Box Score BEAUMONT, TEXAS – The University of the Incarnate Word football team lost their final game of the season on Saturday night at Southland Conference rival Lamar University, 31-20 at Provost Umphrey Stadium.

Incarnate Word held Lamar to nearly 100 yards under their season average for offensive yards per game.  UIW struggled to move the ball in the first and third quarters and it prevented them from grabbing an upset win on the road.

The UIW Cardinals fell behind despite forcing two punts and a turnover on the LU Cardinals first three drives.  Padyn Giebler (Ivan/Stephenville HS) picked off a Caleb Berry pass on the third drive of the game giving UIW the ball at their own 40-yard line.  After getting into LU territory they were stopped on fourth down.

Later in the first quarter, Jordan Scelfo (Tucson, AZ/Salpointe HS) was sacked by Ronnie Jones and fumbled the ball.  It was recovered by LU's Omar Tebo at the UIW 26.  Lamar moved the ball down to the 3-yard line when Kade Harrington converted a fourth down with a 2-yard run.  On the next play, he scored from 1-yard out to make it 7-0 with 3:02 left in the first quarter.

Lamar quickly made it 14-0.  They forced UIW into a quick punt and Harrington picked up 36 yards on the first play of the drive.  From there, Berry completed an important 21-yard pass to Jayce Nelson and then closed out the drive with an 8-yard scoring pass to Gratian Gladney with 11:50 left in the half.

It looked like UIW might be in trouble after gaining only one yard before having to punt again.  Fortunately, Harrington fumbled on the next play following the punt and Robert Johnson was there for the recovery at the LU 35-yard line.  Broderick Reeves (Mexia/Mexia HS) scampered 35 yards on the ensuing play for a touchdown for UIW.  It was Reeves' longest run of the season.  The score was 14-6 after a missed extra point with 10:41 left in the half.

Lamar responded with a touchdown drive that included two third down conversions and a fourth down conversion.  Devonn Brown got the drive started with a 41-yard kick return.  Berry picked up the most important yards of the drive when he scrambled five yards when facing fourth-and-3 at the UIW 34-yard line.  On the 12^th play of the drive, Berry connected with Nelson on a 9-yard touchdown pass with 5:19 left in the half.

UIW kept it a one possession ball game by going 75 yards in four plays.  Scelfo hit Kent Hadnot on a 49-yard pass play and then Reeves carried the ball 25 yards for his second score of the night with 3:53 remaining in the second quarter. 

The Cardinals nearly broke through for another score before halftime.  They forced a quick Lamar punt and then drove 48 yards into the Red Zone.  Unfortunately, a Scelfo pass was intercepted by Lloyd Julian at the LU 8-yard line and returned to the 26 to keep the score at 21-13 heading into the break.

UIW received the ball to start the second half, but had to punt.  Lamar answered with their first big play of the game.  On third-and-10, Berry hit Mark Roberts for a 78-yard touchdown pass to make it 28-13.  Lamar tacked on three more points before the end of the quarter on a 26-yard Juan Carranco field goal with 42 seconds left.

The fourth quarter opened with four straight punts before UIW embarked on a long scoring drive.  The Cardinals got the ball at their own 32-yard line with 10:52 remaining.  They converted a third down and two fourth downs on the drive and they eventually scored on a 2-yard pass from Scelfo to Daryl Brooks with 5:30 to play.

The UIW score made it 31-20 in favor of Lamar, but that was as close as it got.  Lamar picked up a pair of first downs on the ensuing drive and it was enough to run out the clock on Incarnate Word's season.

Reeves led the UIW offense with his best game of the season.  He picked up 99 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries.  Hadnot led the receivers with two catches for 59 yards.  Scelfo was 17-of-44 for 158 yards, one touchdown and one interception while having his streak of three consecutive 200-yard passing games, snapped.

Giebler led the UIW defense with a season high 13 tackles and the interception.  Senior Nick Ginn (Corpus Christi/Calallen HS) closed out his career with six tackles, a tackle for loss and three pass breakups from his outside linebacker spot.  Ramon Coto, Jr. (Houston/Westfield HS) had a strong day punting with a 47.7 average and a long of 65 yards.

Harrington and Roberts were the big gainers for Lamar.  Harrington carried the ball 25 times for 143 yards and a touchdown while Roberts had four catches for 124 yards and a score.  Berry finished 17-of-33 for 234 yards, three touchdowns and an interception.  Ronnie Jones was the star of the defense with 12 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks and a forced fumble.

This was the second time the Cardinals and Cardinals have matched up and each time Lamar has won the game.  UIW closed out the 2014 season with a 2-9 record and a 2-6 mark in the conference.  Lamar is now 7-4 with a 4-3 Southland Conference record.
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