SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – The University of the Incarnate Word football team concludes their fourth competitive season and final season in NCAA Division II on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Benson Stadium against Lone Star Conference rival Abilene Christian.
The Cardinals (2-8, 1-6) are hoping to end a four-game losing streak and finish the season on a high note. The Wildcats (6-4, 3-4) are fresh off a 22-16 overtime victory over #13 West Alabama last week.
The Cardinals have 25 seniors playing the final game of their careers, including familiar names like
Trent Rios (Spring Branch/Smithson Valley HS),
Devan Avery (Converse/Judson HS),
Chaz Pavliska (Floresville/Floresville HS) and
Charles Segura (San Antonio/McCollum HS.
On offense the Cardinals rely upon running backs Rios and
Marcus Wright (San Antonio/Reagan HS). Rios has 388 yards rushing, 171 yards receiving and five touchdowns while averaging 4.5 yards per rush. Wright has 319 yards rushing and 384 kick return yards. He is averaging 4.9 yards per carry and has four total touchdowns. Freshman
Taylor Woods (Sugar Land/Fort Bend Austin HS) is the signal-caller and is 79-of-138 for 678 yards, five touchdowns and four interceptions.
The Cardinals defense is led by linebackers Mawyer and
Juan Asencio (Pflugerville/Hendrickson HS). Mawyer leads the team with 63 tackles while Asencio is second with 57 tackles while leading the team with 6.0 tackles for loss and 4.0 sacks. Avery leads the pass defense with an LSC best 11 pass breakups.
In special teams, senior
Saul Meza (San Antonio/O'Connor HS) is a perfect 4-for-4 on field goals and 7-for-7 on extra points. Punter
Emmanuel Nunez (Dallas/Seguin HS) leads the LSC and is sixth in the nation with a 43.4 average.
The Wildcats are led by senior quarterback Mitchell Gale who is on the verge of setting virtually every meaningful passing record in both the LSC and ACU history. He needs 312 yards passing to become the all-time leading in LSC and ACU history. He has 95 career touchdown passes and only 25 interceptions.
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