WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS – The University of the Incarnate Word football team is back on the road this week when they travel to #14 Midwestern State on Saturday for a 7 p.m. kickoff.

The Cardinals (1-3, 0-2) will be looking for their first Lone Star Conference win of the season, but they will be going up against a tough Mustang (2-1, 2-1) squad.  The Mustangs are the only program that the Cardinals have played each season since the program's inception and MSU holds a 3-0 record in those games.

The Cardinals are hoping to bounce back from a 24-0 defeat against nationally-ranked West Texas A&M last week.  The return of Zach Rhodes (New Braunfels/New Braunfels HS) should energize the offense.  In his last appearance against Eastern New Mexico he rushed and passed for over 100 yards each.  He has a 122.2 passer efficiency rating this year.  Senior running back Trent Rios (Spring Branch/Smithson Valley HS) appears to be hitting his stride with a pair of solid performances in the past two weeks.  He leads the team with 237 yards rushing and three total touchdowns.

The Cardinal defense has been outstanding against the pass this year allowing only 165.5 yards per game which is second in the conference.  The trio of Dakota Mawyer (Spring Branch/Smithson Valley HS), Juan Asencio (Pflugerville/Hendrickson HS) and Devin Haywood (San Antonio/Roosevelt HS) each has at least 25 tackles on the season while Devan Avery (Converse/Wagner HS) has seven pass breakups.

The Mustangs are led by a devastating running attack.  They are averaging 314.3 yards per game on the ground and have five players averaging at least 38 yards per game.  Keidrick Jackson leads the team with 248 yards on the ground and six touchdowns.  Quarterback Brandon Kelsey was the national preseason player of the year on a few publications and is a running and passing threat.  Jared Freeman is the team's top wide receiver with 12 catches for 190 yards.

The game will be broadcast on TV on Time Warner Cable channel 888 in the San Antonio area.  The radio broadcast will be on KKYX 680 AM.
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