WEATHERFORD – SWOSU Football scored the go-ahead touchdown midway through the fourth quarter and beat Southern Nazarene 24-17 on Family Day, collecting a second consecutive win in the process.
The Bulldogs (2-2) produced another four turnovers on defense and leaned on the run game all night – finishing with 233 yards on 47 attempts. Five different ball carriers logged at least seven carries in the contest.
SWOSU trailed early after the Crimson Storm opened the game with an 11-play touchdown scoring drive. That score was immediately answered with a sustained drive by the Dawgs, who marched 74 yards down the field with 10 plays, capped off by a
Kai Kunz rushing touchdown – one of his three on the night.
A
Desmond Greene interception on fourth down of the following SNU possession put SWOSU right back in business after he returned it 56 yards the other way into the red zone. That flip of momentum was nullified after a fumble in the end zone gave SNU the ball back four plays later.
With game momentum still up for grabs and the score tied 7-7, the defense came away with a three-and-out which allowed the Dawgs to get the ball back and gain chunk yardage all the way down the field for another score. Rushes of 12 and 19 yards by
Michael Arceneaux II got the ball across midfield before a 36-yard completion to
Jax Smith had SWOSU knocking on the door. Kunz punched it in shortly thereafter.
A second straight three-and-out on defense had SWOSU ready to return a punt, but the return team surrounded the SNU punter before he could get a kick away. The special teams play setup SWOSU in plus territory and the offense cashed in with more points courtesy of an
Ethan McBee 22-yard field goal. An SNU field goal just before halftime put score at 17-10 heading into the locker room.
SNU could have had the score tied, but
James Thomas had a sack fumble in the quarter that fell into the hands of
Keshaun Jackson which spoiled SNU's red zone threat. SWOSU recovered another fumble just after halftime when a hit by
Felipe Tristan forced the ball loose and allowed
Cadynce Hall to fall on it.
Following a scoreless third quarter, Southern Nazarene tied the game at 17-17 with their first possession of the final quarter. SWOSU responded just like they had done prior with a touchdown of their own. Kunz capped off his night with a 37-yard touchdown run with 7:21 to play. 24-17 good guys, where the score remained the rest of the way.
Wyatt Rohmer picked off an SNU pass in the fourth quarter to eliminate one drive, and the defense came away with two other stops in the quarter to earn the win.
Neither team eclipsed the 300-yard mark on offense. SWOSU ended with 290, topping SNU's 256. The two teams combined to run the ball 102 times in the game. Kunz racked up 93 yards on the ground. Arceneaux had 76 rushing yards, averaging greater than 10 yards per carry. For a third straight game, the Dawgs won the turnover battle but did commit three of their own.
Next week, the Bulldogs will be back at home with a matchup against the defending national champions on tap. The No. 1-ranked Harding Bisons come to Weatherford for the first afternoon contest of the season. Kickoff for that game will come at 2:00 pm on October 5.
