INDIANAPOLIS – The University of Indianapolis football team (2-1, 1-0 GLVC) fended off a pair of late touchdowns to pull out a 26-24 win against visiting Southwest Baptist Saturday night in the 2015 Great Lakes Valley Conference opener. Senior wideout Reece Horn amassed 10 catches for 194 yards and a touchdown in the win.
 
Behind its dual-threat freshman quarterback T.J. Edwards, the Bearcats got on the board first with a touchdown midway through the first quarter. Edwards, who would challenge the UIndy defense all night, rushed for 41 of the drive's 87 yards, including a 12-yard gallop to the end zone.
 
The visitors would manage just three points for the next 46 minutes of play, however, as the Greyhounds surged to a 16-point advantage. Though the Bearcats were able to move the ball at times, the UIndy D stepped up when it counted, holding its guests to just one field goal in their next three red-zone chances.
 
After a 25-yard field goal by Brad Schickel got the Greyhounds on the board late in the first, running back Andrew Walker's goal-line plunge gave the home team its first lead of the game in the second quarter.
 
UIndy's big third quarter proved to be the difference, as a pair of 80-plus-yard drives highlighted the stanza. The two possessions were both capped by notable touchdowns. The first was punctuated by a spectacular 62-yard pass play from Connor Barthel to Horn, good for the longest play from scrimmage for the Hounds this season. That was followed by a nine-yard TD reception by Ben Davis High School product Malcolm Fogle – the first of his career.
 
The Bearcats (1-2, 0-1) broke their scoring drought with a nine-play, 83-yard drive in the fourth quarter. With under five minutes in the contest, Edwards found sophomore Kendrick Payne with a four-yard scoring strike. Now down 10, SBU went for two but were unable to convert, keeping it a two-score game.
 
After forcing a three-and-out on the Hounds' ensuing drive, Baptist got the ball back and found the end zone for the second time in two-and-a-half minutes. The Bearcats, who two weeks ago also put up 14 fourth-quarter points in a near comeback versus a ranked Grand Valley squad on the road, got another TD pass from Edwards to creep to within two points.
 
Now with just 2:12 remaining, the Bearcats' last hope of a recovered onside kick did not go as planned. The Greyhounds corralled the kick and later sealed the win on a 24-yard rush by Walker.
 
Walker, a native of Chicago, notched his first 100-yard game of the season by racking up 106 rushing yards and a touchdown. Barthel also had a big game, compiling 324 yards on 24-of-36 passing while recording two TDs and zero picks.
 
Aeneas White led the team with nine total tackles while adding his first career interception, defensive linemen Dillon Dallas and Lee Campbell combined for six tackles for a loss and four-and-a-half sacks, while cornerback Mike Hamilton was credited with three pass breakups.
 
Edwards finished with 235 yards and a touchdown through the air and 132 yards and two more TDs on the ground for SBU.
 
UIndy takes a break from conference play when its travels to in-region Hillsdale Saturday, Sept. 26.
 
 
Notes: UIndy had two blocked kicks on the night, though only one counted statistically. Korey Rogan stuffed a 29-yard FG try in the third quarter for his first career block. Later, Tommy Taylor blocked the Bearcats' final PAT, but kicker Alec Gathright was able to catch to deflection and run it in for two points and thus by rule, negating Taylor's statistical accomplishment … The only turnover of the night came on White's INT in the second quarter … Lucas Rice notched his first tackle as a collegian: a five-yard sack in the fourth quarter.