ALPINE, Texas- Jermaine Stevens (Houston/South Houston) picked off a pass in his own end zone and carried it 100 yards downfield as part of a 13-7 Sul Ross victory over visiting
McMurry on a chilly Saturday evening at Jackson Field.
Stevens' pick six came midway through the opening period as the Lobos and War Hawks slugged out Saturday's affair combining for 539 yards of total offense.
McMurry finished the night with 315 yards of offense with 262 of those coming through the air. Sul Ross mustered 224 but outpaced the War Hawks in ground yardage by a 90-53 yard margin.
"Hats off to our guys tonight," said coach John Pearce. "We've played with tremendous effort all season but we were able to cut down on our mistakes and we did a great job in ball security which usually helps you on both sides of the line of scrimmage."
Jordan Reyes (El Paso/Hanks) played most of the evening at quarterback and completed 14 of 26 passes for 121 yards and a touchdown while Williton Grear (Austin/Del Valle) netted 58 yards on the ground with a game long 16 yard carry.
Fernie Gonzalez (El Paso/Canutillo) tallied a team best 10 tackles while Zack Roberson (Houston/Cypress Ridge) and Robbie Garcia (Mercedes/MHS) notched a sack each in the victory.
"We played our style of defense," Pearce said. "We kept them in check inside the red zone and forced them to commit turnovers. Our offense got the job done primarily by controlling the ball which gave the defense a chance to rest up."
McMurry suffered three fumbles, two of which were recovered by the Lobos.
Stevens' interception return came with 8:17 remaining in the first quarter. Eddie Oakley (Uvalde/UHS) nailed the extra point kick putting Sul Ross up, 7-0.
The War Hawks fired back in the second quarter as Matthew McHugh found Charles Aququa on a 22-yard scoring strike. The extra point kick sailed through the uprights setting the game at a 7-7 stalemate.
Reyes then connected with Calvon Henderson (Cameron/Yoe) from seven yards out capping a seven-play, 70-yard drive. Oakley's PAT kick was blocked but the Lobos held on to a 13-7 lead all the way to intermission and through a scoreless second half.
McMurry leads the all-time series against the Lobos by just nine games, 45-36-2 in a series that dates back to 1923. Sul Ross snaps a three-game skid against the War Hawks as the Lobos improve to 2-5 on the season.
McMurry is a provisional member of the ASC as Saturday's victory does not count as a conference game.
The Lobos will celebrate homecoming next weekend as Sully hosts East Texas Baptist in a 1 p.m. conference game at Jackson Field.
