Fin Garretson
Freshman defensive back Aiden Hicks stops the Missouri Southern offensive with a tackle.
Taking an early 28-7 lead, Hornet Football gave head coach Garin Higgins his 116th career win as they beat Missouri Southern 31-24 on Saturday.
Higgins ties with Welch stadium namesake Francis G. Welch for most wins in Hornet Football. Welch, also a long-time athletic director and track and field coach, set the record during his 24-season coaching tenure from 1928 to 1954, which had a three-year hiatus during World War 2.
Missouri Southern scored first with a 75 yard touchdown pass, but the Hornets responded with a nine-play, 75 yard drive and 26 yard pass from junior quarterback Ben Harris to redshirt sophomore wide receiver Malik O’Atis. The play brought the Hornets 7-7 with the Lions before they increased their lead 14-7 off of a 26 yard punt and 19 yard touchdown run by redshirt sophomore running back Diego Cearns.
In the second, Cearns scored again on an eight yard run to make the score 21-7 and the Lions were unable to respond. The Hornets led by 14 points going into the break before advancing the lead 28-7 in the third quarter.
“A fast start is everything in football,” Harris said. “So for us to come out like that and respond to the adversity that happened it made it easier for us to finish the game.”
Trying to answer, the Lions scored to open the fourth quarter and get them up seven points 28-14. After a false start, senior punter/kicker Caden Dodson made the score 31-14 off a 41 yard field goal.
“I knew going into the kick that it would be an important one. I felt good all day and was excited to get the opportunity to help out,” said Dodson. “I take every kick the exact same and always fall back on my training and remind myself where I am and why I am there.”
The Lions expired four minutes off the clock in a 14 play, 75 yard drive that was capped off by a one yard run. They took a field goal to bring them within 31-21, but the Hornets’ final play allowed them to kneel out the clock to take the win. Sophomore running back Camden Crooks earned 11 yards off three runs, giving the Hornets a first down with 48 seconds remaining.
On Higgins’ 116th win, junior defensive back Clem McCullough told The Bulletin that being part of Hornet Football and “a culture and family that has coach Higgins’ back” is a “blessing.”
“He has put so much into this program and us players,” he said.
Dodson expressed a similar mindset.
“Coach Higgins is a great coach and it felt great being or able to be a part of that. He’s so deserving of everything he accomplished,” he said.
But tying Welch’s record “hasn’t really sunk in,” Higgins told Athletics in a post-game interview on Saturday, citing a “collective effort” with over a decade’s worth of coaches.
“This is extra, it is, and it’s special because a lot of hard work has been put in by a lot of players here, a lot of coaches here to get this program where it’s at, and that’s what I am so blessed, excited about. I’m just thankful and blessed that I have this opportunity to be at my alma mater and do what I love to do and do it with a bunch of coaches that I love and players that I love now and players that I’ve loved previously”
ESU is currently 3-3 on the season and 2-2 in conference play. With 5 games left before the post season, Higgins is positioned to possibly exceed Welch’s record, which would make him the winningest coach in the history of the Hornet football program.
The Hornets will travel to Edmond, Oklahoma for their next game to face off against the University of Central Oklahoma Bronchos on Oct. 18. The Bronchos are tied with the Hornets at 3-3 on the season, but have gone 3-2 in conference play. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Chad Richison Stadium.