ABILENE, Texas — Hardin-Simmons’ fall sports teams are off to a fast start, with the Cowboys improving to 2-0 in football, the Cowgirls opening their home schedule with a sweep in volleyball, and the tennis programs piling up matches and wins across multiple tournaments.
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In football, HSU moved to 2-0 after a win over UW–La Crosse, marking the Cowboys’ third straight win over the Eagles. The game came with adversity, as HSU lost three fumbles and had to survive a fourth-quarter battle.
When the game tightened up late, the Cowboys responded with two straight drives that each lasted more than seven minutes, helping keep UW–La Crosse off the field. Head coach Jesse Burleson said that kind of possession football matters in those moments.
“If you’re keeping the chains moving and keeping them off the field, that’s a good thing,” Burleson said. “It was really good to see them respond to that, because they weren’t a bunch of short third downs.”
Burleson also pointed to HSU’s ability to convert on key downs despite the turnovers.
Cowboys improve to 2-0 as HSU tennis, Cowgirl volleyball notch big week
“You turn the ball over four times in a win, you’re probably not taking that back,” Burleson said. “But the difference was whenever we converted 15 of 21 third downs and then one on fourth down, that’s a huge deal. Anytime you can keep the chains moving on third and fourth down, that’s something that keeps you at least in the fight after a turnover.”
Quarterback Ty Thompson and the offensive line played a major role in that response, and HSU delivered a late scoring play to create separation. In the fourth quarter, Wes Douglas caught an 8-yard pass from Thompson, slipped free and took it 71 yards for a touchdown to make it a two-score game.
HSU also entered the game dealing with injuries, and younger, less experienced players were pushed into bigger roles. Burleson said the team saw those players not only fill in, but perform at a high level.
“We had a bunch of guys that had stuff up on Saturday, and it was really nice to see those guys not only step in and play, but play at a really high level,” Burleson said. “Anybody can go in and play a position, but being able to perform with the standard that we have, that was the best thing that we saw.”
HSU heads into “Clutch City Prep” on Saturday.
On the volleyball court, Hardin-Simmons opened on its home floor at Mabee Gymnasium with a three-set sweep of Arlington Baptist, holding the Patriots under 20 points in each of the first two sets. Arlington Baptist then went to McMurry, where the Warhawks won in four sets.
HSU tennis has also been busy to open the fall season. The Cowboys and Cowgirls competed in four tournaments across eight days, totaling 192 matches and winning 115 of them, a 60% win rate. For the Cowboys, Maddux Foster and Pedro Rozani each went 5-0 in singles play. On the Cowgirls side, Kynley Craddock and Taylor Levy each won four singles matches.
HSU tennis is back in action this week with tournaments in Belton and Abilene.