GEORGETOWN, Texas — The Southwestern football team gave itself several opportunities to tie or take the lead against the East Texas Baptist University Tigers but failed to convert down the stretch in a 27-17 loss.
Both teams traded big plays in the first half, starting with East Texas Baptist University on the opening drive. Tigers' quarterback Troy Yowman completed a 35-yard pass, ran for 12 yards on third-and-seven, drew a pass interference, and hit receiver DeCarl Frazier for a 16-yard touchdown.
Southwestern quarterback Landry Gilpin answered on the Pirates' second play from scrimmage, faking the handoff left to Jaquon Marion and running right for 74 yards and the touchdown to tie the game at 7-7.
East Texas Baptist retook the lead on a three-play, 69-yard drive punctuated by a 39-yard touchdown from Yowman to Frazier. Kicker Alberto Garcia missed the extra point.
Gilpin and Marion found a rhythm over the last half of the first quarter, combining to march the PIrates 32 yards in three plays. East Texas Baptist defensive back Jordy Williams launched himself into a head-to-head collision with Gilpin at the end of the latter's 10-yard run, taking Southwestern's quarterback out of the drive, stalling it for a 36-yard field goal from Wil Herbst to bring Southwestern to within 13-10.
Southwestern and East Texas Baptist each had an interception on back-to-back drives, and the final drive of the first half ended with Gilpin taking a sack for a seven-yard loss.
East Texas Baptist's Williams intercepted Gilpin on the first play from scrimmage in the second half, giving the Tigers the ball on the Southwestern 40. Yowman hit Kaleb O'Bryant for 36 yards, ran for three, and Noel Shane capped the drive off with a one-yard touchdown run to put ETBU up 20-10.
Austin Castilleja took the ensuing kickoff 78 yards, but the touchdown was called back due to offsetting penalties. After both teams traded punts, Gilpin hit Castilleja for another big play, eluding pressure and hitting the Pirates' receiver for a wide-open 45-yard touchdown.
A muffed punt gave Southwestern the ball at the ETBU 11-yard line, but a Pirates' holding penalty pushed the offense back to the 21-yard line, where the offense stalled and Wil Herbst missed a 31-yard field goal.
The defense held its ground through most of the second half, led by Blane Corekin's nine tackles, including consecutive tackles for a loss, and Bernard Sencherey's eight tackles, including a sack for a nine-yard loss.
East Texas Baptist finally broke through on a short field, getting the ball at the Southwestern 40 after a Pirate three-and-out possession with 10 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. ETBU ran 37 yards in three plays to set up a three-yard touchdown pass from Yowman to Cris Williams for the 27-17 lead.
Gilpin completed 11-of-31 passes for 129 yards and a touchdown. He also carried the ball 12 times for 117 yards, doing most of his damage on the 74-yard touchdown run. Damian Gomez was 3-for-5 for 15 yards with an interception. Marion was solid, running 19 times for 78 yards. Receiver Aiden Huerta had five receptions for 37 yards.
Southwestern enters its bye week with a 1-4 record, including 1-3 in conference play. The Pirates will host Howard Payne on Oct. 16 for Southwestern's Homecoming game.