Howard Payne (2-6, 0-4 ASC) vs East Texas Baptist (5-3, 1-2 ASC)
Brownwood, Texas – Gordon Wood Stadium
Kickoff: 1:00 pm CST
Series: ETBU leads series 14-12
Last Meeting: ETBU won 42-33 in Marshall (10-12-24)
Head Coaches: Howard Payne - Kevin Bachtel | ETBU - Calvin Ruzicka
Listen: 94.3 FM KYOX
Video: https://hpusports.com/watch/?Live=849&type=Live
Live Stats: https://hpusports.com/sidearmstats/football/summary
Live Audio: https://www.elasticplayer.xyz/kyox/ 

Game Notes
Howard Payne is still the top-rated passing offense in the league at 274.3 yards per game and Gus Charles being the top-target at 125.5 yards per game, 753 total yards.

LB Kale Shaw was the ASC's Defensive Player of the Week this week recording a career high 14 tackles versus Hardin-Simmons.

The Yellow Jackets have three tacklers in the top-10 in the ASC, Shaw, Jacob Korrodi, and Peyton Lowe. ETBU has this week's ASC Special Teams Player of the Week, punter Whitten Weems.

The Tigers top run threat is Paul Woodard and top receiver is Trayjen Llanas-Wilcox. ETBU QB Kaden Brown will also be a duel-threat passing and running.

ETBU won the last meeting in Marshall earlier this year 42-33. This is the 27th meeting between the two schools. 

AROUND THE AMERICAN SOUTHWEST CONFERENCE
The Hardin-Simmons University football team moved up one spot to number five as they represent the American Southwest Conference in both the D3football.com Top 25 Poll and the American Football Coaches Association DIII Coaches Poll.

Hardin-Simmons ranks 5^th in the D3football.com poll with 518 points and 5^th in the AFCA poll. The Cowboys traveled to Belton on Saturday in a top 25 matchup against UMHB. The Cowboys shut the Cru out through the first three quarters. UMHB scored 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter, but the offensive surge was not enough to overcome the deficit, giving HSU the 44-21 win.

Mary Hardin-Baylor is ranked 23^rd in the D3football.com poll with 106 points. American Southwest Conference football action returns on Saturday, October 19^th with three contests.

WEEK 9 RECAP
 
Hardin-Simmons earned a 44-17 win over Howard Payne on Friday, November 1^st. The Cowboys jumped to a 10-0 lead after the first quarter. The Yellow Jackets got on the board in the second frame with an eight-yard touchdown pass from Zy Gravitt to close the half down 17-10. After a scoreless third quarter, the Cowboys offense exploded. Hardin-Simmons recorded four touchdowns, led by Braylon Henry with three rushing scores, to secure the win.  
 
East Texas Baptist and Mary Hardin-Baylor competed in Marshall on Saturday, November 2^nd. The Cru recorded a score in each quarter to earn the 27-14 victory.

ASC FOOTBALL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Games: November 1-2, 2024
 
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Braylon Henry, RB, Fr., Hardin-Simmons

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Kale Shaw, LB, Sr., Howard Payne
 
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Whitten Weems, P, Fr., East Texas Baptist

THIS WEEK'S ASC SCHEDULE
WEEK 10 MATCHUPS
HSU and UMHB compete in Abilene for the final time this season. In their first meeting, the Cowboys claimed a 44-21 win over the Cru, despite UMHB's late offensive surge.

ETBU and HPU will face off for the second time in the 2024 campaign in Brownwood. The Tigers and Yellow Jackets last played a close contest, ending in a 42-33 Tiger victory.