JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – For the first time in program history the Southwest Baptist University football team has claimed a conference champion, earning co-champion honors with a 50-12 defeat of Lincoln on Saturday. With the win, the Bearcats move to 10-1 (7-1 GLVC) on the season.
The Blue Tigers opened up the game with the first score of the afternoon, but a blocked extra point by Shaun Hutchinson gave LU a 6-0 lead. After the Bearcats turned the ball over, Nick Burns picked off LU quarterback Dennis Vinson to give the ball to SBU on the Lincoln 9 yardline. Bubba Jenkins then rushed it in from 4 yards out to give SBU a 7-6 lead. SBU forced a Lincoln punt, then took the football 81 yards on 12 plays to extend SBU’s lead. Jenkins led the drive off with a 13-yard rush, and then hauled in a 22-yard pass from TJ Edwards coupled with a defensive penalty to put the ball deep into LU territory. The Bearcats used short passes to advance the ball down to the 12 yardline where Bubba Jenkins had a 10-yard rush followed by a 2-yard touchdown score to take a 14-6 lead.
In the second quarter Lincoln once again took advantage of an SBU turnover, scoring another touchdown but another blocked extra point by Hutchinson kept the score 14-12. After advancing the ball down to the LU 3 yardline, the Bearcats turned it over on downs. However, the defense forced a punt, and a fumble in the endzone by Lincoln gave SBU a safety and a 16-12 lead. The Bearcats promptly went down to field, and a 42-yard touchdown pass from Edwards to Cassian Foreman gave the Bearcats a 23-12 lead. After a Maurice Downey interception, SBU once again got the ball inside the Lincoln redzone. Jenkins would eventually punch it in from one yard to take a 30-12 lead. After a three-and-out by Lincoln, the Bearcats went back to work with 46 seconds remaining in the half. Connor LeClair would connect on a 32-yard field goal as time expired as SBU went into the break leading 33-12.
The Bearcats opened up the third quarter with an interception by Vice Epenesa, but after Lincoln got the ball back, SBU had another interception – this one by Quinlan Gaines. Gaines returned the pick to the LU 1, where Edwards found Kendrick Payne for a 3-yard touchdown pass to extend the lead to 40-12. After forcing an LU punt, the Bearcats once again put points on the scoreboard. Jenkins had rushes of 5, 11, 5, and 12 before putting in from 1-yard out to give SBU a 47-12 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
SBU added a 38-yard field goal from LeClair in the fourth quarter as the Bearcats cruised to a 50-12 victory.
Bubba Jenkins broke the GLVC single season rushing record as he had 149 yards with 4 touchdowns. Quarterback TJ Edwards broke the SBU and GLVC single season passing touchdown records, throwing for 225 yards with a pair of touchdown passes. Kendrick Payne also picked up an SBU single season record, hauling in his record tying 13th touchdown reception. Defensively SBU had four interceptions while Quinlan Gaines and D’Angelo Tucker each had a team high 5 tackles a piece.
The Bearcats will now wait for the NCAA Playoffs Selection show which will occur on Sunday, October 13 via ncaa.com. SBU fans are encouraged to attend the SBU Selection Show Party on Sunday, October 13 at 3:30 p.m. from the main arena in the Meyer Sports Center in Bolivar.
