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PAGE 8 December 2025 E-Edition
Jax State to host CUSA Championship
By Brandon K. Pierce The Sports Ledger In the final regular
seconds left in the opening half made it a one score game, with the visiting Hilltoppers on top 28-24. Caden Creel opened the second half scoring with a 70 yard touchdown. Rippa's point after gave the Gamecocks a 31-28 lead over WKU. The scoring drive took three plays and covered 76 yards. Western Kentucky tied the game at 31-31 with a 42-yard field goal at the 7:16 mark of the third quarter. A long Cam Creel run, a roughing the passer call against Western Kentucky, and a little offensive trickery, set up the Gamecocks for another lead change opportunity. However, the Gamecocks turned the ball over on downs at the seven yard line after a fourth down attempt fell just a yard short. With Garrison Rippa ready to go, Jacksonville state should have tried for a field goal attempt to break the tie game. They did not and it gave Western Kentucky an opportunity. However, the Gamecock's defense stepped up and forced the Hilltoppers to punt the football. The quarter ended with the score knotted up at 31-31. Early in the fourth quarter both teams traded field goals. Rippa kicked a 27-yard field goal first to
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the State Gamecocks rallied for a 37-34 victory over Western Kentucky. With the win, Jax State Jacksonville improved to 8-4 overall and 7-1 in conference USA. The Gamecocks are now set to host Kennesaw State in the 2025 Air National Guard Conference USA Football Championship Game on Friday, December 5 at 6 p.m. at AmFirst Stadium. Jacksonville State scored first against the visiting Hilltoppers as Cam Cook rushed for a 14-yard touchdown to give the Gamecocks a 7-0 lead early in the opening quarter. However, Western Kentucky quicky tied the game at 7-7 and went on to take a 14-7 advantage at the end of the opening quarter. The Hilltoppers extended the lead to 21-7 with a 13 yard touchdown run by K.D. Hutchinson with only 7 seconds off the clock in the second quarter. Garrison Rippa gave Jax State a little momentum with a 27 yard field goal at the 5:20 mark of the second quarter. Both teams traded touchdowns, but a 22- yard touchdown pass from Caden Creel to Deondre Johnson with only :15
Photo by Brandon K. Pierce, The Sports Ledger Despite this fumble, the Jax State Gamecocks rallied for a 37-34 victory over Western Kentucky.
two touchdowns. He also rushed for 143 yards and a touchdown. Cam Cook also reached triple digits with 137 yards and one touchdown. As a team, the Gamecocks rolled up 515 total yards on offense, while limiting WKU to only 384 yards in the regular season finale.
put Jax State back on top 34-31. The Gamecocks defense stopped WKU on the next drive, as Emmanuel Oyebadejo forced a fumble and Caleb Nix recovered it. It appeared as if the defensive stand was going to lead to another field goal. However, WKU’s Harper Holloman blocked
the 39-yard attempt by Rippa. The play revived the Hilltoppers and eventually led to a field goal, which tied the game at 34-34 with 8:15 left to play in regulation. Both teams traded punts and with 4:18 to go, Jax State went to work on a game winning drive. The Gamecocks used
the entire remaining time to go 50 yards in 11 plays and win the game on a last second 28-yard Rippa field goal. It was Rippa’s third field goal of the game. QB Caden Creel paced the Gamecocks offense, accounting for three of the team’s four touchdowns. Creel completed 12 of 19 passes for 204 yards and
Baylor Football Program to Retain Head Coach Dave Aranda LETTER TO THE EDITOR Below is a letter from Baylor President Dr. Linda A Livingstone regarding the leadership of the football program. Dear Baylor Family, Over the past several weeks, Baylor University has undertaken a comprehensive review of our athletics leadership and the future of our football program. This process has been marked by prayerful consideration, candid conversations and a deep commitment to our Christian mission and values. After careful evaluation and consideration, we have decided to retain Coach Dave Aranda as the leader of our football program. We recognize this decision will generate strong opinions. Let me be clear: Baylor expects excellence, accountability and competitiveness at the highest level. We are not complacent, and we are not settling for mediocrity. This decision reflects several critical factors: • Stability during transition: Our next Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics must have the opportunity to assess the football program and chart its long- term direction; • Student-athlete experience: Retaining our current roster and protecting a nationally ranked recruiting class are essential to our future success; and • Financial stewardship: In an era of extreme volatility in college athletics with NIL, the transfer portal, revenue-sharing, and much more, this approach allows us to invest wisely in the program’s future rather than incur significant buyout costs during an unprecedented turnover of coaches across the country. We acknowledge the frustrations many of you feel, and we share in them. Baylor Football has experienced both historic highs and challenging seasons under Coach Aranda. While we celebrate the Big 12 Championship and Sugar Bowl victory in 2021, we know this season has not met our shared expectations. Please know that our team respects and loves playing for Coach Aranda. I can also attest he aligns with Baylor’s Christian mission and is an incredible ambassador for our University. Our strength as a university has always come from our ability to stand together — students, alumni, faculty and staff, and fans — united by faith and shared purpose. While opinions may differ, our commitment to supporting our student-athletes and representing Baylor with integrity must remain unwavering. Let us rally behind our team, encourage one another and demonstrate the unity that makes Baylor special. Your support — emotional, spiritual and financial — matters tremendously. Our student-athletes deserve a program that makes you proud, and we remain committed to building a team that competes for championships and reflects Baylor’s values. Our search for a new Athletics Director is underway, and I am confident we will welcome a new leader who will usher in a new era of competitive success and embrace our fans in new and exciting ways. Thank you for standing with us through both the challenges and the celebrations.
