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          Zappe's 7 TD passes fuels Houston Baptist romp

          Sep 29, 2019
          • Associated Press

          HOUSTON -- Bailey Zappe threw a school-record seven touchdown passes and Houston Baptist steamrolled Texas Southern 68-31 on Saturday night.

          Zappe completed 30 of 45 passes for 342 yards and four touchdowns in the first half alone and finished 43-of-59 passing for 498 yards, 15 yards shy of his career high set earlier this season in a 53-52 road victory over South Dakota. Zappe leads all Division I quarterbacks with 19 TD passes this season. Houston Baptist has won three straight games for the first time since becoming a D-I school in 2014.

          Dreshawn Minnieweather started the scoring for the Huskies (4-1) with a 22-yard TD run to cap a nine-play, 94-yard game-opening drive. The Tigers took the opening kickoff and drove to the Houston Baptist 6-yard line before Ladarius Owens' fumble was recovered by Tra Fluellen.

          The Huskies added Zappe's 15-yard TD toss to Jaylon Johnson and Gino Garcia's 30-yard field goal to lead 17-0 after one quarter.

          Zappe threw TD passes to Jerreth Sterns and Minnieweather to stretch Houston Baptist's lead to 30-0 in the second quarter. Tylor Cook got Texas Southern on the scoreboard with an 8-yard TD run, but Zappe added a 43-yard scoring strike to Ben Ratzlaff for a 37-7 lead. De'Andre Johnson threw two TD passes in the final 5:16 to pull the Tigers within 37-21 at halftime, but they would get no closer.

          Minnieweather finished with 125 yards and two TDs on 14 carries for the Huskies. Ratzlaff hauled in eight passes for 131 yards and two TDs, while Sterns had 12 catches for 104 yards and two scores.

          Johnson completed 25 of 37 passes for 420 yards and two TDs for Texas Southern. Donnie Corley snared 12 passes for 198 yards and a TD, while Tren'Davian Dickson had four receptions for 112 yards and a score.