In the penultimate game of the 2021 Southwestern football season, Texas Lutheran quarterback Seth Cosme lined up in shotgun formation with 11 seconds remaining and the Pirates clinging to a four-point lead.
Cosme stepped up the pocket to evade Southwestern's outside rushers, then spun out of a Noah Clarkson tackle. However, the Pirate defense wasn't about to let the win escape them. Sophomore linebacker Blane Corekin tracked Cosme down to the sideline, wrapping the Bulldog quarterback up and stripping the ball as both went down.
Senior linebacker Bernard Sencherey scooped the loose ball up and returned it 50 yards for the touchdown as time expired, securing Southwestern's second consecutive victory with a 24-14 win.
"That was the most fun moment of my football career," Sencherey exclaims. "By the end of [the return], I was so tired, and everyone dogpiled on me. I didn't realize it was a dogpile moment until it actually happened. It's definitely a moment that will live with me forever."
Sencherey's first collegiate touchdown wasn't just a highlight; it was part of a turning point for a football program coming off two mostly forgettable seasons.
Southwestern opened its 2019 season with the momentum of three consecutive winning seasons, all 11 defensive starters returning, and a pair of wins with a combined 97-10 margin of victory. However, by the fourth game, the team was so injury-riddled the coaching staff had to change its schemes on the fly to adjust to a skeleton crew of personnel, ending with a 4-6 record.
Training the following spring was disrupted by a global pandemic that pushed the 2020 season into the spring of 2021. With practice and film sessions limited in a chaotic year, Southwestern lost all five games.
"It was tough. In 2019, we had more injuries than any of us had ever seen, and then there was the COVID year," Southwestern head football coach Joe Austin says. "We did our best to stay positive, but it was a pretty miserable deal."
Southwestern opened the 2021 season looking like a team still trying to find itself, giving a shaky performance in a season-opening road loss to Cal Lutheran. However, Southwestern got ASC Player of the Week performances from quarterback Landry Gilpin and J.J. Slack to defeat Belhaven the following week. Gilpin threw two touchdown passes and ran for another while Slack recovered a fumble on a punt return, blocked a punt and recovered it for a touchdown, and blocked an extra point attempt to earn national recognition.
"Landry has playmaking ability few others have, so that's always exciting," Austin says. "He always gives you a chance. He's very dynamic."
Unfortunately for Southwestern, it would need to continue to find its way in the roughest of terrains, playing three nationally-ranked teams in Mary Hardin-Baylor, Howard Payne, and Hardin-Simmons amid a five-game losing streak.
The loss to Howard Payne proved to be a pivotal moment for Southwestern, who entered the game coming off a bye week with a 1-4 record.
"The bye week came at a perfect time for us. The guys went home and renewed their minds, and we had excellent preparation," Austin says. "By that point, we were getting to really know our players and adjusting our schemes to put them in a better position to succeed."
"Everyone realized we didn't want to repeat last year, and the younger guys wanted to give the seniors one last hurrah and make sure they left on a good note," Sencherey adds. "We started to mesh together, and people stepped up."
The Southwestern defense sparked the beginning of the Pirates' in-season revival after the coaching staff made a few tweaks, most notably switching Senecherey and sophomore linebacker Aleksander Gomez's positions on the field. The coaching staff moved Sencherey inside to key on the run and Gomez outside to utilize his pass-rushing skills. Combined with sophomore Corekin and safety-linebacker hybrid Ja'Marcus Ross, the move gave Southwestern a formidable linebacker corps.
"I thought Bernard had the best linebacker season we've ever had at Southwestern. If we'd started stronger, he would've been higher than third-team all-conference," Austin says of Sencherey's 58-tackle season, which included 1.5 sacks and the fumble return for a touchdown. "Halfway through the season, we switched Aleksander and Bernard, which allowed Alek to rush quite a bit to lead the team in sacks. And Blane has a ton of speed and range, so he was the guy we could move around from week to week, depending on what we needed. I thought those three played well in tandem."
Southwestern held Howard Payne to its lowest point total of the season up to that point, taking the Yellowjackets down to the wire in a 21-17 loss.
