MCPHERSON, KS: The 76-year drought is over. Football is back at Texas Wesleyan! Unfortunately the Rams (0-1) are no longer "Undefeated Since 1941" as they fell by a final score 43-14 at McPherson College (1-0) on Saturday.
This game got away from the youthful Rams early, but Head Coach
Joe Prud'homme's team showed resiliency and put together several quality drives in the second half. After trailing 33-0 at halftime, the Rams regrouped and outscored the Bulldogs 14-10 in the second half.
"The second half was obviously much better," Prud'homme said after the game. "We just put ourselves in such a horrible position. We had about three guys on offense and three guys on defense that had ever played at the college level before, and we were a little bit in slow motion at the start. We looked very raw, but I thought the return game was good, and we had some receivers that flashed. The defense had a lot of good plays, just not enough of them. We put the defense in some bad positions, but I thought the pressure was good. We certainly have some things to build on. They're coming on, but it's just going to take some time."
Quarterback
Kane Hardin (So. Irving, TX) completed 10 of 24 passes for 174 yards and two TD's in the game. The first touchdown came in the fourth quarter when he hit
Erik Richards (Jr. Caddo Mills, TX) from 28 yards out. Later in the quarter, Hardin found
Donovan Davidson (Fr. Oak Cliff, TX) streaking across the middle, and Davidson scampered down the left sideline 82 yards for a score.
Jermarcus Jones (Jr. Houston, TX) led the Runnin' Rams with 69 yards on 18 carries. Hardin spread the ball out to six different receivers. Richards had three catches for 44 yards and a score. Davidson had just the one catch for 82 yards.
The Rams were strong in their return game, racking up 202 yards in combined punt and kickoff return yards. Davidson returned four kicks for 80 yards, giving him 162 all-purpose yards in the game.
Anthony Caston (So. Dallas, TX) averaged 29 yards on two returns.
Both teams were plagued by penalties in the season opener, combining for 22 penalties for 216 yards. The Rams were flagged 11 times for 68 yards, but none in the fourth quarter.
Defensively, linebacker
Vincent Stephenson (Jr. Roland Park, KS) got in on 13 tackles, while
Tristen Blake (Fr. Shertz, TX) finished with 10 tackles.
Andrew Rangel (Fr. Haltom City, TX) posted six tackles and had an interception in the fourth quarter.
The game began with a bang for the Rams as they pinned the Bulldogs at the 12 yard line on the opening kickoff and forced McPherson to punt.
The Bulldogs got rolling in the second quarter, putting up 24 points in the period. Early in the period, a bad snap led to an easy Bulldog touchdown that pushed the score to 19-0. Later, a one play drive consisting of a 63-yard touchdown pass from Ed Crouch to Tyrone Campbell put the game well out of reach at 33-0 heading into the intermission.
Crouch threw for 201 yards and two TD's and ran for another 75 Yards for the Bulldogs.
Up Next
The Rams will play their Home Opener on September 9, when they welcome Millsaps College to
Farrington Field. That game is scheduled for a 2:00 p.m. start and will feature pregame festivities in the Ram Zone hosted by 92.1 Hank FM as well as a salute to first responders.
Ramblings
- Texas Wesleyan has not competed in football since 1941, when the team disbanded as many of its members enlisted in the armed forces during World War II.
- The Rams' last home game was also played at
Farrington Field. On November 15, 1941, the Rams defeated Trinity University Tigers 39-0.
