LAS VEGAS, NM: The Texas Wesleyan University football team (0-3) suffered a 42-7 loss at NCAA Division II New Mexico Highlands University (2-1) on Saturday.
The Cowboys put two touchdowns on the board in the first quarter, one on the ground and one in the air. The lead swelled to 35-0 at halftime.
The teams exchanged touchdowns in the second half, meaning the Rams have not been outscored in the second half during their first three games.
Early in the third quarter, the Rams drove into NMHU territory. On third down from the Cowboy 39-yard line, Kane Hardin hit Archie Amos for 26 yards. A 4-yard run from Jermarcus Jones then set up a 1-yard TD pass from Hardin to Anthony Caston.
Late in the third, NMHU's Damon Scott ran in his third touchdown of the daty to cap the scoring at 42-7.
Head Coach Joe Prud'homme was not pleased with his team's performance. "The steps we took last week, we retraced this week," Prud'homme said. "We gave up too many plays and did not play well."
There were still bright spots however. Prud'homme continued, "We ran the ball much better than we have all season. I though Jermarcus Jones was pretty good today and the offensive line was much better today. We had some good completions offensively, but we are just not where we need to be right now."
Jones carried the ball 20 times for a season-high 79 yards, while the Rams ran for 104 yards as a team. In the passing game, Hardin was 11-23 for 116 yards and a touchdown.
For the Cowboys, Dione Alston carried the load, racking up 143 yards and three TD's on 15 carries. Ramone Atkins was 15-24 for 202 yards and two more scores.
The Rams will return to Fort Worth and prepare for their first venture into Central States Football League play. As fate would have it, that contest will pit the Rams against rival Southwestern Assemblies of God University at Farrington Field. Texas Wesleyan (Fort Worth) and SAGU (Waxahachie) are separated by 30-mile stretch of U.S. Hwy. 287, and the two schools have a long history of athletic competition.
Saturday's game is scheduled for a 2 p.m. kick off at Farrington Field. 92.1 Hank FM will host the pregame tailgating party in the Ram Zone from 12-2 p.m.
