By PATRICK MEEHAN, Centenary Sports Information Director
MARSHALL, Texas – After posting its first win in decades, the first-year Centenary football team wraps up a three-game road swing nearby Saturday evening as the Gents will face the East Texas Baptist University Tigers.
The non-conference game kicks off at 6 p.m. in ETBU’s Ornelas Stadium. The Tigers are 2-0, while the Gents are 1-2.
Centenary achieved a milestone moment last Saturday as it recorded the program’s first NCAA victory since the 1940’s with a 36-17 triumph over the Austin College ‘Roos in a Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference contest in Sherman, Texas.
But Gents’ head coach Byron Dawson expects a much stiffer challenge at ETBU.
“Coach (Calvin) Ruzicka and his staff have done a good job developing his team this season,” said Dawson. “They have several new talented players on their roster. On Saturday night, we’ll need to excel in all three phases of the game.
“It’s crucial that we continue improving each week — learning from last week’s mistakes, and building on our successes. We’re also excited that our fans will have the chance to attend a road game so close to home in Marshall.”
The Gents’ defense recorded four sacks, had six tackles for loss, and forced four fumbles, recovering three in the win over Austin College. Centenary also posted season highs in both rushing yards (246) and total offense (382).
Centenary scored three times on defense in the game, all coming in the second half.
Sophomore defensive lineman D’Qavion Lemons, a Southwood High School product, was named to the D3football.com Team of the Week following an outstanding performance against Austin College.
Lemons, who was named the SCAC Player of the Week on Monday, recorded a team-leading eight total tackles and had a team-best two sacks with a team-high two tackles for loss. Lemons also forced a fumble to lead a Gents’ defense that recorded four sacks, had six tackles for loss, and forced four fumbles, recovering three.
Lemons becomes the second Gent to earn a spot on the prestigious national team this season after freshman DB Jacob Wilson, an Evangel product, made the team on Week 1. Last Saturday, Wilson forced a fumble and freshman Jacob Black picked it up and raced 90 yards for a 15-3 lead.
ETBU has started with a pair of blowout wins over LaGrange (57-12) and Hendrix (63-28). The Tigers have finished 5-5 in each of the last three seasons.
For live stats visit https://goetbutigers.com/sidearmstats/football/summary
Streaming video will be available at https://goetbutigers.com/watch/live
Contact Patrick at pmeehan@centenary.edu