October 29, 2015
FOOTBALL: MARSHALL, Texas (10/29/15) - Kendall Roberson didn't break the NCAA Division III rushing record but he sure did run for a lot of yards. Roberson became only the eight NCAA Division III and 17th NCAA player to rush for over 400 yards in a game on Saturday, October 24, against Belhaven University.
"That's phenomenal what happened today but that needed to happen in slop, in rain, in the monsoon on a grass field and that's what needed to happen," says head coach Joshua Eargle. "Our offensive line did great today and Kendall Roberson was extremely patience today and when a hole opened up he burst and had some big runs for us."
Roberson did all of the rushing work in three quarters not playing in the fourth quarter and still recorded five touchdowns and 420 yards. The 420 yards is better than NCAA Division I running back Melvin Gordon who set the NCAA Division I rushing record vs. Nebraska only to see it broken the following week by Oklahoma's Samaje Perine with 427 yards vs. Kansas. NCAA Division III?s Cartel Brooks from Heidelburg owns the overall record with 465 yards vs. Oberlin in 2013.
Of his five touchdown runs, two were over 60 yards with a 69-yard run (number 2) and an 80-yard run (number 3). A combined 201 yards of his 420 yards came on touchdown runs as the other three touchdown runs were three yards (number 1), six yards (number 4) and 43-yards (number 5).
"The offensive linemen and the receivers do a great job of helping me get past the line of scrimmage," says Roberson. "I'm tired on some of the runs at the and these guys are selling out for me and that helps me keep going as our offensive line and offense keep getting better each week."
Roberson's production improved by the quarter. In the first he rushed for 101 yards on 12 carries and one touchdown. In the second quarter it was 154 yards and another touchdown. The third quarter was his finest with 165 yards on nine carries and three touchdown.
His name will now be with some of the finest backs in all of NCAA as he becomes 2015's first 400-yard rusher. Last year, there were two only in NCAA Division I in Wisconsin's Gordon and Oklahoma's Perine. He now has the sixth best game in NCAA Division III and eighth overall in NCAA.
Now posting 1,190 yards, Roberson is the fifth player in ETBU history to rush for over 1,000 yards as it is the sixth time overall in the program. Sed Harris rushed for over 1,000 yards in 2010 and 2011. RoShawn Johnson holds the single season rushing record of 1,757 set in 2003 when ETBU won the American Southwest Conference Championship.
ETBU is now 5-2 overall and 2-0 in the ASC. It is the first five-win season since 2011 and the have three games remaining to try and produce their first winning season since 2005.