Glendale, Ariz.- On the strength of allowing a program low 34 passing yards defensively, Arizona Christian beat Langston 27-10 in their SAC opener on Saturday.  The Firestorm dialed up the pressure with 11 tackles for loss which includes five sacks while allowing just three second half points.

Leading the defensive charge was Freshman Maurice Powell and Junior Dezmon Dean with seven tackles each (including three for loss) and both were in on two sacks.  Sophomore Riley Tucker made his presence felt from the secondary with an interception and a fumble recovery.  The Firestorm forced five turnovers on the day.

Offensively, Junior Shea Morales came in off the bench and passed for 159 yards.  Junior Tyrese Gholar made his ACU debut by leading the ground attack with a long rushing touchdown.

Game Info

• Game score: Arizona Christian 27, Langston 10
• Records: Arizona Christian- 4-1, 1-0 SAC, Langston - 0-1, 0-1 SAC
• NAIA Top 25 Rank: Arizona Christian - not ranked, Langston - 19 (in final 2019 poll)
• Location: ACU Football Field, Arizona Christian University, Glendale, AZ

Offensive Stars

• Shea Morales- 11-26, 159 passing yards
• Jon Cole- 8 catches, 147 yards
• Sid Turnbull-Frazier- 4 catches, 31 yards
• Tyrese Gholar- 5 carries, 44 yards, touchdown
• Cole Davis- 10 carries, 32 yards, touchdown
• Aidan Quinn- touchdown (New ACU Rushing TD Leader)

Defensive Stars

• Maurice Powell- 7 tackles, 2 sacks, forced fumble
• Dezmon Dean- 7 tackles, 1.5 sacks
• Jacob Hernandez- 6 tackles, 1 sack
• Anthony Nicastro- 5 tackles
• Riley Tucker- 5 tackles, interception, fumble recovery

Inside The Numbers

• Following a scoreless first quarter, Nestor Higuera connected on a field goal followed by a rushing touchdown from Davis for 10-0 edge
• The Lions found the endzone before the half (drive aided by two pass interference calls)
• The first possession of the second half for Langston started at the ACU 11
• But the ACU defense held LU to just a field goal and would shut them out the rest of the game
• Higuera gave ACU the lead with his second field goal
• Gholar scored on 34 yard touchdown burst
• Quinn punched in a three yard run to finish the scoring
• Caleb Ashby sealed the game with an interception
• The 139 total yards allowed by ACU ranks second in their defensive archives

Thoughts from Coach Bowen

"I loved the way our guys responded to adversity today.  When your QB goes down it effects your team mentally.  So for the offense to settle down and score 17 points in the second half and the defense to shut them out speaks volumes about the growth of our team. It is always a big win to beat Langston, so we are excited to be 1-0 in league."

Up Next

The Firestorm will stay in Glendale to host Oklahoma Panhandle State on Saturday.  Kick-off from the ACU Football Field will come at 11:00 am.