Conway, Ark. - On Saturday, Hendrix College sanctioned its first Homecoming in 64 years, highlighted by the Warriors' clash with Huntingdon at Young-Wise Memorial Stadium. And on a day when the Hendrix community gathered in Conway to celebrate the college, the climax to the day could not have been scripted any better.
Clay Brandenburg's 27-yard field goal at the horn gave Hendrix a 31-28 win over Huntingdon in front of a packed crowd at Young-Wise Memorial Stadium to give the Warriors their first-ever win over the Hawks. This was only second meeting between the two programs, who first met in the NCAA Division III playoffs back in 2015 in Montgomery, Ala.
Hendrix got the ball back with 6:35 left to play with the score nodded up at 28-28 after turning Huntindgon over on downs and iced the game with a 13-play, 55-yard drive that set Brandenburg up for the game winner.
The Warriors opened up the scoring halfway through the first quarter with a
Jax Johnson 45-yard catch-and-run. Hendrix would go for two and convert after
Jacob Buniff found
Parker Turley in the back of the endzone.
Huntingdon took a 14-8 lead halfway through the second quarter, but
Westin Bruce scored from 39 yards out just a minute later to put the Warriors back in front. Hendrix went into halftime with a 21-17 lead as
Auvic White scored from 5 yards out with just under a minute and a half remaining. The Warriors would never surrender the lead after that.
Buniff found Bruce for another score with 11:32 remaining in the third period for a 28-20 lead. Huntingdon tied the contest early in the fourth quarter, and the two teams traded possessions until Hendrix put the nail in the coffin with the game-winning drive.
Buniff finished 17-of-33 for 304 yards with 3 TD. White led the Warriors in rushing with 71 carries on 14 carries and a score. While
Kanyn Utley was held out of the endzone, the senior receiver had a monster day, racking up 152 yards on 9 receptions.
Hendrix benefited from four second-half turnovers by the Hawks.
Defensively,
Seth Hakanson and
Jayvian Coulter each forced a fumble. Hakanson led the Warriors with 9 tackles with 1.5 tackles for a loss and a sack. Coulter recorded 7 tackles. In the backend of the defense,
Ryan Maxwell recorded three pass breakups.
As a team, the Warriors recorded 5 tackles for loss and 3 sacks.
The win improves Hendrix to 3-1 (1-0 SAA). They now hit the road to take on Rhodes in a Southern Athletic Association (SAA) showdown under the lights at Crain Field. Kick-off is scheduled for 6:00 PM in Memphis.
