Saturday, September 21, 1996

HSU, HPU meet in a contest between similar teams
By MARK WILSON
Staff Writer

BROWNWOOD - The Howard Payne football team had a few things in common with the Hardin-Simmons University squad last week.

Both of the teams, which are ranked in the top 10 nationally, were victorious Saturday in Abilene to stay unbeaten. And both had to be giving collective sighs of relief afterward.

Coach Jimmie Keeling's Cowboys fell behind 6-0 in the first quarter before coming on strong to avoid national embarrassment in a 42-12 win that sent Prairie View to its 60th consecutive defeat in an afternoon game at Shelton Stadium.

That night, across town at Indian Stadium, coach Vance Gibson's Yellow Jackets somehow survived 10 fumbles in a rain-plagued 21-7 win over McMurry University.

Today, the ninth-ranked Yellow Jackets will host the fifth-ranked Cowboys in a non-conference game that should give a meaningful preview of their Oct. 26 American Southwest Conference game that will be played in Abilene.

Both teams also had key players injured Saturday, although the Yellow Jackets proved to be luckier in that category.

Howard Payne linebacker Sean Prather went down with a knee injury against McMurry and didn't play the rest of the night, but is expected to return to action today.

HSU, however, lost its only full-time returning defensive starter, senior end Willace Johnson. He suffered a dislocated right elbow and a fractured right radius during the first quarter of the game. Keeling said it's likely Johnson won't return this season, and the school probably will apply for him to come back next season as a medical redshirt.

Andrew Sanders, a 5-11, 220-pound junior, will start in Johnson's place.

Also for HSU, reserve running back Nathan Mays, a freshman from Abilene High, suffered an injured left knee while scoring a touchdown. It is unknown how long he will be sidelined.

Jeff Callaway, a junior from Dublin, started at running back Saturday. But Cameron Creager, who came off the bench to gain 106 yards on 18 carries, will get the start in the one-back set this week.

The Cowboys racked up 475 yards in the season opener, which put them at No. 6 in the nation in total offense. HSU quarterback Todd Baumann was co-offensive player of the week in the American Southwest Conference after completing 13 of 27 passes for 222 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Todd Bloom caught eight of the passes for 90 yards.

Keeling said he knew the emotions would be running high on the other side of the field when Prairie View took the early lead, and had his team prepared.

"It sounds crazy, but I had confidence we were going to do OK," Keeling said. "We had a slow start and had a couple of bad things happen. We did let them in there on a score, but the defense was playing hard and we had great confidence. As the game went on, we basically got stronger and stronger.

"I knew they were going to be emotional, and they were. I was counting on us playing through that."

The Cowboys met the Yellow Jackets three times last season, dropping the season opener 22-9 before taking a 28-27 win and winning 17-6 in the opening round of the NAIA Division II playoffs.
"They probably have as much team speed as any team in America," Keeling said. "They did play on a wet field last week, and that does make a difference.

"They are extremely capable of making big plays because of the great speed they have. They've got a lot of tools. Defensively they're very good, well coached and well prepared."

The Yellow Jackets, who are still without injured running back Cliff Hall, got 91 yards rushing on 26 carries from Jeff Williams against McMurry.

HPU's defense limited McMurry to 99 yards rushing and allowed the Indians to convert on just one of 14 third-down plays.

Hardin-Simmons at Howard Payne
-- Where: Gordon Wood Stadium, Brownwood
-- When: 2 p.m.
-- Records: HSU 1-0; HPU 2-0.
n--Key injuries: HSU: DE Willace Johnson (dislocated elbow), out; RB Nathan Mays (knee), out. HPU: OL Kevin Holland (sprained knee), questionable; RB Cliff Hall (dislocated shoulder), out; OL Brian Mieloch (strained hip), probable.
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