SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – Junior wide receiver Jordan Hicks (Arlington/Juan Seguin HS) had a coming out party for the University of the Incarnate Word football team on Saturday and it could not have come at a better time.

The Cardinals (1-0) trailed visiting Texas A&M-Kingsville, 9-3 in the second half when Hicks returned a punt 66 yards for a touchdown.  In the fourth quarter, his 14-yard touchdown reception in the back of the end zone provided the tying score of an 18-16 UIW victory at Benson Stadium with San Antonio mayor Ivy Taylor watching.

"The guys on the sideline kept telling me I was going to get one (punt return) and I was just trying to stay patient," said Hicks.  "Brandon Tanksley (Katy/Morton Ranch HS) gave me a great block and everybody else did their jobs on the play."

"We pounded it down their throats and caught them slipping one time and then Coach saw that the corner route was going to be open," said Hicks about his touchdown catch.

It had been three years since the Cardinals and Javelinas (0-1), former Lone Star Conference rivals, last played each other, but the rivalry was still intact on the opening day of the 2015 season.  Heading into the game, UIW fans were excited about the return of quarterback Trent Brittain (Eastland/Eastland HS) who missed all but 11 minutes of last year.

The Cardinals had their chances in the early going and dominated play through much of the first quarter and a half of the contest.  Unfortunately, the turnover bug bit the team.  The first three drives ended on the Javelina side of the field with a fumble, missed field goal and an interception.  UIW finally got on the board after a 13-play 68-yard drive ended in a 29-yard field goal by Cody Seidel (Keller/Fossil Ridge HS) with 11:37 left in the second quarter.

After the field goal, everything went downhill quickly for the Cardinals.  On their next possession they went 3-and-out and then the ball was snapped over the punter's head through the end zone for a safety.  The Javelinas immediately went on top on the ensuing drive.  They went 77 yards in 10 plays with the big play a 35-yard pass from Myles Carr to Anthony Autry that was originally ruled a touchdown, but instant replay put Autry down at the 1-yard line.  Two plays later Joe Te'o rumbled in for the score to make it 9-3 with 3:39 left in the first half.

On the Cardinals first play from scrimmage after the touchdown they fumbled again giving the ball back to the Javelinas at the 29-yard line.  The UIW defense stood strong and Alex Jenkins (Bath, Eng./St. Gregory's) was able to block Julio de la Garza's field goal attempt.

The Cardinals followed the Jenkins block with another drive into Javelina territory, but a fumble gave the ball away with 51 seconds to play in the half.  UIW would get the ball back one more time in the half after Jawun Jiles (Farmerville, LA/Byrd HS) that gave the team the ball at the A&M-Kingsville 35-yard line.  The Cardinals picked up six yards and then missed a field goal before halftime.

In the second half, the Cardinals defense came up with a big play in the early going.  The Javelinas had driven into the red zone when Carr tried a pass into the end zone that was picked off by safety Sean Hoeferkamp (Austin/Westwood HS).

UIW put together a nice drive following the interception, but were eventually stopped at the Javelina 17-yard line when they were unable to convert a fourth-and-1 run.  The defense quickly forced a 3-and-out for Kingsville and then Hicks performed some magic when he returned the punt 66 yards for a touchdown while receiving a key block from Brandon Tanksley (Katy/Morton Ranch HS) on the play.  That gave the Cardinals a 10-9 lead with 4:29 left in the third quarter.

The Javelinas came right back with their best drive of the day going 69 yards in just six plays.  Carr hit Shawn Vasquez with a swing pass that he took 17 yards for a touchdown down the right sideline giving the Javelinas a 16-10 lead with 1:50 left in the third quarter.

At the start of the fourth quarter, the Cardinals went 59 yards in 14 plays and moved the ball into the red zone where they were once again stopped on fourth and short by the A&M-Kingsville defense.  The UIW defense responded by forcing another punt and the team took over at their own 21-yard line with 7:01 remaining in the game.

Brittain had been mostly quiet for the Cardinals until this point when he rolled left and found ample running room.  He spurted 57 yards down the sideline before finally being forced out of bounds.  Three plays later, Brittain lofted a perfect pass into the back left corner of the end zone for Hicks on third-and-2 from the 14-yard line.  Hicks got his foot in bounds to tie the game at 16-16 with 5:04 remaining.  On the extra point try, Seidel's attempt was blocked by Zamarcus Green and the ball bounced right back to Seidel who ran into the end zone unmolested for the pivotal two-point conversion.

On the Javelinas' final drive of the game, they were able to move the ball to midfield, but then Josh Zellars (Baytown/Lee HS) took over for the Cardinals.  The linebacker stopped Greg Pitre for a 3-yard loss on a screen pass and then sacked Carr on fourth down to get the ball back.  The Cardinals needed two first downs to ice the game and they were able to on a 16-yard run by Brittain and a 10-yard scamper by Dorland Fields (Sweeny/Sweeny HS).

Brittain finished the game with a career high 109 yards rushing leading a ground attack that picked up 219 yards overall, the highest by the Cardinals since 2013.  Field finished with 55 yards on 13 carries while Junior Sessions (Mesquite/Mesquite HS) added 53 yards on 13 carries.  Brittain was 15-of-30 for 160 yards, a touchdown and an interception through the air.  Hicks led the team with five grabs for 52 yards and a score while tight end Cole Wick (Hallettsville/Sacred Heart Catholic) added 43 yards on three receptions.  The team committed four turnovers and was 7-of-17 on third down conversions, but was just 2-of-6 in the red zone.

The UIW defense held the Javelinas to 269 total yards of offense.  They had three sacks and nine tackles for loss.  Myke Tavarres (Lake Oswego, OR/Lake Ridge HS) had six tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, a sack and a pass breakup in his first game with the club.  Zellars led the team with 11 tackles, a forced fumble and a sack.

The Javelina offense was led by Carr who finished 16-of-27 for 176 yards, a touchdown and an interception.  Jordan Thomas had four catches for 51 yards while Autry finished with three grabs for 45 yards.  Te'o led the rushing attack with eight carries for 34 yards and a score.  They were limited to 14 first downs and were 5-of-15 on third down conversions while holding possession for 28:46.

The Kingsville defense was led by Green's nine tackles.  Trevor Moses and Joe Crowe were each credited with sacks.

This was the first time the Cardinals have defeated A&M-Kingsville in four tries.  The last three games of the series have all been decided by three points or less.  Jordan Hicks' 66-yard punt return was the second longest in school history and first that was not the result of a blocked punt.  The attendance figure for the game was 5,229 making it the fourth most fans in school history.  Thre of the top four attendance games at UIW have come against Texas A&M-Kingsville.

The Cardinals travel next week to nationally ranked McNeese State for their Southland Conference opener on Saturday at 6 p.m.
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