GEORGETOWN – The Southwestern University football team fell behind early and could not overcome an early deficit as the Pirates fell to East Texas Baptist 56-10 Saturday night at Birkelbach Field.

East Texas Baptist (2-0) quickly got on the scoreboard with a 43-yard pass from Brooks Holder to DJ Williams. After forcing Southwestern (0-3) to punt for a second straight series, ETBU put together a quick eight play drive that only encompassed 1:53 off the clock to add its second touchdown.

Alex Curl took a 7-yard pass from Holder pushing the lead to 14-0 after a second attempt at a two-point conversion was successful. Holder finished his night early going 6-of-6 for 78 yards and two touchdowns before an injury forced him to give way to Josh Warbington who finished with 276 yards through the air and three touchdowns.

The Pirates finally found a rhythm on offense near the end of the first quarter.

Laith Tucker connected on a 29-yard field goal cutting the deficit to 44-11 as the Pirates drove 44 yards in 11 plays.

Southwestern added its only touchdown of the night when Dante Smith wiggled through the line and dove into the end zone. Smith finished the 8-yard run to make the score 35-10 before a couple late ETBU scores widened the gap.

Dylan Wilburn led the rushing attack for Southwestern with 13 carries and 60 yards. Tate Taylor also finished with 41 yards on 10 carries for the Pirates.

Defensively Justin Broussard led Southwestern with nine tackles, 1.5 sacks and one tackle for a loss.

Despite the lopsided look to the scoreboard that was aided by three fake punt attempts and a pair of two-point conversion attempts, the Pirate defense was solid again in the loss. The Pirates forced two turnovers adding three sacks and five tackles for a loss against the Tigers.

Southwestern hits the road to face fellow first-year program Hendrix College next Saturday. Kickoff from Conway, Ark. is set for noon.