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OUAZ Athletics

Austin McCullough
10
Lyon LYON 0-2 , 0-1
76
Winner OUAZ OUAZ 1-0 , 1-0
Lyon LYON
0-2 , 0-1
10
Final
76
OUAZ OUAZ
1-0 , 1-0
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
LYON Lyon 0 0 3 7 10
OUAZ OUAZ 34 21 7 14 76

Game Recap: Football |

No. 23 Spirit Open Season with Record Performance

SURPRISE, Ariz. – With a new outlook and the memory of last year's season opener, the 23rd-ranked OUAZ football team opened the 2021 season with a dominating performance in claiming a 76-10 win over Lyon College in front of a standing-room-only crowd of 1,443 on Saturday night at Spirit Field.

OUAZ (1-0, 1-0 SAC) took a 7-0 lead just four plays into the contest. After the defense recovered a fumble on the second play of the game, Austin McCullough found Brandon McLaughlin in the corner of the end zone two plays later to start the explosion. The Spirit dropped 34 points in the first quarter – the highest-scoring opening quarter in program history – and they carried that into a 62-0 lead in the third quarter.

The offense was clicking all game with a touchdown on 10 of its 14 possessions, with two of those being at the end of each half. OUAZ totaled a school record of 652 yards of offense and averaged 8.7 yards per play. That was bolstered by the program record 486 yards from the passing game behind three different quarterbacks.

McCullough connected on 22 of 30 passes for 391 yards and five touchdowns. He had a run in the first half, where he completed 11 consecutive passes. His five touchdowns went to four different receivers, including touchdowns of 74 yards to Jermaine Trotman and 72 to Jonah Alicea.

Jack Graham completed 4 of 7 attempts for 52 yards, while Carter Freedland went 6 of 7 for 43 yards and a touchdown in his Spirit debut.

All of those passes went to a total of 14 different receivers, with 10 making multiple grabs. McLaughlin led the group with six grabs for 106 yards and that score in his return to the OUAZ lineup for the first time since the 2018 season. Jermaine Trotman Jr. scored on both of his grabs while going for 101 yards. Mason Moore and Ryan Lukasik-Drescher also had receiving touchdowns.

OUAZ gave carries to six different running backs in posting 166 yards rushing. Jh'Dhan Lester led the group with 55 yards. Marcelous Chester-Riley also returned to the lineup to run for 46 yards and a touchdown. Darius Williams, Brandon Price, and Shamar Moreland all scored on the ground as well.

Along with his rushing touchdown, Moreland returned a punt 64 yards for a touchdown for his sixth career return touchdown – fourth punt – and first since the 2019 season opener at Doane. Moreland posted 141 all-purpose yards.
Gallery: (9-4-2021) Football vs. Lyon College

And while the offense was putting up big numbers, the Spirit defense was holding down the Lyon (0-2, 0-1 SAC) offense. The Scots gained just 225 yards of offense, and they committed three turnovers. OUAZ surrendered 109 passing yards at a 3.0 yards per attempt rate while recording three sacks.

The defense forced Lyon into a punt or turnover on their first 11 possessions. The Scots had four three-and-outs and punted nine times while converting 14 first downs.

Marcus Farria totaled 2.5 tackles for loss and one sack. Scott Bonham Jr. led the defense with five tackles. James Randolph III had an interception, and PJ Glover and David Sow each recovered a fumble.

OUAZ will look to carry the momentum of this performance on the road next week as the Spirit head to Waxahachie, Texas, to face SAGU. That game will kick off at 9 a.m. (Arizona) on September 11 from Lumpkins Stadium.
 
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