HUNTSVILLE, TEXAS – The University of the Incarnate Word football team has a large chore in front of them when they travel Southland Conference rival Sam Houston State University on Saturday for a 6 p.m. kickoff at Elliott T. Bowers Stadium.
The Cardinals (3-2, 2-1) will have their hands full against the powerful Bearkats (2-2, 2-1) who are ranked #11 in the country in the latest STATS FCS poll. The game will be shown on Fox College Sports Central on Dish Network channel 450 and on DirecTV channel 608-1. Gabe Farias and Shawn Morris will be on the call for the Cardinals Radio Network on CBS SportsRadio 860 AM and online at
www.tsrnsports.com.
The Cardinals are coming off a strong performance in their 45-31 win over Northwestern State last week. The offense has gained as many yards in the last two games as they had in the first three combined. Sophomore quarterback
Trent Brittain (Eastland/Eastland HS) directs the attack. He is completing 52.6 percent of his passes for 999 yards, six touchdowns and four interceptions. He has picked up 220 yards and four touchdowns on the ground.
Junior
Broderick Reeves (Mexia/Mexia HS) leads the UIW ground game with 235 yards on 5.1 yards per carry. He surpassed 100 yards against Northwestern State for the first time since the 2013 season. Senior tight end
Cole Wick (Hallettsville/Sacred Heart Catholic) leads the team with 18 receptions for 299 yards. Sophomores
Kody Edwards (Mesquite/Poteet HS) and
Jamari Gilbert (Baytown/Lee HS) have each had breakout performances over the past two weeks. Edwards has 14 grabs for 189 yards while Gilbert has 196 yards on eight catches.
The UIW defense is rated highly in the Southland Conference in numerous categories. They are second in total defense, interceptions, opponent first downs and kickoff coverage. They are third in scoring defense, passing defense and opponent third down conversion rate. In addition, they are the least penalized team in the conference.
The defense is led by senior outside linebacker
Myke Tavarres (Lake Oswego, OR/Lake Ridge HS) who was the Southland Defensive Player of the Week after recording 15 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss against Northwestern State. He leads the conference with 10 tackles for loss and is in the top five with 49 tackles. Senior cornerback
Kobie Douglas (Plano/Plano HS) is third in the conference with six pass breakups on the year. Linebackers
Josh Zellars (Baytown/Lee HS) and
Padyn Giebler (Ivan/Stephenville HS) are both averaging at least 8.0 tackles per game.
In the kicking game, Ramon Coto (Houston/Westfield HS) is averaging 40.5 yards per punt and he has nine touchbacks on 24 kickoffs.
Cody Seidel (Keller/Fossil Ridge HS) is a perfect 11-for-11 on extra-point tries and 4-for-6 on field goal attempts.
The Bearkats boast a potent offense that is averaging 47.0 points and 588.5 yards per game behind the two-headed quarterback monster of Jared Johnson and Jeremiah Briscoe. Johnson is 59-of-92 for 674 yards, four touchdowns and one interception while rushing for a team high 221 yards and four scores. Briscoe is 52-of-78 for 712 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions.
The Bearkats have four players with at least 45 rushing yards per game and at least 4.2 yards per carry. Donavan Williams leads the team with six rushing touchdowns. The receiving corp has four players with at least 15 grabs. Yedidiah Louis has 22 catches for 312 yards and Gerald Thomas has 16 catches for 325 yards and three scores. Louis is averaging 28.0 yards per punt return while Thomas is averaging 12.1 yards per punt return and each has a touchdown.
Defensively, the Bearkats are allowing 37.5 points and 479.8 yards per game. Mikell Everette leads the team with 21 tackles while James De La Rosa has a team high four tackles for loss. Defensive lineman P.J. Hall is on the FCS Defensive Player of the Year Watch List and has 11 tackles with one sack this season.
The Bearkats have won all three previous meetings between the two teams. Last year, Sam Houston State jumped out to a quick lead and held on for a 40-19 win in San Antonio.
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