Box Score
TYLER, Texas — Southern Nazarene is just happy to get the heck out of Texas after escaping with a 52-49 win over Texas College.
The Crimson Storm (5-3, 2-1 CSFL) were out gained by 254 yards by the Steers (0-7, 0-2 CSFL), yet took advantage of four interceptions thrown by TC.
Brady Wardlaw threw for 309 yards on 27-for-42 passing and tied his own school record with six touchdowns threw the air. Jarod Martin and David Balenseifen caught two of those touchdowns each as Martin pulled in seven receptions for 116 yards while Balenseifen had four catches for 37 yards. Josh Woods and Garrett Barnes also had a touchdown reception. Woods caught five passes for 86 yards. Derick Perkins led the way in the backfield with 77 yards on the ground.
Southern Nazarene looked to heading towards another rout after scoring the first two touchdowns of the game in the first quarter to take a 14-0 lead. Wardlaw hit Martin for a 16-yard touchdown strike before he found Barnes just two minutes later on a 10-yard touchdown pass.
TC answered right back with a two-play drive to make it 14-7 and then the Steers recovered an SNU fumble and used seven plays to move 48 yards and tied it at 14 on a Hugh Howard nine-yard run. Texas College took its first lead of the game in the second quarter after Tyree Yates picked off Wardlaw. The Steers started at the SNU 32-yard line and punched it in five plays later to lead 21-14.
The Crimson Storm answered on their ensuring possession on a Wardlaw nine-yard run to tie it at 21 before the half, but the Steers scored 13 straight points on their second and third possession of the third. The first touchdown came on a two-yard place to cap a nine-play 61-yard drive before Octavious Parke returned a punt 81 yards to put TC up 34-21 with 5:38 in the third.
SNU fired back on the very next drive and needed just three plays to make it a 34-28 game. Perkins rushed on the first two plays for a combined 44 yards before Wardlaw hit Balenseifen for a 15-yard touchdown pass. Luke Olson picked off a pass on TC's next drive which led to another Wardlaw touchdown pass, this time to Woods, as the Storm regained the lead at 35-34 heading into the fourth.
Wardlaw hit Martin for his second touchdown the day early in the fourth as SNU took a 42-34 lead, but TC tied it with 8:36 left to play with an eight-play 72 yard drive.
SNU put the game away with its next two drives as it added a touchdown and a field goal to lead 52-42, but TC still didn't go away. The Steers added another touchdown with two minutes left to make it 52-49 and got the ball back with 1:28 left and got all the way to the SNU two-yard live before Luke Olson stuffed Joseph Carter on the final play.
The Storm return home next Saturday when they host Oklahoma Panhandle State for a 6 p.m. kickoff.
