Jessie Ramos is the active leader in kickoff returns for touchdowns in all of college football. Hardin-Simmons athletics photo

Jessie Ramos remembers the first time he stepped on the field at Hardin-Simmons.  There he was, barely 5-10 and 150 pounds, playing a college football game, nervous beyond belief.

“I felt a lot of anxiety as a freshman in that first game. I had no idea what to expect.”

Never in a million years did he expect to return a kickoff for a touchdown the first time he had the ball in his hands. But that is what he did, bolting 96 yards for paydirt in a game against Willamette. He finished with 199 return yards that day.

“I never thought I would start off like that in my first game,” Ramos said. “It really gave me the confidence I could play at this level.”

He went on to be named the top offensive freshman in the American Southwest Conference, and three years later, Ramos is one of the best special teams players in Division III football. In fact, he leads all active college football players with six career kickoffs returned for touchdowns.

Ramos has also returned one punt for a touchdown and isn’t a bad receiver either, catching 171 passes for 2,248 yards and 25 scores in his career with the Cowboys.

“Jessie is the most dynamic player I’ve ever coached,” Hardin-Simmons head coach Jesse Burleson said. “Every time he touches the ball he has a chance to make something happen.”

Even if Ramos doesn’t score a touchdown on every return, he forces opponents to account for him when they kick the ball off or punt it away.

“We know how tough it can be when we have to prepare for a team that has a great special teams player, and it’s great to have someone like Jessie back there. He might not always return it for a touchdown but we still end up with great field position.”

Ramos, who also shined in basketball and track in high school, has played a pivotal role in the early-season success of the Cowboys (2-0), who have aspirations of winning a conference championship.

They made a big statement over the weekend by stunning nationally ranked Texas Lutheran 35-27.

The Cowboys trailed 27-26 with 5:51 to play in the game against Texas Lutheran before Reese Childress caught an 11-yard scoring strike from Weston Garner to give Hardin-Simmons the lead for good.

Ramos caught 11 passes for 198 yards and a touchdown in the win. He has four receiving touchdowns this season and nearly 500 all-purpose yards (461).

“I’ve had a good start to my year and the team is doing really well,” Ramos said. “We just got a big win over Texas Lutheran. It was definitely a boost to our confidence. Now we have to keep it going.”

Ramos is confident the Cowboys can do it and has embraced his role as a leader by example.

“I’m not a big talker. I let my playing do the talking,” Ramos said. “I also try to do a good job of building strong relationships with my teammates off the field. I feel like we have a tight group.”

Burleson said the focus is on each game as it comes, that his team isn’t looking ahead.

“There isn’t a game on the schedule that we can circle as an easy game,” Burleson said. “Those don’t exist. We just focus on getting better each week and being ready to play each game.”

Ramos has the same mindset.

“We’re staying humble and we aren’t satisfied with what we’ve done so far. We can always be better,” Ramos said. “I just want to do what I can to help the team win games. We’re focused on being 1-0 every week. If we do that, we’ll have a chance to go a long way.”

Colonels keep streak intact

It wasn’t pretty by any stretch of the imagination, but in the end, the Colonels won another football game, grinding out a 25-8 win over Defiance on Saturday in their home opener.

Centre (2-0) has won 13 consecutive games in the regular season dating to last year and has won 11 consecutive games at home. Centre was ahead 10-0 at halftime and 10-8 late in the third before pulling away.

Quarterback Heath Haden turned in a solid performance, throwing for 206 yards and a touchdown, which was the 53rd of his career. The redshirt senior also rushed for 48 yards and two scores against Defiance (0-2).

Haden has completed more than 60 percent of his passes (28-of-46), throwing for 439 and four touchdowns. His effort has helped fuel an offense that is cranking out close to 550 yards (544.5) per outing.

Pirates stingy on defense

Southwestern managed 164 yards of offense in Saturday’s 7-6 win over McMurry, but that mattered little as it kept the War Hawks out of the end zone over the final three quarters.

The Pirates (1-1) trailed 6-0 after one before rallying for their first win over the War Hawks since Nov. 23, 1946. It was also their first road win since the program was reinstated in 2013.

McMurry (1-1) finished with 308 yards but the Pirates held strong when it mattered, forcing two turnovers along the way. Zach Cole anchored the defense with 13 tackles. Nik Kelly picked off a pass and Lucas Evans recovered a fumble.

Southwestern needed a strong defensive performance after being lit up for 77 points by Hardin Simmons in week one. Cole is the Pirates’ leading tackler, tallying 31 tackles in two games and is well on his way to breaking his career-high (47) for tackles in a season.

Record day for Bates

Tyler Bates played a big part in East Texas Baptist’s first win of the year, breaking a school record for receiving touchdowns in a game in the Tigers’ dominating 56-14 win over Texas College Saturday.

Bates caught four touchdown passes and rolled up 193 yards, four yards shy of his career high, and his performance marked the fifth time he has caught two or more scoring strikes in a game.

His remarkable effort fell on an emotional day. Bates’ mother passed away when he was 3 years old. Saturday was her birthday. The senior already has nine catches for 211 yards and four touchdowns for the Tigers (1-1), who are aiming for their first winning season in 10 years.

Strong start for Trinity

Trinity rolled up 436 yards of offense and blasted Willamette 35-6, avenging last season’s loss to the Bearcats in Oregon and improving to 2-0 for the first time in three years.

The Tigers used a tenacious defensive effort to nail down the victory, forcing five turnovers and holding the Bearcats to 206 yards.

Julian Turner racked up 12 tackles, the second consecutive game where he has been in double digits in tackles. Turner, who also got credit for a pair of quarterback hurries, has tallied 28 tackles in two games, helping to fuel a defense that has allowed just 22 points. The junior linebacker is looking to build on last year’s success when he led the Tigers in tackles (104).

Contact me

If you have a great story idea or notable accomplishments that deserve a mention in this column, feel free to reach out to me at brian.lester@d3football.com. You can also follow on Twitter @BLester1993.