SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – The University of the Incarnate Word football team opens the 2014 season on Saturday at 6 p.m. against Sacramento State at Benson Stadium.
The Cardinals are coming off their first winning season in 2013 when they went 6-5. The team will be competing in its first season as a full member of the Southland Conference and is playing all NCAA FCS opponents this year. The Cardinals return a lot of talent from last year with eight starters on offense and seven starters on defense back from a year ago,
The UIW offense set school records for rushing and passing yards in 2013. Sophomore quarterback
Trent Brittain (Eastland/Eastland HS) is back under center after setting school records for completions (178), attempts (325) and passing yards (1893). He was named to the College Football Performance Awards (CFPA) Quarterback Watch List over the summer. His favorite target is senior
Casey Jennings (Fremont, CA/Washington HS) who hauled in 54 receptions for 738 yards in 2013, both school records.
The Cardinals running game should be strong with their top four runners back from 2013. Sophomore
Broderick Reeves (Mexia/Mexia HS) led the team with 616 yards, 11 touchdowns and 6.7 yards per carry. He was named to the CFPA Running Backs Watch List this summer. Fellow sophomore
Junior Sessions (Mesquite/Mesquite HS) picked up 536 yards and five touchdowns on the ground last year while Brittain added 392 yards and
John Oglesby (Katy/Seven Lakes HS) added 254 yards. In addition,
Joseph Sadler (Devine/Devine HS) is back after red-shirting last year and should provide a great third down threat.
The offensive line should be a solid group with three starters returning. Senior center
Devin Threat (Mexia/Mexia HS), and junior tackles
Nathan Thompson (San Antonio/MacArthur HS) and
Horace Hayes (Schertz/Clemens HS) have a combined total of 55 career starts.
Defensively, the Cardinals are young on the line with junior
Robert Moorman (Bulverde/Smithson Valley HS) the lone returning starter. They are backed up by a strong group of linebackers that goes eight players deep. Senior
Nick Ginn (Corpus Christi/Calallen HS) is the top returning tackler of the group after making 41 stops and 7.5 tackles for loss last year.
Juston Edwards (Pasadena/Dobie HS) and
Padyn Giebler (Ivan/Stephenville HS) are both returning starters.
In the secondary, the Cardinals have a pair of excellent corner backs in junior
Kobie Douglas (Plano/Plano HS) and sophomore
Daryl Irby (Pearland/Dawson HS). Douglas led the team with three interceptions in 2013 while Irby led the squad with five pass breakups. At safety, junior
Brandon Tanksley (Katy/Morton Ranch HS) led the team with 58 tackles last year despite only starting five games.
The Hornets went 5-7 last year and bring back an explosive offense led by quarterback Garrett Safron who was second team all-Big Sky in 2013. He passed for 3,289 yards and 27 touchdowns while tossing only 13 interceptions. He also led the team with 492 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground. His top receiver is DeAndre Carter who had 64 receptions for 934 yards and 14 touchdowns last year.
The Hornets gave up 33 points per game in 2013. Their top returning defensive players are Darnell Sankey who had 65 tackles, 6.0 sacks and 9.5 tackles for loss last year. Russell Smith is the top returning tackler with 78.
The Cardinals are under the direction of third-year head coach
Larry Kennan while the Hornets are led by first-year head coach Jody Sears. The game will be broadcast on KKYX 680 AM and online at
www.uiwlive.com with Gabe Farias and Shawn Morris on the call. The game will also feature Instant Replay with the Southland Conference taking the lead as the first FCS conference to institute the feature into their games this year.
####
pr14348smm
