BROWNWOOD, Texas - The Austin College football team dropped a 49-21 contest at Howard Payne University in the team's final game of the 2021 season on Saturday, bringing the 'Roos to 1-8 overall and in American Southwest Conference play.

Howard Payne came out in control early and never looked back, outscoring the 'Roos 14-0 in each of the first two quarters and eventually building a 35-0 lead in the third. HPU got on the board less than a minute into the game, connecting on a 79-yard touchdown pass with 14:12 on the clock, and just over a minute later added an interception return for a touchdown to make it 14-0 after the first.

Otis Lanier, who caught the first touchdown of the day for Howard Payne, added another long touchdown grab of 39 yards in the second to make it 21-0, and Jake Parker added a 66-yard touchdown reception to make it 28-0 at halftime. Parker got on the board again with a nine-yard touchdown in the third to make the score 35-0 before Austin College got into the endzone with a three-yard Makkedah Brown touchdown run at the 2:25 mark, making it 35-7.

Howard Payne tacked on another score to push it to a 42-7 game before Christian Johnson found paydirt from six yards out to make it 42-14 with just under eight minutes left in the game, and Bo Garner would score from 10 yards away with 2:41 left to make it 42-21. HPU got on the board with a short touchdown run a minute later, however, making it a 49-21 final.

Howard Payne out-gained the 'Roos 531-293 on the day, with 468 of those yards coming through the air. Tyler James went 15-of-29 for 105 yards and Johnson finished with 60 yards on 16 carries, while Kennon Magers caught seven passes for 45 yards. Jarius Williams had 10 tackles to lead the Austin College defense, and Colton Gerken had seven stops, including 1.5 for loss. Landon McKinney completed 18-of-22 passes for 397 yards and five scores for Howard Payne.