SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – The University of the Incarnate Word football team was unable to preserve their perfect home record on Saturday afternoon at Benson Stadium where they lost to visiting Southland Conference rival Lamar University, 28-21 on Military Appreciation and Senior Day.
UIW will look back at a game they could have won, but a few costly mistakes proved to be the difference in the game as the team fell to 5-5 and 4-4 in the conference. Lamar rode the legs of star running back Kade Harrington to the victory to improve to 5-5 with a 4-4 conference mark.
Statistically, the two teams were remarkably similar. Incarnate Word finished with 359 yards of total offense, 20 first downs and 30:09 in time of possession while Lamar had 355 yards of total offense, 21 first downs and 29:51 in time of possession. Each team returned an interception for a touchdown as well. The game was a defensive battle through the first three quarters and then the offenses opened up in the fourth quarter.
The game began perfectly for the visitors. They received the opening kickoff and proceeded to methodically march down the field. They picked up four first downs on the drive and converted a pair of third downs, including a 9-yard touchdown run by Harrington with 10:09 left in the first quarter capping off the 10-play, 75-yard drive.
Incarnate Word followed with a pair of solid drives into Lamar territory, but they were forced to punt on the first and were intercepted on the second. UIW punted on their third drive as well.
Midway through the second quarter, Lamar gave Carson Earp a chance at quarterback to spell starter Joe Minden. Unfortunately for LU, that turned into a game-changing decision in favor of UIW. Defensive end
Justin Roberts (San Antonio/Steele HS) picked off Earp's first pass and rumbled 31 yards for a game-tying touchdown after breaking a pair of tackles.
Each team would have one more chance before halftime. Lamar was thwarted when
Troy Lara (San Antonio/Madison HS) intercepted his second pass of the game. UIW turned the ball over on downs in Lamar territory and the game went to halftime tied at 7-7.
Midway through the third quarter, UIW embarked on a potential go-ahead drive. They picked up three first downs, all on
Trent Brittain (Eastland/Eastland HS) completions and had first down at the LU 26-yard line. Brittain's next pass was on the money to his intended receiver, but was bobbled up in the air and Lamar's Brendan Langley picked off the pass at the 14-yard line. He followed that with a weaving 86-yard interception return for a touchdown to put the visitors on top, 14-7 with 3:38 left in the third quarter.
Incarnate Word went three-and-out on their next drive and then Harrington gave Lamar a 14-point cushion when he burst through the middle for a 45-yard touchdown run on the first play of the fourth quarter. The touchdown run was made possible when a UIW unsportsmanlike conduct penalty kept the drive alive.
UIW responded immediately. After a touchback, Brittain connected with
Kody Edwards (Mesquite/Poteet HS) on a 73-yard pass play.
Junior Sessions (Mesquite/Mesquite HS) followed with a 2-yard touchdown run to make it 21-14 with 14:14 remaining.
Lamar followed with their best drive of the game. They went 84 yards in 11 plays and took up 5:15. Minden connected with Martell Hawthorne on a 7-yard touchdown pass on third-and-goal with 8:50 remaining.
The UIW Cardinals would not go away as they pulled to within 28-21 on their next possession. Brittain converted a fourth-and-1 from midfield with a 5-yard pass to
Jordan Hicks (Arlington/Seguin HS). Later in the drive, it was Lamar that kept the home team in the game with three penalties that resulted in first downs. Brittain capped off the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run with 3:44 left on the clock.
On the ensuing kickoff, Lamar had 10 players up expecting an on-sides kicks, but UIW instead pooched one over their heads. The ball bounced a few times and was nearly recovered by Incarnate Word, but it went out of bounds giving the ball to Lamar. The visitors were able to run out the clock with a pair of first downs.
UIW finished with only 46 yards on the ground as Sessions led the way with 39 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries. Brittain went 25-of-48 for 313 yards and two interceptions through the air, breaking a school record for most pass attempts in a game and he became the first player in the program's history to pass for more than 2,000 yards in a season in the contest. Edwards led all players with seven catches for 143 yards while Hicks finished with four grabs for 61 yards.
Clint Killough (San Antonio/MacArthur HS) added six catches for 40 yards.
On defense,
Josh Zellars (Baytown/Lee HS) and
Myke Tavarres (Lake Oswego, OR/Lake Ridge HS) each had over 10 tackles. Zellars had 15 stops and a tackle for loss while Tavarres had 12 tackles and a pair of quarterback hurries. Lara had two interceptions and a pass breakup.
Harrington led the Lamar offense with 217 yards and two touchdowns on 31 total carries. He went over 2,000 rushing yards for the season in the game becoming just the seventh player in Division I history to accomplish the feat in 10 games. Emmitt Raleigh also ran well picking up 44 yards on 11 carries. Overall, they had 282 yards on the ground. Minden finished 9-of-17 for 73 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions through the air. Reggie Begelton had four grabs for 35 yards.
On the defense, Lamar had three sacks in the game as Larance Hale, Ronnie Jones and Matt Johnson were each credited with one. Langley led the team with seven tackles and three pass breakups plus his game-changing interception for a touchdown.
UIW travels next week to Houston Baptist University for their final game of the season. A win would secure the program's second winning season and first winning Southland Conference record. The Cardinals are now 4-1 at home and 1-4 on the road this year.
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