It was a cold, strong and shifty night at Baylor.
The weather was bad, too.
On a Halloween evening filled with wind gusts and hand-wringing, the Baylor Red Raiders ended a four-game losing slide with a 35-28 Division II-AA football win over visiting Father Ryan.
Using a steady diet of quarterback Nick Tiano and running back Kalvin Watson in a powerful and purposeful running game that was as strong and direct as the wind, Baylor (6-4, 3-3) muscled its way to an early lead and held on.
Watson capped a three-play scoring drive on Baylor's initial possession with a 50-yard run. It was the just the third touchdown of the season for the quick-footed sophomore, who entered Friday with 297 rushing yards for the season.
He looked well on his way to matching that total against Father Ryan.
"By far," Baylor coach Phillip Massey said when asked if Watson's 120-yard, two-touchdown game was the sophomore's best.
After the explosive start, the Baylor defense created scoring opportunities - one for its offense and one for itself - and then had to try to corral the Irish passing game.
Schemes aside, there also was an emotional element for the Baylor defense, especially its seniors such as Luke Hutchins.
"There was some pressure and some anxiety," Hutchins said about the pregame ceremony of walking on the field with his parents Kelly and Jimmy. "We knew if we won, we'd come back here, and that's what we wanted."
Hutchins had 10 unofficial tackles and two of Baylor's five sacks as the defense guarded jealously the quick start by forcing four crucial turnovers.
After Lucas Mozingo forced a Father Ryan fumble, Tiano capped a 37-yard TD drive with a 30-yard run through the middle of an Irish defense that was either stunned by the wind chill or confused by Baylor's mid-line option attack that focused on the basic Tiano keeper and the elementary Watson run.
The next Baylor defensive strike was from cornerback George Pettway, who jumped an inside route and turned an easy interception into his first defensive touchdown and a 21-0 lead late in the first quarter.
"I anticipated it," Pettway said with a smile when asked if he cheated on the slant. "We know we are tough to beat (at home), and we knew what this game meant."
Baylor will start the Division II playoffs at Heywood Stadium next week against these same Irish (5-5, 2-4), a fact that may have played into each team's vanilla game plans, according to Massey.
But it still was in doubt until the end.
On the first possession of the second half, the Irish had a 15-play drive that continued to prove they were at their best with their back against the wall. After converting four fourth-down tries in the first half, Cameron Towns passed to Tyler Shoop in the front corner of the end zone on fourth-and-goal from the 11 to make it a one-score game.
Baylor answered with Watson's second TD run, and Father Ryan continued to be selfish with the football, making the most of a tapestry of flags and third-down conversions before Jay Alexander's 6-yard TD made it 28-21 entering the fourth.
On the first play of the final quarter, Tiano was sacked and Father Ryan recovered the loose ball at the Baylor 7. Again, the Red Raiders stiffened, with Adolfo Coghlan recovering a Father Ryan fumble after a wayward pitch on second-and-goal from the 4.
The teams' quarterbacks traded touchdowns - Tiano running for his second score, Towns throwing for his third - before Father Ryan's onside kick with less than 90 seconds left squirted out of bounds to seal the outcome
And to secure Baylor - and Hutchins and his classmates - at least one more home game.
Contact Jay Greeson at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com