SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – Six turnovers thwarted any chances of an upset for the University of the Incarnate Word football team on Saturday against Homecoming opponent, #11 McNeese State University. However, the Cardinals showed plenty of fight in their 41-21 defeat.
The UIW defense held the Cowboys (5-2, 3-1) to 95 yards under their season average for rushing yards and just 120 total passing yards for the night. In the first half, the Cardinals (1-7, 1-5) limited the Cowboys to only 96 yards of total offense, but still found themselves trailing 28-0 at halftime.
McNeese State forced four turnovers on the first five UIW possessions of the game. The final two interceptions and fumble recovery in that sequence gave the Cowboys possession inside the Red Zone on each occasion. On the next change of possession, a 40-yard punt return by David Bush gave McNeese the ball at the UIW 27-yard line. In all four cases, the visitors found paydirt on short running plays. Dylan Long scored on a 1-yard run and two 2-yard runs while Ryan Ross scored on a 9-yard scamper.
The UIW offense was not able to do anything in the first half and went into the halftime break with five first downs and 58 yards of offense.
The second half proved to be completely different for the Cardinals and was one of their best halves of the season. It started with
Ramon Coto, Jr. (Houston/Westfield HS) kicking off to start the half and recovering his own surprise on-side kick for the second time this season. The Cardinals took advantage of the extra possession and were able to get on the scoreboard.
In his first career start at quarterback,
Jordan Scelfo (Tucson, AZ/Salpointe HS) got the UIW offense on track in the second half. On the first drive of the second half, he hit
Cole Wick (Hallettsville/Sacred Heart Catholic HS) for a 39-yard pass down the middle. Later in the drive, it looked like Scelfo had a touchdown pass to
John Oglesby (Katy/Seven Lakes HS), but it was overruled by replay and the ball was placed on the 1-yard line. Scelfo scored on a naked bootleg on fourth down from the 1-yard line to put UIW on the board.
The Cowboys responded with field goals on each of their next two drives to make it 34-7 with 3:37 left in the third quarter. Alex Kjellsten booted a 26-yarder while Jean Breaux drilled a 37-yarder.
On the ensuing possession, the Cardinals drove 77 yards in four plays. Scelfo hit
Kody Edwards (Mesquite/Mesquite Poteet HS) for a 20-yard gain to move the ball near midfield and then on the next play he hit
Jordan Hicks (Arlington/Seguin HS) on a deep pass over the middle that turned into a 52-yard touchdown with 2:07 left in the third quarter.
The Cardinals forced the Cowboys to punt on each of their next two drives, but could not take advantage. The second time the Cardinals got the ball, McNeese State's Brent Spikes effectively ended the game. He picked off Scelfo for a third time and returned the ball 45 yards for a touchdown with 7:17 left in the game. He set a school and Southland Conference record on the play with his total of 148 interception return yards in a single game.
The Cardinals came right back and marched down the field going 75 yards in 10 plays. Edwards and Oglesby both made great plays to keep the drive going with a pair of third down conversions. Oglesby capped off the drive with a 2-yard touchdown reception from Scelfo with 2:51 to play.
The Cardinals finished the game with 303 yards of total offense, eight more than the Cowboys. They converted 7-of-17 on third down and had 14 first downs. Scelfo finished the game 17-of-41 for 254 yards, two touchdowns and four interceptions. It was the second most passing attempts in a game by a UIW quarterback and the most passing yards since October 15, 2011 when Eric Massoni passed for 311 yards.
Scelfo's favorite target was Edwards who finished the night with a season high four grabs for 68 yards. Oglesby added three catches for 24 yards and a score while Wick added two receptions for 45 yards.
Junior Sessions (Mesquite/Mesquite HS) led the ground attack with 46 yards on 16 carries.
The UIW defense finished with 8.0 tackles for loss and four sacks.
Padyn Giebler (Ivan/Stephenville HS) had five stops, 2.0 tackles for loss and a sack while
Joel Higgins (Austin/Sweeny HS) and
Jerome McElroy (Oakland, CA/Temecula Valley HS) each had 1.5 tackles for loss.
Taryn Davis (Dallas/Carrollton Newman Smith HS) blocked a field goal in the first half.
The Cowboys finished with 295 yards of total offense and 14 first downs. They were 4-of-12 on third down conversions. Ross led the team with 64 yards rushing and a touchdown while Long had 60 yards and three touchdowns on 11 carries. Daniel Sams was 4-of-10 passing for 97 yards while Tyler Bolfing went 3-for-6 for 23 yards.
The McNeese State defense forced the Cardinals into a program record six turnovers, including five interceptions. Spikes did most of the damage with his three picks that turned into 21 points. Bush and Shea Nutt also had interceptions. Wallace Scott added five tackles, a tackle for loss and a forced fumble while Brian Hine had the team's lone sack of the night.
The Cardinals return to action next Saturday for a Southland Conference road game at Nicholls with kickoff slated for 6 p.m.
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