KINGSVILLE, TEXAS – The University of the Incarnate Word football team gave Lone Star Conference rival Texas A&M-Kingsville all they could handle on Saturday night, but came up on the short end of a 20-17 decision at Javelina Stadium. (Box Score)

For the second straight year, the Cardinals (2-5, 1-4) and Javelinas (3-4, 2-3) went down to the wire with the Hoggies pulling out a 3-point victory.  Special teams and defense were the name of the game.  The Cardinals picked up seven points on an interception return for a touchdown while the Javelinas won the battle of field position in the punting game while recovering a fumble on a punt return and blocking a punt.

The Javelinas were clinging to a 13-10 lead for most of the fourth quarter before a 68-yard touchdown run by Anthony Johnson with 3:49 remaining the game gave them a 10-point advantage.

The Cardinals responded with their best offensive drive of the night.  Freshman quarterback Taylor Woods (Fort Bend/Austin HS) came on and directed the team on a 6-play, 73-yard drive.  He was 5-of-6 on the drive for 61 yards, including a 25-yard touchdown pass to Andrew Mocio (Waco/Reicher Catholic HS) with 2:00 left in the game.

It looked like the Cardinals would get the ball back with time on the clock when they forced the Javelinas into a third-and-six situation, but quarterback Bryan Ehrlich called his own number and scrambled 11 yards for the first down.  The Hoggies were able to take a knee on the final two plays to salt the game away.

The Cardinals struggled to move the ball against a tough A&M-Kingsville defense.  They picked up only 65 yards rushing on 22 carries and had 113 yards passing before the final drive of the game.  Joseph Sadler (Devine/Devine HS) led the team with 26 yards rushing on nine carries as senior starter Trent Rios (Spring Branch/Smithson Valley HS) missed his second game of the season with an injury.  Zach Rhodes (New Braunfels/New Braunfels HS) finished the game 13-of-29 passing for 92 yards and an interception.  Mocio led the receiving corp with four grabs for 46 yards and a touchdown.

The game began uneventfully as the two teams combined for zero points and five punts in the first quarter.  The first breakthrough came just 1:03 into the second quarter.  After getting great field position at the UIW 32-yard line off a short punt, the Javelinas took three plays to get into the end zone.  Randall Toney rambled 23 yards for the score to make it 7-0.

The Cardinals responded with a 10-play, 52-yard drive that was halted at the Kingsville 20-yard line.  The key play in the drive was a 21-yard pass from Sadler to Derek Pierce (Marion/Marion HS) on a fake punt to get a first down.  UIW settled for a 36-yard field goal from freshman Jake Wilcox (San Antonio/Reagan HS) with 8:28 left in the first half.

The Cards forced the Javelinas on a quick three-and-out on their next possession and appeared poised to put some more points on the board before the half.  They moved the ball into Kingsville territory and once more attempted a fake punt from the 36-yard line, but the pass was incomplete.

The Javelinas took advantage and drove down the field quickly in the two-minute drill.  Nate Poppell hit Clyde Lee for a 17-yard pass and Joseph Vela for an 18-yard pass on back-to-back plays.  Matt Stoll drilled a 27-yard field goal as time expired in the half.

The Javelinas got the ball to start the second half and moved the ball down the field picking up five first downs to get inside the Cardinal 20-yard line.  However, a false start penalty and two plays for no gain set up a third-and-15.  Poppell's pass went through the hands of Toney and into the waiting arms of linebacker Juan Asencio (Pflugerville/Hendrickson HS) who returned the ball a school-record 86 yards for a touchdown to tie the game at 10-10.

The score remained 10-10 early in the fourth quarter when a turnover cost the Cardinals.  After forcing the Javelinas to punt the ball away, Anthony Washington forced a fumble that he recovered giving the ball back to A&M-Kingsville.  Five plays later, Stoll added a 36-yard field goal with 11:23 remaining to make it 13-10 Javelinas.

The Hogs had a chance to put the game away after Anthony Forker intercepted a Rhodes pass and returned it to the UIW 26-yard line, but the Javelinas could not punch the ball in the end zone and Stoll's 27-yard field goal attempt was wide right.

The teams traded punts after Stoll's miss eventually setting up Johnson's 68-yard sprint.

The Javelinas finished the game with 188 yards on the ground and 148 through the air.  Johnson led all players with 127 yards on 16 carries on one touchdown while Toney added 62 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries.  Poppell went 9-of-17 for 117 yards and an interception while Ehrlich was 4-of-11 for 31 yards and an interception.  Christian Taylor led the team with six catches for 69 yards.

The Cardinal defense was led by Padyn Giebler (Ivan/Stephenville HS) and Devin Haywood (San Antonio/Roosevelt HS) who each had nine tackles.  Robby Horton added eight tackles, two quarterback hurries and a pass breakup at defensive end.  Devan Avery (Converse/Wagner HS) picked up his first interception of the year.

Jeremy Aguiler led the Javelina defense with seven tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, a sack and a punt block.  The Javelinas held a 7:38 advantage in time of possession, but committed 10 penalties for 90 yards while the Cardinals had five penalties for 35 yards.

The Cardinals are back in action next Saturday at home against McMurry with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m.
####
pr12104smm