SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – A poor first quarter prevented the University of the Incarnate Word football team from putting a bigger scare in visiting Sam Houston State on Saturday night.  The Cardinals battled to a 40-19 loss at Benson Stadium after falling behind 23-0 in the first quarter of their Southland Conference matchup.

"There was a time when we were down 33-19 and I really thought we had a chance to win," said UIW head coach Larry Kennan.  "I'm really proud of our effort and we just need to keep getting better.  Right now we are playing a lot of freshmen who are getting valuable experience, but are making freshman mistakes and need to mature as a team."


The Cardinals (2-8, 2-5) started the game poorly, but the team was able to flip the script a bit.  They allowed a 99-yard scoring drive on the Bearkats' (6-4, 5-1) first possession of the game and then snapped the ball over quarterback Jordan Scelfo's (Tucson, AZ/Salpointe HS) head for a safety on their second offensive play of the game. 

UIW was able to force the Bearkats to punt after the free kick, but then gave the momentum right back to the visitors.  The Cardinals attempted a fake punt on their next possession that did not succeed and it gave SHSU the ball inside the 20-yard line. Two plays later, Keshawn Hill bulled his way in for a touchdown to make it 16-0 after just 9:38.

The Bearkats were not finished in a first quarter that seemed like it would never end.  They quickly forced the Cardinals to punt and then drove 63 yards in nine plays.  Hill scored on his second 1-yard plunge of the quarter and it looked like a blowout was in the making.

The Cardinals gained composure on the next drive and showed they would be combatants in the contest.  They gained at least nine yards on five of their first six plays of the drive and scored on a 1-yard pass from Scelfo to John Oglesby (Katy/Seven Lakes HS) with 12:15 left in the second quarter.

The Cardinals forced their first turnover of the game on the Bearkats' third play of the quarter when Jerome McElroy (Oakland, CA/Temecula Valley HS) sacked Jared Johnson and forced a fumble that was recovered by Joel Higgins (Austin/Sweeny HS) at the SHSU 10-yard line.  An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on offense prevented a good chance at a touchdown, but Ramon Coto, Jr. (Houston/Westfield HS) made it 23-10 with a 42-yard field goal with 10:31 left in the half.

The Bearkats came back with their third long scoring drive of the half.  They went 70 yards in 12 plays with the big play being a designed quarterback draw by Johnson that picked up a first down on third-and-7.  Johnson connected with Gerald Thomas for a 5-yard score with 6:34 left in the half, the second time those two combined on a touchdown.

It looked like the score would remain 30-10 at halftime, but Adrian Norwood (Waco/Waco HS) stepped in front of a pass from Johnson with less than a minute to play and returned it 26 yards into Bearkat territory.  Scelfo hit Jordan Hicks (Arlington/Juan Seguin HS) for 23 yards and then picked up 17 yards on a scramble.  After killing the clock with 15 seconds left, Scelfo hit Daryl Brooks (Teague/Teague HS) for an 8-yard score with 10 ticks left in the half.  Jacobi Hunter blocked the extra point to keep the score at 30-16 going into halftime.

Each team started slowly in the second half with a total of four punts in the first 8:38.  On the Cardinals third drive of the quarter, Scelfo was forced into a bad pass that was intercepted by Trenier Orr and returned six yards to the UIW 23-yard line.  SHSU could not move the ball, but Luc Swimberghe drilled a 41-yard field goal with 5:00 left in the third quarter.

The Cardinals put together a strong drive following the field goal.  They converted a pair of third downs before the end of the quarter and were at the SHSU 28-yard line when the quarter ended.  Two more first downs gave the team first-and-goal at the 7-yard line, but they could not punch it in and had to settle for a 20-yard field goal by Coto with 7:16 left.

The Bearkats put the game out of reach on the ensuing possession.  Johnson connected with Yedidah Louis on a 43-yard pass that flipped the field and then they moved into the Red Zone thanks to a pass interference call.  Johnson hit Josh Reynolds for a 13-yard score with 10:02 remaining.

The Cardinals had 18 first downs in the game and gained 271 yards of total offense.  Junior Sessions (Mesquite/Mesquite HS) led the team with 52 yards rushing on 15 carries while Scelfo added 33 yards.  Scelfo was 21-of-38 for 213 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.  Hicks was his favorite target with five grabs for 59 yards.  Hicks led all players with 148 all-purpose yards.  UIW converted 5-of-13 on third down and had the ball for 28:26.

The UIW defense held the Bearkats to 192 yards over the final three quarters and forced a season-high three turnovers.  Robert Johnson (Richmond, CA/Berkeley HS) led the team with 11 tackles while Josh Zellars (Baytown/Baytown Lee HS) added nine stops.  The team had four sacks for a third straight game, including Corey Lee (Humble/La Porte HS) who recorded his team high fifth sacks and now has a school record 14.5 tackles for loss this year.

The Bearkats tallied 377 yards of offense with 189 on the ground and 188 through the air.  They were 9-of-16 on third downs and had the ball for 31:34.  Hill led the ground attack with 79 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries while Donavan Williams added 55 yards on 11 carries.  Johnson was 13-of-20 for 188 yard, three touchdowns and an interception through the air.  Thomas had four catches for 47 yards and two scores while Louis and Jeffrey Thomas each had at least 50 yards receiving.

The SHSU defense was led by Jarrell Oliver who had five tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss and a forced fumble.  Lachlan Edwards had a good punting game averaging 53.3 yards on three kicks.

The Cardinals honored 16 seniors prior to the game and will close out their season next Saturday at Lamar with kickoff slated for 6 p.m.
####
pr14523smm