From Staff Reports
CORSICANA – History could be made as two offenses with a proclivity for putting points on the board meet in the 2021 Fun Town RV Heritage Bowl.
UT Permian Basin (5-5) posted the most points in a game by a Lone Star Conference team this fall in a 75-0 non-conference win over Lincoln (Calif.), while Oklahoma Baptist University (7-4) of the Great American Conference had six games of 40 or more points, including four of five down the stretch, all in wins.
The Fun Town RV Heritage Bowl record for combined points in a game? 69.
Kickoff between UTPB and OBU is scheduled for noon on Dec. 4 at Community National Bank & Trust Stadium. It will once again be broadcast to millions of households across the United States by Princeton Media.
This matchup will be the fourth in bowl history, as last year’s tilt was cancelled when Division II football moved to a spring schedule due to the ongoing COVID pandemic. In the original game in 2017, branded as the Corsicana Bowl, Central Oklahoma bested Tarleton State, 38-31, to set that scoring mark.
In the last installment – the first as the Heritage Bowl, in 2019, Eastern New Mexico grounded out a 20-13 win over Southern Arkansas.
UTPB, from Odessa, started the season 4-1, including a 42-31 win over West Texas A&M, which finished tied for second in the LSC. It’s lone loss during that period was to FCS Abilene Christian. The Falcons played one of the toughest LSC schedules down the stretch, facing playoff-bound Angelo State, former national champion Texas A&M-Commerce and conference champion Midwestern State on the road.
“It’s exciting for our guys to be able to play beyond the regular season,” said UTPB Head Coach Justin Carrigan, now in his sixth season leading the Falcons. “I’m looking forward to a couple more weeks with the guys, especially the seniors.”
Hailing from Shawnee, Okla., Oklahoma Baptist was impressive in its seven wins, including a 43-37 over a Southeastern Oklahoma State team the finished 8-3. Its losses included one to Harding, which finished 10-1 and is the second seed in Region 3 of the DII playoffs. The other two came to Henderson State and Ouachita, both of which finished 9-2 in the uber-competitive GAC.
“This opportunity is a significant blessing for our program,” Oklahoma Baptist Head Coach Chris Jensen said. “We are extremely grateful to the Heritage Bowl for extending an invitation to participate in their game and we hope to represent Oklahoma Baptist University and the Great American Conference in the best way possible.”
The game itself continues to grow, giving Corsicana and North-Central Texas a chance to see top upper-level football action.
Fun Town RV, one of the nation’s largest RV dealers, partnered with the Heritage Bowl this summer. The RV giant is adding a store in Corsicana, and it is the official RV dealership of the Dallas Cowboys and WinStar World Casino.
The move to national television in 2019 opened up the game to audiences all over the country. This year’s play-by-play will be done by Texas Sports Hall of Famer Tom Franklin.
The teams will convene on Thursday night for the Heritage Bowl Fun Town RV banquet at Navarro College. On Friday, teams will assemble at campuses across Corsicana for “Fist-Bump Friday,” in which they welcome students to school.
As well, the two teams will participate in a downtown pep rally Friday evening.
Tickets for the Fun Town RV Heritage Bowl game are available at heritagebowl.org.
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On the Net:
www.heritagebowl.org (Twitter: @HeritageBowl, Facebook: heritagebowlcorsicana)
www.funtownrv.com
www.navarrocollege.edu
www.utpbfalcons.com
https://obubison.com
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