JOURNAL SPORTS
Improved performances weren’t enough to get area college football teams out of skids Saturday. Louisiana Tech was competitive but fell at Baylor, Northwestern State had a terrible start but rallied at Weber State and Centenary faltered after leading at halftime at East Texas Baptist.
BAYLOR 36, LOUISIANA TECH 19: In Waco, Texas, Louisiana Tech built an early offensive rhythm and continued to create opportunities defensively, but Baylor pulled away in the second half at McLane Stadium.
The Bulldogs opened the game with their longest opening drive against a Power Four opponent in the 21st century, marching 75 yards on 15 plays over 6:59 to tie the game at 7-7.
Baylor (2-1) answered with a pair of second-quarter touchdowns to take a 20-7 lead. Louisiana Tech missed a pair of short field goals that could have trimmed the margin shortly before halftime.
Baylor extended its advantage to 29-7 in the third quarter, but Louisiana Tech rallied. Eli Finley caught a 19-yard touchdown pass from Troy Kukuk with 8:18 remaining, and Jalen Mickens added a 2-yard rushing touchdown less than three minutes later to cut the deficit to 29-19.
Baylor answered with another touchdown to put the game away.
The Bulldogs (1-2) are open next week before hosting Army Oct. 3.
WEBER STATE 49, NORTHWESTERN STATE 20: In Ogden, Utah, Saturday night, Weber State converted special tems plays and scored 21 points in the first five minutes before Northwestern State recovered and battled the Wildcats on fairly even terms the rest of the way.
Making his first start in a Demon uniform, quarterback Zach Wilcke finished 26-for-52 for 291 yards and three touchdowns, all career highs. He also rushed for 49 yards.
“Really proud of Zach tonight,” Demons’ coach Blaine McCorkle said. “It was his first start and he put a lot into this game in his preparation. He wanted to play well and he did. He gave us a chance to compete and stay in the game. He’s going to be sore tomorrow. He ran the ball hard and played extremely hard.”
The Demons (0-4) play at home for the first time in a month next Saturday night against Southeastern Louisiana, which won 38-35 Saturday night at ULM.
EAST TEXAS BAPTIST 46, CENTENARY 14: The Gents (0-2) carried a 14-12 halftime lead over the Tigers (2-1), but were outscored 34-0 in the second half despite noteworthy performances by three local products.
Centenary gained 175 yards of total offense on 64 plays while ETBU racked up 512 total yards on 56 plays. The Tigers ran for 290 yards on 33 attempts and threw for 222.
Senior linebacker Devon Strickland, a Byrd product, had a team-leading eight total tackles with one tackle for loss and a half sack. Sophomore defensive back D’Colby Chambers, from Plain Dealing, collected seven total tackles and an interception – the first of the season and third in his career. Haughton product Demetrius Gladney Jr., on the defensive line, had five total tackles and one pass breakup.
The Gents are home next Saturday night against Schreiner.