Chicago, Ill. – SBU football returned to action for the second week of the season as they took on the Roosevelt Lakers Saturday afternoon. The Bearcats held the lead throughout the majority of the game and came away with a 40-34 victory. This win gave head coach
Paul Hansen his first win as a Bearcat and moves the team to 1-1 on the season.
"I'm really proud of our team to go on a long road trip and come out with a victory. It's a testament to the players and coaches for all their hard work they put in this week. We will build off this victory and get ready for conference play next week." - Head Coach
Paul Hansen
The Bearcats started out the game with an 85-yard drive ending in an
Avery Lambert 15-yard receiving touchdown. In the same drive,
Jaron Saunders led the Bearcats out from 3
rd & 15 with a 22-yard pass to senior
Kamau Ransom. The Lakers bounced right back to driving down the field for a 10 play 65-yard touchdown knotting the game up at seven.
In the very next drive, Southwest Baptist had another long drive of 13 plays and 77 yards ending in their second touchdown of the game. This time, Saunders found Ransom in the back of the end zone for a 15-yard TD pass.
To start the second quarter the Bearcat defense came up big forcing a three and out from the the Lakers. This momentum carried over to the very next drive as the SBU offense drove down the field leading to a 7-yard rushing touchdown by
Jobe Smith giving SBU a 19-7 lead. After two straight defensive stops by the Bearcats, they went on a long 84-yard drive leading to a
Shawn Cherry rushing touchdown, putting them up 26-7 at half.
The Southwest Baptist defense continued to stay strong after the half holding the Lakers, forcing a turnover on downs. This led to a quick offensive drive that ended with a 20-yard receiving touchdown from
Kamau Ransom, his second of the game, giving them a 26-point lead. Ransom would finish off Bearcat scoring, and remarkable game for himself, with one more 35-yard touchdown reception. The Lakers didn't give up as they would bring the game to within six before the time expired, handing SBU the victory.
The Bearcat quarterback
Jaron Saunders had a remarkable game with 295 passing yards and four passing touchdowns. His legs also brought him success leading the whole team in rushing yards with 64, averaging 12.8 per carry. His top receiver on the day was Ransom as he brought in a total of 125 yards and three touchdowns, off eight receptions.
On defense, 20 different Bearcats recorded a tackle in the game with seven having more than five. Junior
Ricky Woodhouse led the team with nine total tackles and one breakup.
Will Funderburk had six total tackles to go along with his 1.5 tackles for loss and forced fumble.
With non-conference ending, SBU football begins GLVC play a week from now on Saturday September 20th. Their first game will be against William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri with a 6:00pm kickoff.
