Box Score

BETHANY, Okla. — The theme now becomes pretty simple for No. 18 Southern Nazarene after a 27-9 win over Bacone, Saturday afternoon; win and you're in.
 
The Crimson Storm (8-2, 3-1 CSFL) now controls their own destiny and with a win Nov. 12 against No. 19 Langston, SNU can lock up its first berth the NAIA Championship Series. The win also set a school-record for wins in a regular season.
 
SNU had just 272 yards of total offense, but didn't need anymore as it held the Warriors (4-6, 3-2 CSFL) to just 240 yards of total offense. The Storm ran for just 49 yards, but threw four 223 while Bacone ran for 73 and threw for 167.
 
Michael Hicks set the school record for tackles in a single-season with season-high 15 tackles. Hicks now has 113 tackles, passing Frits Remedor's mark of 106 in 2007. Hicks has three tackles for a loss of 18 yards, a sack, a forced fumble and a blocked kick.
 
Brady Wardlaw threw for 223 yards and three touchdowns on 20-of-30 passing with all three touchdowns going to different receivers. Jarod Martin, Terrence Smith and Jordan Newby all pulled in a touchdown reception. Martin led the way in catches with four for 67 yards while David Balenseifen had three catches for 68 yards.
 
Southern Nazarene jumped out to a 21-0 lead, but didn't start the barrage of points until the 3:03 mark in the first quarter. Wardlaw scored the first touchdown when he capped off a 10-play, 62-yard drive with a 1-yard run to make it 7-0. Then with just 57 second left in the first, Wardlaw hit Martin for a 5-yard strike that ended a 6-play, 35-yard drive. The Storm pushed the lead to 21-0 when Newby pulled in a 4-yard pass from Wardlaw just 45 seconds into the second quarter.
 
SNU scored its final touchdown in the fourth when Wardlaw found Terrence Smith down the right side of the field and Smith pulled away from the Bacone secondary and ran for daylight.
 
Bacone added a safety and touchdown in the final four minutes, but that was after SNU pulled back on the reins.
 
The Crimson Storm will now get set to host No. 19 Langston, Nov. 12, at 1:30 p.m. for Homecoming. It is a rematch of last year's epic battle that went down to the very last play. Ian Sanders' 37-yard field goal vaulted SNU into the postseason top 25 for the first time in school history.