NACOGDOCHES, TEXAS – The University of the Incarnate Word football team plays the first of three consecutive road games on Saturday at 6 p.m. at Stephen F. Austin in a non-conference game against a Southland Conference opponent.
The Cardinals (0-1) dropped a 49-13 game last week at home to Sacramento State. The bad news for the team was losing starting quarterback
Trent Brittain (Eastland/Eastland HS) to a season-ending injury in the first quarter, but head coach
Larry Kennan expects the team to respond under backup quarterbacks
Taylor Woods (Sugar Land/Fort Bend Austin HS) and
Breylann McCollum (Cibolo/Steele HS). "Until they trust Taylor and Breylann to do the job it is not going to work," said Kennan during the Southland Conference Coaches Call this week. "Taylor is talented and will be ready to play. I expect him to play well and that everybody will rally together."
Woods played the majority of the game for the Cardinals on Saturday going 12-of-25 for 143 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He did not play much in 2013, but was under center a lot in 2012 attempting 163 passes for 782 yards and five touchdowns. Kennan cited the offensive line as a veteran group that played well on Saturday and can give the offense some confidence heading into the game against the Lumberjacks (0-1).
The Cardinals hope to get more accomplished in the running game this week. Sophomores
Broderick Reeves (Mexia/Mexia HS) and
Junior Sessions (Mesquite/Mesquite HS) never got going last week. Another running back, sophomore
Joseph Sadler (Devine/Devine HS) was the team's top offensive player against Sacramento State with six carries for 39 yards and three receptions for 49 yards and a touchdown.
It appears the Cardinals have solidified their place kicking with the arrival of freshman
Ramon Coto, Jr. (Houston/Westfield HS). He was named the Southland Conference Special Teams Player of the Week and the College Football Performance Awards National Place Kicker of the Week for his performance against Sacramento State. He booted two field goals in excess of 45 yards and drilled a pair of touchbacks on kickoffs.
According to Kennan, the UIW defense gave up too many big plays against the Hornets with seven plays accounting for 170 yards. The defense came up with some big plays of their own with
Corey Lee (Humble/LaPorte HS) making a pair of sacks,
Nick Ginn (Corpus Christi/Calallen HS) stopping two ball carriers for losses and Adrian Norwood (Waco/Waco HS) picked off a pass.
The Lumberjacks lost their season opener at No. 20 Kansas State, 55-16, but showed they can be a competitive team in the Southland this year. Last year, SFA had an outstanding offense, but a poor defense. Under former Central Arkansas head coach Clint Conque it can be assumed that the offense will remain strong and that the defense will be much improved.
The offense boasts a 1,000-yard rusher in senior Gus Johnson who had 1,061 yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground in 2013. He also had 969 yards and 14 scores in 2012. He should lighten the load on transfer quarterback Zach Conque who started last week and went 17-of-30 for 118 yards. Aaron Thomas was the top receiver at Kansas State with six grabs for 85 yards, but Tyler Boyd is coming off a 79-catch, 1,183-yard season last year at wide receiver.
Defensively, the Jacks figure to have a solid pass rush after picking up three sacks during the first week of the season. Collin Garrett is the top returning tackler on the team after making 88 stops in 2013. He had seven tackles and an interception at K-State.
The game will be played at Homer Bryce Stadium, SFA's home since 1973. It will be broadcast on CBS SportsRadio 860 AM in San Antonio with Gabe Farias and Shawn Morris on the call. The game can also be listened too online or mobile device at
www.uiwlive.com.
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