Huskies strike last during wild 4th quarter

In 1st football meeting of area programs, Peters’ 51-yard run offsets Watts’ return

The first meeting between Houston Baptist and Texas Southern on the football field brought out a supportive fan base from both schools to Husky Stadium. And there was plenty to cheer about for both teams.

But it was the Huskies who were celebrating last Saturday night following a 24-20 victory over the Tigers before a crowd of 4,125. The win is the fifth for the Huskies since they started playing a full schedule in 2014 under coach Vic Shealy.

“When you’re still in the young side of your program, a win does a lot of things for you that will pay dividends down the road,” Shealy said. “We’ll gain confidence from this.”

Terrance Peters’ 51-yard scoring run with 4:08 left put the Huskies up for good. Peters’ scamper down the sideline came after TSU had taken a 20-17 lead on Austin Watts’ electrifying 93-yard punt return for a score with 5:53 to go.

“We hit them with a great play call,” Peters said. “Which was the counter and I followed my blockers. It just opened up, and it was a great play.”

HBU had a sizable advantage in total yards, 465-123. But the game came down to the final minutes. Peters, who rushed for a school single-game rushing record 155 yards, made the decisive run that evened HBU’s record at 1-1 and dropped TSU to 0-2.

“He had the big one at the end,” Shealy said. “He’s not real big in stature, but he’s so dynamic and fast.

“When he has the ball in his hands, sometimes even we don’t know where he’s going. We just got to keep him healthy. As we continue to grow some confidence in our running game, you’ll see more success coming this way.”

HBU rushed for 315 yards on 53 carries, while Huskies quarterback Tony Dawson passed for 150 yards.

TSU quarterback Averion Hurts passed for 143 yards, connecting with Watts on an 8-yard touchdown strike that pulled TSU to within 1713 with 7:47 remaining in the game.

HBU had gone up 17-7 on a fumble recovery in the end zone by Terrance Manderville with 6:43 left in the third quarter.

The teams were tied 7-7 at the half.

After Dawson engineered a 75-yard scoring drive for the Huskies on the game’s first series, neither team scored until the Tigers’ Tylor Cook did so on a 16-yard run with 3:46 left in the opening half. TSU punted on its first four possessions and six times overall in the first half.

The Huskies looked impressive on their six-play opening drive, with Peters scoring from 34 yards after reversing to the right side of the field and into the end zone.