SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – The University of the Incarnate Word football team put together a dominating offensive performance in their 45-31 win over visiting Southland Conference rival Northwestern State University on Saturday at Benson Stadium.

After falling behind 14-0, the Cardinals (3-2, 2-1) scored on seven of their next eight possessions to take control of the game.  In the second half, the only time the team did not score was when they ran out the clock at the end of the game.  Sophomore quarterback Trent Brittain (Eastland/Eastland HS) had the best game of his career passing for 259 yards and two touchdowns and rushing for 57 yards and three scores.

While the Cardinals offense shined bright, the defense was there when needed.  Robert Johnson's (Richmond, CA/Berkeley HS) interception late in the third quarter and fourth-and-inches stop by Myke Tavarres (Lake Oswego, OR/Lake Ridge HS) on back-to-back possessions gave UIW the big plays they needed.

The game started poorly for the Cardinals.  They received the opening kickoff and went 3-and-out.  The Demons (0-5, 0-3) quickly marched down the field to take the lead.  J.D. Almond completed a long 36-yard pass down the sidelines to Cody Jones on third-and-long to keep the drive alive.  Chris Jones punched in the score on a nice 10-yard run with 11:05 left in the first quarter.

The Cardinals had a missed field goal and a punt on their next two drives giving the ball to Northwestern State at the UIW 40-yard line.  De'Mar Llorens did most of the work picking up 29 yards on four carries, but it was Daniel Taylor scoring from 1-yard out that made it 14-0 in favor of the visitors with 1:08 left in the opening quarter.

The Cardinals started to take control of the game following the Taylor score.  On the next drive, Brittain hit Kody Edwards (Mesquite/Poteet HS) for a big 28-yard gain and then on a 32-yard scoring strike on the first play of the second quarter to cut the lead in half.

The Demons came right back with a 12-play, 75-yard drive that ate up 5:13 on the clock.  Almond started the drive with a 30-yard pass to Tuff McClain.  On third-and-goal from the 1-yard line it was Llorens who snuck over the goal line for a touchdown to make it 21-7 with 9:41 left in the half.

The teams traded punts and then the Cardinals started to really roll.  Broderick Reeves (Mexia/Mexia HS) opened the drive with a 19-yard scamper to get the sticks moving.  Facing a fourth-and-5 at the NSU 34-yard line, Brittain completed a 7-yard pass to freshman Lamont Johnson (DeSoto/South Oak Cliff HS) for a critical first down.  Brittain followed that with a 26-yard strike to Edwards and would later score on a 2-yard run with 26 seconds left in the half.

Coming out of halftime, the Cardinals defense forced a quick punt by the Demons and then the offense took over.  An 18-yard run by Reeves moved the ball deep into Northwestern State territory and then his 23-yard touchdown run tied the score with 10:40 left in the third quarter.

The Demons responded with a long drive that stalled out in the Red Zone.  Padyn Giebler (Ivan/Stephenville HS) stuffed Llorens on back-to-back runs to force a field goal try.  Chris Moore booted it through from 32 yards to make it a 24-21 game with 6:27 left in the third.

The Cardinals took their first lead of the game on their next possession.  They drove 66 yards in 13 plays and picked up five first downs in the process.  Reeves had an 18-yard run to put the team in the Red Zone and it was Brittain scoring on a quarterback sneak with 23 seconds left in the quarter to make it 28-24 UIW.

Starting the fourth quarter, the Demons were looking to go back on top.  On second-and-3 from their own 35-yard line, Almond tried to get it all back with a long bomb, but Johnson was able to make a miraculous interception as he was falling to the ground.  Two plays later, Brittain faked a handoff and sprinted 47 yards for a touchdown to make it 35-24 with 13:11 remaining in the game.

On the next Northwestern State drive it was Tavarres and got around the offensive line and tackled Joe Blumenthal for a loss of two yards on fourth-and-inches.  UIW scored four plays later on a little pass from Brittain to John Oglesby (Katy/Seven Lakes HS) from seven yards out.

The Demons tried to get back into the game and briefly pulled to within 11 points after a 51-yard touchdown run by Daniel Taylor with 8:26 remaining.

The Cardinals went to the running game and moved the ball 55 yards in 10 plays before settling for a 37-yard field goal by Cody Seidel (Keller/Fossil Ridge HS) with 2:54 left.
Northwestern State was able to move the ball down the field, but then stalled once they got to the UIW 1-yard line.  Two incompletions and a run for a loss brought up fourth down and Stephen Rivers' pass fell incomplete giving the ball and the game to the Cardinals.

The Cardinals finished with 478 yards of total offense, their most ever against an NCAA Division I opponent.  They had 219 yards on the ground and 259 through the air.  Brittain was 20-of-32 passing for 259 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions and accounted for a career high five touchdowns.  Reeves picked up 116 yards on 19 carries giving him his first 100-yard performance since 2013.  Dorland Fields (Sweeny/Sweeny HS) added 48 yards on nine carries.  Edwards posted his first career 100-yard performance with five catches for 115 yards and a score.  Nine different players had at least one catch.

The defense settled down after the first quarter.  Tavarres led the team with a season high 15 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss giving him and even 10 on the season.  Josh Zellars (Baytown/Baytown Lee HS) and Giebler each had double-digit tackles as well.  Johnson and Sean Hoeferkamp (Austin/Westwood HS) each had an interception accounting for the only two turnovers of the game.

The Demons ended up running 80 offensive plays and gained 477 yards of offense with 242 on the ground and 235 through the air.  Llorens led the team with 98 yards on 20 carries while Taylor finished with 63 yards and two scores on six carries.  Chris Jones chipped in with 54 yards on 11 carries.  Almond went 14-of-23 for 159 yards and two interceptions and Rivers was 5-for-10 for 63 yards.  Jones led the team with six receptions for 90 yards.  Darius Poullard and Jacob Merriman each led the team with eight tackles.

The Cardinals travel to nationally-ranked Sam Houston State next Saturday for a 6 o'clock kickoff that can be heard on CBS SportsRadio 860 AM.
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