Jarvis Thrasher ran for 209 yards and three touchdowns on just 13 carries, and No. 2-ranked UMHB held Texas Lutheran to only 183 total yards as the Crusaders pasted the Bulldogs with a 48-0 whitewashing Saturday afternoon at steamy Matador Stadium.
UMHB (3-0 overall, 2-0 American Southwest Conference) rolled up 503 yards and was fueled by Thrasher, a senior tailback out of Temple who got the Crusaders rolling after a sluggish first quarter with touchdown runs of 72 and 74 yards in the second period.
“(Texas Lutheran) was doing a good job of executing on defense,” Thrasher said of a first quarter in which UMHB totaled only 64 yards. “When they started focusing on taking away the inside runs, we went to the perimeter and our receivers held their blocks.”
Thrasher’s scoring jaunts were mirror images of each other. Both times he took an option pitch from Josh Welch, busted through the arms of TLU end John Jackson and ran away from the rest of the Bulldogs (0-4, 0-2).
“We hadn’t seen the five-man line from them before, and they did some things that caused us some problems at first,” UMHB coach Pete Fredenburg said. “But starting in the second quarter, we really controlled the game.”
The Crusaders used Thrasher’s two long runs, a one-handed, 19-yard scoring catch by Patrick Oliver and a 38-yard Joel Munoz field goal to build a 24-0 halftime lead and never looked back.
Despite trying an assortment of offensive tactics - including a surprise onside kick, a quick kick and an unbalanced line - the Bulldogs were stonewalled by the Crusaders’ swarming defense.
TLU was held to 34 rushing yards on 37 tries, crossed midfield only three times and got inside the UMHB 40-yard line only once.
“We’ve been wanting a shutout for a few weeks now,” said senior end Chad Hilton, who had a sack, 2½ tackles for loss and forced a fumble. “So this is big for us.”
The Bulldogs converted on just two of 17 third downs, and sophomore quarterback Andrew Stewart was picked off twice - once by Elliot Barcak and once by Jeremy Salinas - in his first start.
Junior free safety Derrick Williams (Temple) had a team-high eight tackles, and junior end Mark Manning registered 1½ sacks and 3½ tackles for loss.
“If our offense had made some plays in the first quarter, we could have made it a game,” first-year TLU coach Dennis Parker said. “Our defense played a heck of a first quarter, then on offense we can’t catch a football, we can’t line up, we can’t block.
“We kept giving them chances, and you can’t give a good football team chances.”
In the third quarter, Thrasher added a 1-yard TD plunge and freshman receiver Brian Scott caught an 11-yard scoring pass from Welch, who was 8-of-13 for 117 yards.
Munoz tacked on a 34-yard field goal early in the fourth, and reserve Peyton Price ran in from 2 yards out four minutes later to cap the scoring.
Scott, a former standout quarterback at Cameron Yoe who didn’t make a reception in the first two games, had a breakout performance with three drive-sustaining catches to go with the touchdown.
“We were waiting for a game like that from Brian Scott,” Fredenburg said, “because he is going to be an incredible receiver for us.”
Added Scott: “Coaches have been telling me, ‘You’re not a freshman anymore. You have to step up.’ So I tried to do that.
“On the touchdown, I knew there was a chance it was coming to me when I heard the call. Then when I saw Josh look my way, my eyes got big and I thought, ‘I have to get this one.’”
UMHB, which won its first three games by a combined 154-33, will host McMurry (1-3, 0-2) at 2 p.m. Saturday at Tiger Field in Belton.
“We know teams are going to give us their best shot, and I think today’s first quarter was evidence of that,” Fredenburg said. “We have to make sure that we come in ready to work every week, and that we continue to get better.”
NOTES: Thrasher’s 209-yard performance was the third-highest single-game rushing total in UMHB history behind the 225 Justin Bryson had in 2003 against McMurry and the 224 Isaac Shaw had in 2001 against Louisiana College. . . . Barcak moved into a tie for third with Andrew Hufford on the Crusaders’ career interception list with 10.
edrennan@temple-telegram.com
