Freshman Dawson Pendergrass ran for 111 yards and a touchdown, and Richard Reese added two scores as Baylor trounced visiting Long Island University 30-7 on Saturday afternoon in Waco, Texas, to capture its first win of the season.
The Bears (1-2) amassed 251 rushing yards on 46 carries, racking up more plays on the ground than Long Island, an FCS school, had in total (43). Baylor quarterback Sawyer Robertson, making his second career start, passed for 113 yards and a touchdown for Baylor, which snapped a six-game losing streak over the past two seasons.
The Bears ruled the initial 29 minutes of the first half, using a pair of lengthy drives and a stout defense to carry a 16-7 lead to halftime.
Baylor got on the board via a 13-yard scoring run by Reese at the 3:44 mark of the opening quarter that capped off a 92-yard, 13-play march.
The Bears added to the lead with an even more impressive possession, using 16 snaps and 8:32 of the clock — bridging the first and second quarters — to score on a 1-yard TD run by Dawson with 8:27 before the break. Baylor had 12 rushes on the drive.
The lead expanded to 16-0 when a punt snap soared over the head of Long Island punter Will Lynch and out of the end zone for a safety.
The Sharks (0-3) finally found a little footing late in the half, moving 59 yards in four plays and scoring on a 10-yard TD run by Chris Howell with 40 seconds to play. Howell’s 35-yard pass to Aviyon Smith-Mack set the table for the touchdown.
Baylor outgained Long Island 222-75 in the half while running 44 plays to just 17 by the Sharks.
As soon as the teams left the field for intermission, the game began a weather delay that lasted almost two hours.
Reese ripped off his second TD run, this time from 13 yards away, on Baylor’s first possession of the third quarter to push the Bears’ lead to 23-7. Robertson capped the scoring with a 3-yard touchdown pass to Drake Dabney with 5:45 to play.
–Field Level Media