ABILENE, Texas - Football erased an 11-7 halftime deficit with 17 unanswered in the second half and held McMurry scoreless for a 24-11 victory to reclaim the Battle of I-20 trophy.

"So proud of this team," said head coach John Pearce. "They have been putting the work in every day to get better. It showed today! To play in this league and to have consistent success, you need a team with experience and the Lobos have been earning that experience over the last six games. It is a process and we are starting to see the results. The team is very excited to bring the I-20 trophy back to Alpine!"

The War Hawks received the opening kick and went down the field on a nine-play, 75-yard drive capped by a one-yard touchdown run. They converted the two-point conversion for an 8-0 lead with 11:51 left in the first.

Sul Ross was forced to punt on their opening drive but their defense did the same to McMurry on their next drive to setup their second possession on their own 40-yard line.

The Lobos were quick to move the ball, starting with a pair of runs by Kendrick Jefferson for six yards. They then went through the air on back-to-back plays with a 10-yard completion from T.J. DeShields to Kameron Gonzalez and then 14 yards to Austin Remo to get into McMurry territory. DeShields later connected on three straight passes to Gonzalez, Remo and Vicente Luevano for a combined 17 yards to get it to the War Hawks 22-yard line. After DeShields rushed for four yards, he then connected with Jefferson through the air for an 18-yard touchdown to cut it to 8-7 with 3:50 left in the first.

McMurry used the rest of the first quarter and 1:30 of the second but were forced to kick a 22-yard field goal for an 11-7 lead.

The Lobos next drive started at their own 25 and again saw success both on the ground and through the air. Ozias Wright and Jefferson combined for 26 and 24 yards respectively. Wright also had 18 receiving as the Lobos got to the McMurry 24-yard line. They were eventually stopped and forced to attempt a 42-yard field goal by Jaden Brown which was no good at 7:59.

Sul Ross forced another punt and again got into McMurry territory on their next drive. A combination of running and passing got the ball to the 23-yard line, but the War Hawks defense forced a DeShields fumble to end the drive at the 23.

McMurry then ran the final 20 seconds off the clock for an 11-7 lead at the half.

Sul Ross received the second half kickoff but their drive was short-lived with a DeShields interception on the first play to give the War hawks the ball on the Sul Ross 35-yard line.

McMurry seemed to have all the momentum until the Lobos stuffed three straight rush attempts at the one-yard line to force a turnover on downs with 11:15 left in the third.

The Lobos went from the one-yard line to their own 45 but were forced to punt. The punt was touched by a War Hawk and recovered by Ronin Williams at the McMurry 15-yard line.

After a three-yard run by Wright started the drive and an offensive penalty followed, DeShields connected with Gonzalez for 13 yards to get to the McMurry four-yard line. Clayton Maxwell then stepped in at quarterback. After rushing it to the one, Maxwell kept it again and broke the plain for a one-yard touchdown run and 14-11 lead at 6:20.

The Lobos then converted an onside kick by Oswaldo Luna and recovered it at the McMurry 27-yard line. They took the ball to the 13 but DeShields was picked off at the 11 with 17 seconds left in the third. McMurry ran one play for a 14-11 Sul Ross lead going to the fourth.

Sul Ross' defense stepped up again and quashed a drive at the Lobo 46-yard line with an interception by Xavier Minjarez. He returned it six yards to the McMurry 48 with 11:43 left in the game.

The offense rebounded and predominately used the run to march down the field. Jefferson amassed 19 yards on four carries and DeShields also found Michael Kurfehs for six yards as the Lobos got to the McMurry 23. DeShields then connected with Luevano on a 23-yard touchdown to take a 21-11 lead with 8:14 remaining.

Sul Ross held the War Hawks to one first down on their next drive and forced a 12-yard punt to take over on McMurry's 39-yard line with 5:36 left.

Wright shouldered the load on the next drive, rushing for 23 yards on five carries to setup a 33-yard field goal from Brown. The lefty's kick sailed through the uprights for a 24-11 lead with 1:58 left.

Javien Weatherly put a bow on the game with an interception returned for 21 yards to the Sul Ross 25-yard line with 1:15 left.

Matthew DeLeon then rushed for 20 yards on two carries to put the Lobos in victory formation for a 24-11 win over the War Hawks.

DeShields threw for 186 yards on 19-of-32 passing with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He also rushed for 10 yards.

Wright led a running game that totaled 174 yards with a game-high 89 on 17 carries. Jefferson added 52 yards on 13 carries.

Remo led the Lobos with 44 yards on three receptions. Luevano and Isaiah Villarreal tied for a game-best four receptions and had 39 and 35 yards respectively.

Eduardo Garcia led the Lobos with eight tackles and a game-high 2.5 sacks for 14 yards lost. Ronin Williams was close behind with seven tackles.

The Lobos sacked McMurry four times on the day with one coming from Dayln Dunbar and a half sack from Lorenzo Fowler. They totaled six tackles for loss for 33 yards.

Brown was 4-4 on extra-point attempts and punted only twice for an average of 40 yards.

The Lobos improve to 2-5 on the year and 2-5 in conference play. McMurry is also 2-5 and 2-5.

Sul Ross next plays host to East Texas Baptist on Saturday, November 6 at Jackson Field.