"That might've been our best defensive performance. Howard Payne was a really composed offense that liked to control the tempo of the game," Sencherey recalls. "We moved them off that, and what they wanted to do wasn't working to the point where they had to rely on some trickery. It put into perspective how good we can be, and I was proud of everyone during that game."
The Pirate defense also got All-ASC Third Team seasons from sophomore defensive end Jason Lund, senior punter Wil Herbst, and junior defensive back Elijah Norris.
Lund recorded 32 tackles, including 4.5 for a combined loss of 27 yards with 1.5 sacks for 13 yards. He also forced one fumble, blocked a kick, and broke up two passes. Herbst placed 18 punts inside the 20 without a single touchback all season, giving the Pirate defense excellent field position. He also converted on three fake punts for first downs. Norris posted 47 tackles with two interceptions and broke up nine passes.
"The second half of the season, our defense played well in four of our last games. Jackson Reece played well before getting injured, Elijah Norris stepped up, and Camden Terry did great. We played several safeties in different roles, from Patrick Nicolas to Peyton Ludemann and Payton Vaughn, and they made some big plays for us," Austin says. "Jason Lund got the all-conference honors, which is good, but I thought we also had some good inside play from Noach Clarkson, Nick Hackett, and John Guerrero. Maliq McDonald also greatly improved as a sophomore and earned a starting job as one of our best run defenders."
Injuries made a long shot against No. 8 Hardin-Simmons all the more difficult, with the Cowboys handing the Pirates their worst loss of the season. However, the game belied the steady improvement Southwestern made all season.
Against Austin College, the Pirates put together their most complete performance of the season in a 45-19 victory. Southwestern dominated the time of possession by 10 minutes, rushing for 258 yards and passing for 297.
An offensive line with three freshmen starting for most of the season found its footing, setting up the Pirates' ground attack with freshman running back Jaquon Marion emerging as a potent weapon.
"We had so many injuries on the offensive line early, and that slowed us down, but they got better every week," Austin says. "Jaquon Marion had a great, year and Gianni Taisague did some things well, which bodes well for our future."
Marion carried the ball 131 times for 542 yards, averaging 4.1 yards per carry, with four touchdowns. The freshman running back displayed a deep repertoire of moves and the ability to string them all together while always moving forward.
"I didn't see Jaquon until our first scrimmage, and he surprised the heck out of me," Sencherey recalls. "I didn't realize how shifty he was and how quick he could get up the field off jump cuts. He's a tenacious runner and so patient reading the defense and setting up blocks."
Marion scored both Southwestern offensive touchdowns in a come-from-behind win over Texas Lutheran, in which Southwestern limited the Bulldogs to under 100 yards over three quarters after surrendering two early touchdowns.
The running game, improved offensive line play, and a bevy of established and emerging weapons at receiver allowed Gilpin to close the season with a strong finish, compiling 1,558 passing yards and 18 touchdown passes in his first entire season. He also led the Pirates with 676 yards rushing on 136 attempts with four touchdowns.
"He made better decisions from the pocket while still showing how dynamic he can be rolling out and throwing," Austin says. "He was one of the top rushers in the conference, and that's not all from designed runs. He just became a better quarterback."
Austin Castilleja continued to show how dangerous a weapon he is with an All-ASC Second-Team season at receiver, finishing with 31 receptions for 480 yards and eight touchdowns. He was also All-ASC Third Team as a returner.
"He's been our big-play guy over the past few years. He's the guy you can design plays to isolate him one-on-one for," Austin says. "He's very versatile and a great run blocker, which doesn't get enough attention. He's a complete player."
The Pirates moved Ethan Powell into the slot, where he scored two touchdowns in the final three games, finishing the season with 10 receptions for 348 yards. It was a move made possible by the emergence of freshman receiver Dugan Sexton, who earned his way to the varsity lineup and the return to health of Eric Ovalle.
Ovalle battled injuries all season but ended his carer on a high note, finishing with five receptions for 69 yards and two touchdowns in Southwestern's 49-15 win over Sul Ross in the final game of the season to help the Pirates end the year on a three-game winning streak.
"I was thrilled to see how we ended. We were finally able to get back into the weight room to train, and you could see the progress we made once we got some normalcy by the end of the season," Austin says. "We got stronger, and the players saw their work and dedication start to pay off. It was validating to see their hard work and perseverance be something we can build on."