Phoenix, AZ- Leading just 14-6 at the break, #12 Arizona Christian exploded for 28 third quarter points to ease into a 42-12 win over Wayland Baptist on Saturday night.  Senior Johnathan Parks made six catches for 103 yards and a touchdown.  The ACU defense recorded three sacks.

The first drive of the night saw the Firestorm (3-0, 2-0 CSFL) cover 68 yards in eight plays capped by Senior Ryan Esslinger finding room on the left side of the line to score the first touchdown of the game.

That turned out to be the only score of the first quarter.

Following an interception by Junior Trumaine Smith, ACU used a short field of just 26 yards to cash in their lone touchdown of the second quarter.  Esslinger found Junior Rick Smith a few yards down field but Smith went on to cover 20 yards for the touchdown and give Arizona Christian a 14-0 edge.

Before the half was complete, the Pioneers (0-3, 0-1 CSFL) used two field goals to get points on the board.

Then came the impressive third quarter for ACU.  Every time they had possession of the ball in the quarter they scored a touchdown.  Esslinger connected with Senior Tyler Dunken who forced his way in along the right sideline for his first TD of the year.  Sophomore Alan Freeman returned a punt 67 yards and two plays later Esslinger threw a jump ball into the back left corner of the end zone that saw Junior Kendrick Murphy pulled down his third touchdown of the season.  Esslinger to Parks from two yards out made the score 35-6.  On the strength of a little trickery (Senior Derek Brush passing out of punt formation for a first down to Smith), Sophomore Mark Wood muscled his way into the end zone to give ACU a 42-6 cushion.

Esslinger finished his evening with exactly 200 yards passing and four touchdowns to four different receivers.

Brush had his usual impact on the game as he punted for an average of 48.6 yards- including a 63 yard beauty- to go along with a 65 yard kickoff average and five touchbacks.  All seven kickoffs went into the end zone but WBU attempted to return two of the kicks.

Defensively, the Firestorm were swarming to the ball.  Twenty-nine players recorded a tackle for ACU.  Junior Austin Schleier and Senior Joshua Carter lead with seven tackles each.  Senior Derek Stewart added six tackles of his own.  Nine overall tackles were for a loss highlighted by the three sacks- one by Senior Ricky Bradley, Senior Jason Whitfield, and Junior Derrick Jones (a loss of 22 yards).

Head Coach Jeff Bowen stated afterwards, "It was a great overall effort by the Firestorm- especially in the third quarter.  We did not play very well in the first half but we challenged the guys at half time to step up their game.  And they responded with our best third-quarter ever.  Defense was lights out, and the offense got it rolling.  Outscoring them 28 –0 was very impressive."

Bowen added, "We want to continue to build on this on a weekly basis.  The season is not a sprint, it was a marathon for us.  So our goal is to get better each week."

The Firestorm will have a chance to improve next Saturday when they play their last non-conference game of the year at Whittier College.  Kickoff against the Poets is scheduled for 5:00 pm.