COMMERCE, Texas (AP) — Jake Strong and Coleby Hamm each accounted for two touchdowns, defensive end Phillip Bradford had a pick-6 and McNeese beat East Texas A&M 35-20 on Saturday night.
Strong was 10-of-18 passing for 171 yards with a touchdown and an interception and added 17 carries for 136 yards, which included a 48-yard TD run that capped a 95-yard drive and made it 28-10 with 6:45 left in the third quarter. Hamm finished with 127 yards rushing.
The 6-foot-6, 280-pound Bradford deflected a pass by Ron Peace to himself for an interception and returned it 12 yards for a TD that gave McNeese (4-6, 3-3 Southland Conference) a 21-10 lead with about two minutes left in the first half.
Allijah Harrison returned the opening kickoff 100 yards for a TD and Ozlo Rigby kicked field goals of 29 and 28 yards for East Texas A&M (2-8, 2-4).
Eric Rodriguez replaced starter Ron Peace to begin the second half completed 11 of 16 passes for 140 yards with a touchdown — a 22-yarder to Jaden Proctor that made it 28-20 with 6:43 to play. Peace was 9-of-20 passing for 94 yards and threw two interceptions.
The Cowboys answered with a six-play, 75-yard drive that culminated when Hamm, who ran for a 2-yard TD late in the first quarter, scored on a 29-yard run about four minutes later.
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