLVC) to start the year.
 
SBU won the coin toss and elected to receive the ball. A 35-yard return from Cassian Foreman set up the offense on their own 45 yard line. They were forced to go for it on 4^th and 7 on the UTPB 35, but couldn't convert. The visitors drove the field and score a touchdown to take a 7-0 lead. A couple of drives later, and after a lightning delay, the Bearcats made it to the UTPB 35 once again thanks to a 28-yard connection from Cooper Callis to Curtis Cuillard, but no points came of the drive.
 
The defenses kept going back and forth, keeping the opposing offenses off of the scoreboard for most of the second quarter. The Falcons were able to score with 40 seconds left before halftime, giving them a 14-0 lead at the break.
 
After a solid kickoff and a 3^rd and 7 from their own 7-yard line, the Falcons snap went over the quarterback's head, forcing him to kick the ball out of the back of the end zone, which gave SBU a safety. SBU's following drive began with a 29-yard Cooper Callis rush, and was capped off with a 22-yard Curtis Cuillard touchdown reception from Callis to cut the deficit to 14-9. UTPB had a long drive on the ensuing possession, but were held to a field goal.
 
The Falcons were lined up for another field goal attempt early in the fourth quarter, but Brenden Smith busted through the line to block the kick and follow the ball for the recovery. After an unsuccessful possession, the Falcons scored their third touchdown of the game, taking a 24-9 lead. With 4:24 left in the game, SBU regained possession. On 3^rd and 9, a pass interference call kept the drive alive. Cooper Callis then found Preston Carson for 21 yards and Jarvis Funk for 16 yards before running the ball in himself from 7 yards out. A gorgeous onside kick nearly gave SBU the ball back, but UTPB recovered. They took a lot of time off the clock, giving SBU one last shot before the end of the game. Preston Carson caught the pass from Callis and lateraled to Curtis Cuillard to keep the play alive, but the Falcons made the stop and finished the game 24-16 in favor of UTPB.
 
Cooper Callis led both teams with 30-44 passing for 289 yards. Preston Carson caught 7 passes for 108 yards, and Curtis Cuillard hauled in 9 receptions for 103 yards and a touchdown. Coleton Smith recorded the third-most tackles in a game in SBU history, collecting 20 total on the day. He also had half of a sack and 2 quarterback hits. Aaron Harris also recorded double-digit tackles with 12 on the day.
 
The team will hit the road next Saturday, traveling to Pensacola, FL to take on #1 ranked West Florida. Kickoff for that game is scheduled for 6:00 PM.