UAB Football (4-8, 2-6 American) came from behind to defeat the Tulsa Golden Hurricane (4-8, 1-7 American) on the road, 31-24. The 2025 season finale win is the Blazers’ first on the road since November 26, 2022. The Blazers went into the game with 42 total absences. The Green and Gold opened the game with a fourth-down stop on the edge of the UAB red zone. After forcing a Tulsa three-and-out and starting the drive in plus-territory, an Isaiah Jacobs 16-yard rush set up an 18-yard touchdown pass from Jalen Kitna to Iverson Hooks to kick off the scoring. A deep ball to Tulsa’s Jacob Emmers put the Golden Hurricane within the UAB 10 yardline, but a pair of short gains and a Calvin Pitcher pass breakup forced Tulsa to settle for a 26-yard field goal. The Golden Hurricane stopped the Blazers on fourth down in UAB territory. A 15- yard rush and pass interference in the endzone set up a goal line opportunity for Tulsa. The Golden Hurricane capitalized on third down with a one-yard passing touchdown to take the lead. Back-to-back explosive plays from Elijah Lagg and Solomon Beebe put UAB in position for a quick response to the Tulsa touchdown, down to the Golden Hurricane three-yard line. Two failed quarterback-keeper attempts and a third-down sack forced UAB to settle for a 31-yard field goal by Jonah Delange to tie the game with under two minutes to go in the first half. Tulsa exploded for 42 yards on its first play from scrimmage following the UAB field goal. The long pass immediately turned the late drive into a scoring opportunity for Tulsa. The Golden Hurricane punched in a five-yard rush to regain the lead with just 32 seconds remaining in the first half. UAB responded with a 74-yard drive to open the second half. Jacobs and Jevon Jackson combined for seven rushes for 62 yards to put the Blazers on the Tulsa eight-yard line. Kitna found Brandon Hawkins Jr. for his fifth touchdown in his last five games. T’Sai McDaniel forced Tulsa’s first turnover of the game with his first career interception. McDaniel returned the interception 50 yards, the longest interception return of the season for UAB. The return set up the Blazers offense on the plus side of the field, but a Tulsa defensive stand forced UAB to kick from 49 yards, which Delange hooked left. Tulsa drove 85 yards on the final drive of the third quarter, powered by a 26-yard deep ball. A fourth and long conversion gave Tulsa the momentum to open the fourth quarter with a 22-yard rushing touchdown to take a 24-17 lead. After a UAB three-and-out, a muffed punt by Tulsa, recovered by Jacobs, swung the momentum for the Blazers. Jackson found a wide-open gap to the end zone for a 20-yard rush, tying the game at 24. Jackson snapped his nine-game scoreless streak, finding the endzone for the first time since his 12-yard score at Navy. UAB forced a three-and-out to get the ball back with just under nine minutes to go. A career-long 57-yard reception by Kaleb Brown put the Blazers in the red zone. Jackson finished the drive with a three-yard rushing touchdown to put UAB ahead for the first time since the second quarter. The Golden Hurricane drove to the edge of the UAB red zone just before the two- minute timeout. A UAB stop behind the line of scrimmage, an incompletion, and a short gain on third down set up a crucial fourth down for Tulsa. Looking deep to the corner of the endzone, the Golden Hurricane pass went long, turning the ball over on downs with less than a minute to go. Jackson sealed the game with a 14-yard first down, capping his day with 117 yards and two touchdowns on 23 rushing attempts. UAB Football Closes Out Season With Road Victory At Tulsa
Sic ’Em, Linda A. Livingstone, Ph.D. President, Baylor University
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