Defending Red River champion Baylor defeated Texas State 79-12 on Saturday in a preseason meeting for the two, and it signaled that the Bears don't expect any dropoff after their championship run last season.

Captain and center Stewart Morris scored three tries on the day, and freshman and recently-graduated Texas HS all-star Griffin Maat scored two from flanker on his debut. Abu Kamara, flyhalf Parker Vincent, and fullback Luke Davis all had big days.

For Vincent and Maat, it was a good day to show that players from last year and the new guys are working together.


"The guys have been itching to play since the beginning of the semester, so everyone was really excited to hit someone other than each other," said Baylor coach Mason Hering. "We had a bit of rust to shake off in the first 20 minutes or so but we were able to focus and execute after that. We were able to control the tempo of the match throughout. Being able to do that really opened the attack up which allowed us to let our backs run wild."



With Vincent and Maat showing well, Stewart was perhaps more impressive, powering through tackles and making snappy decisions.

"He can beat you in so many ways, whether it be with his speed, physicality, or his rugby IQ," said Hering. "In each of his three tries on the day all those tools were on display." 

Next up for everyone in the Red River is the conference's 7s series, and then conference 15s play begins after that.

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