(September 12, 2008)--The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor football team rode the arm of Kyle Noack and the legs of Quincy Daniels to a 30-7 victory over Southern Nazarene University in the Cru’s season opener Friday night in Belton. UMHB, ranked 4th in the country in Division III, moves to 1-0 on the season with the win. The Crimson Storm, ranked 22nd nationally in NAIA, drops to 2-1 on the year with the loss.

The Cru took the game’s opening possession 69 yards in seven plays, capped by a 20-yard Daniels touchdown run. SNU snapped the ball out of the end zone for a safety to give the Cru a 9-0 lead. Daniels added a one-yard TD plunge with 3:39 remaining in the first quarter to give UMHB a 16-0 edge. Noack hit Brian Scott with a 41-yard touchdown strike to close out an eight-play, 81-yard drive in the second quarter to give the Cru a 23-0 lead at halftime. Noack added a 15-yard touchdown run with 2:45 left in the third quarter to put UMHB on top 30-0. Jared Elmore caught a 15-yard TD pass from Larry Dockery with 14:03 left in the game to provide the final margin and give the Crimson Storm its only points of the game.

Noack finished the night 16-23 passing for 196 yards and a TD. He fell just four yards short of becoming just the third quarterback in UMHB history to throw for 200 or more yards in a game. Noack added 13 yards rushing and a TD on the ground. Daniels ran for 100 yards and a pair of scores on 21 carries. He reached the 100-yard mark for the eighth time in his career to move into fourth place on the UMHB career list for 100-yard games. Roger Sanchez added 53 rushing yards for the Cru and Tariekus Ellis caught five passes for 37 yards in his first collegiate game for UMHB. Jeremy Salinas led the Cru defense with nine tackles and Bryson Tucker added eight more for UMHB. A total of 24 different players recorded a tackle in the game for the Cru. Dockery was 19-37 passing for SNU for 182 yards and the TD. Elmore caught eight passes for 117 yards and Branden Smith ran for 55 yards on 12 carries for the Crimson Storm.

UMHB rolled up 401 yards of total offense in a balanced offensive attack. The Cru ran for 205 yards and threw for 196. The UMHB defense held the Crimson Storm to 37 rushing yards and 219 yards of total offense. The two teams combined for 23 penalties for 208 yards in the game.

The Cru will now open American Southwest Conference play next Saturday with a 6:00 PM home game against Texas Lutheran University. The Bulldogs are 1-1 on the year after falling to Trinity University 24-0 Thursday night in San Antonio.