By Andrew Pratt

The Southwestern University Football team has put there foot in the ground. The Pirates held off McMurry University last Saturday night 7-6 in Abilene, TX. The team improves to 1-1 on the season.

The Pirates returned to Abilene last weekend with a chip on their shoulders, after being defeated by Top 25 team Hardin Simmons University to start off the season.

The Warhawks are currently in transition back down to the Division III level after a brief stint at the Division II ranks.

Since the game, two Pirates have taken several weekly honors. Running back Dylan Wilburn snagged the SCAC Special Teams Player of the Week for his work punting the ball. He averaged 38.2 yards a kick over eight total. This was in addition to his work on the ground. Wilburn carried the ball 24 times for a total of 111 yards. This was his first 100 yard game of the season.

Justin Broussard took home the SCAC Defensive Player of the Week honors for his performance on Saturday. In addition to the conference honors, Broussard got some national recognition when he was selected as part of D3Football.com’s Team of the Week.

This isn’t the first time, he has received attention at the national level. Earlier this summer, the Junior Defensive end was selected as First-Team Preseason All-American by USA College Football.

The sight of a victory going into the home opener was a bit of a sigh of relief for Junior Linebacker Zach Cole.

“It is always good to get a victory,” Cole said. “A win is a win. We not going settle for just one-points, but if it’s there we’ll take it.” Cole lead the Pirates on defense with 13 tackles, with Justin Broussard right behind with nine tackles, three sacks,  and a crucial forced fumble in the fourth.

Today, the Pirates make their first appearance in Birkelbach Field of the year as they take on the East Texas Baptist Tigers.

According to Cole, the Tigers have been an adversary that the Pirates are looking to finally take down. “Last year, we had the chance to take them down in Marshall,” Cole said. “We let them back into the game and just outlasted us.”

The taste from last season has kept with the Pirates since the trip back from Marshall. However, this year, there might be a silver lining for the Pirates going into this game.

During the opening week of the season, the McMurry Warhawks travelled to Marshall to take on the Tigers. The Warhawks were victorious in beating the Tigers 49-22. This week could be the first time since reinstatement that the Pirates might not be the underdogs of the game.

Zach Cole, however, said that he is not thinking too much into that.

“You never know whose better until you play them face-to-face,” Cole said. “There was a lot of differences between the East Texas Baptist team that played McMurry and the one that routed Texas College.”

“They are a good team,” Cole said. “We cannot buy into that nonsense.We still have to go out there and play.”

Junior Offensive Lineman Jacob Harton believes the team is on the right track this year.

“We had our share of bumps in the beginning, but we have it all down now,” Harton said. “The defense is being a force in practice.,” Harton said. “It shows on the field. The offense is coming together just like we planned it.”