So much for Southern hospitality.
Baylor’s offense was sharp from start to finish Friday night, and its defense was strong throughout the second half on the way to a convincing 51-21 home win over New York powerhouse Archbishop Stepinac.
On the third snap of Baylor’s first possession, Red Raiders junior Cameron Sparks sidestepped a defender near the line of scrimmage and outran the pursuit for a 57-yard touchdown that set the tone for what would follow.
The Crusaders (0-1) later took a short-lived three-point lead when Troy Worrell returned a kickoff 99 yards for a score, but Baylor (2-1) — which had a short week to prepare after traveling back from its lopsided win a week earlier in Dublin, Ireland — responded with 13 unanswered points before halftime to retake the lead for good.
“It was a tight turnaround, and we were worried about our guys being gassed, and I think we showed some lack of focus in the first half,” Baylor coach Erik Kimrey said. “We challenged them at halftime that we were not playing our type of football, and I thought they played a cleaner game in the second half.