ABILENE – The Howard Payne Yellow Jackets carried the American Southwest Conference’s No. 1 offense into Shelton Stadium Saturday, where the Hardin-Simmons Cowboys – in possession of the league’s top-rated defense – emerged with a 41-14 victory.

Howard Payne (1-2) entered the contest averaging 45.5 points and 572.5 yards per game, but was limited to a pair of touchdowns and 282 total yards.

Hardin-Simmons (3-0), which owned the ASC’s second-best offense prior to the contest, produced 601 yards – 324 rushing and 277 passing – and tallied all of its points in the first three quarters.

After spotting the Cowboys the first 27 points, the Yellow Jackets scored a second-quarter touchdown on a 15-yard run by Billy Reagins, and added a third-quarter score on a 5-yard carry by quarterback Landon McKinney.

McKinney, the ASC passing leader, completed 13 of 23 attempts for 115 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions. ASC Offensive Player of the Week Jake Parker grabbed six receptions for 63 yards while Selah Smith pulled down six catches for 39 yards. Reagins rushed for a team-high 107 yards and Tauren Bradley chipped in 52 on the ground.

For Hardin-Simmons, Kyle Jones threw for 268 yards and two touchdowns to Rae Millsap, who hauled in six receptions for 84 yards, and Jalen Crawford, who made three grabs for 71 yards. Marc Reed rushed for 114 yards and a touchdown, Kolby Youngblood contributed 87 yards with a trip to the end zone, and Myles Featherston tacked on 78 yards and six points.

Jessie Paris and Kyle Bell led the HPU defense with seven tackles each, while Peyton Lowe, James Jakubowski and Mark Taplette added five tackles apiece.

The Yellow Jackets wrap up their regular season at 1 p.m. Saturday, March 20 at Gordon Wood Stadium against McMurry. Howard Payne will then play a seeding game against the equivalent in the final standings from the East Division on March 27 to conclude the spring campaign.