HOUSTON | Gene Sledge Jr. ran for two touchdowns in the first quarter, Conor Martin passed for two touchdowns in the third quarter and Northern Colorado rolled to a 45-13 win over Houston Baptist on Saturday night.
The touchdowns runs of 11 and 4 yards by Sledge Jr. — a graduate of Aurora’s Vista PEAK Prep — staked the Bears (1-1) to a 14-0 lead. The Huskies (0-2) answered with a pair of Gino Garcia field goals in the second quarter but Aaron Harris (another Aurora graduate from Grandview) returned an interception 33 yards to make it 21-6 at halftime.
Martin and Darren DeLaCroix hooked up for a 57-yard score early in the third quarter and after a Ben Raybon field goal Martin flipped a 4-yard TD pass to Jonah Morris to make it 38-6.
Northern Colorado had a 391-266 advantage in total offense, which was the difference in the ground game. Sledge had 84 yards and Jullen Ison, who added a fourth-quarter TD, added 65 on just six carries.