MARSHALL, Texas - The Austin College football team notched its first victory of the season on Saturday, putting together a stalwart defensive effort to defeat East Texas Baptist 13-10 on the road in American Southwest Conference action. The 'Roos are now 1-6 overall and 1-4 in conference play.
The 'Roos got on the board in the opening quarter, marching 71 yards in 16 plays capped by a 1-yard touchdown run from Ben Meraz to make it 7-0. That would remain the score at halftime, as Austin College pitched a first half shutout against the Tigers. Austin College added to its lead in the third quarter when Tiger Dietz took a pitch and raced nine yards into the endzone to finish off a 12-play, 75 yard drive. The point after failed, making it a 13-0 lead for Austin College. Dietz finished the game as one of four 'Roos with at least 20 rushing yards, with the team piling up 210 yards on the ground as a team.
The Tigers got on the scoreboard late in the third quarter, as a 51-yard, 14-play drive stalled in the red zone thanks to a strong defensive stand from the 'Roos, with Christian Piazza hitting a 31-yard field goal to make it 13-3 with 1:49 left in the period. The scored remained 13-3 until late in the final quarter of action, when ETBU got a 6-yard touchdown run from quarterback Beau Kilgore to make it 13-10 with 2:41 left to play.
East Texas Baptist got one more shot to either tie things up or take the lead, but once again the Austin College defense stood tall and forced a turnover on downs with just seven seconds remaining, allowing Ben Meraz to end the game in the victory formation.
Meraz led the 'Roos with 98 yards on the ground on 22 attempts, and Kennon Magers had 13 carries for 40 yards. Peyton Keily added eight attempts for 26 yards, and Dietz finished with 22 yards on five rushes. Colton Gerken led the defensive effort with 13 tackles and a fumble recovery, and Jarrett Pleasant had 10 stops from his position in the secondary. Kilgore completed 14-of-28 passes for 132 yards and added 53 rushing yards on 13 carries.