ABILENE, Texas -- For the first half of the game Saturday night, the University of the Incarnate Word's defensive unit struggled at Abilene Christian University's Wildcat Stadium. Then, after halftime, a series of key pass breakups and forced turnovers gave the Cardinals' high-octane offense the help it needed to fuel UIW's 44-34 victory.
 
The win gave the Cardinals their first 2-0 Southland Conference record in its ten years of football history. UIW is 2-2 overall, while ACU dropped to 2-3 overall and 1-2 in the SLC.
 
Behind 28-27 at the half, the UIW defenders forced two key possession changes, one a fourth-down stop, and another play that forced a punt after a prolonged possession. Then a pass interception, a forced fumble, a fumble return, and another late fourth-down stop provided the offense with the opportunity to take and seal the victory.
 
The Cardinal's potent offense contributed consistently. Ra'Quanne Dickens­ scored two touchdowns and rushed for 118 yards. Quarterback Jon Copeland passed for 258 yards, threw three touchdown passes, and caught a touchdown pass on a trick play. Kody Edwards had 133 yards receiving on his way to a record-breaking performance. The Cardinals compiled 425 yards in total offense.
 
After each team's first two possessions ended with punts, Abilene Christian took the lead when Billy McCrary burst through the line for a 31-yard touchdown run.
 
UIW answered with a 58-yard touchdown pass from Copeland to Edwards. With this play, Edwards broke the all-time Cardinal individual record for career pass receiving yardage, previously held by Dominic Hamilton at 1,627 yards set during his career from 2009-12.
 
Edwards would go on to establish the new career receiving record of 1,702 yards, which will grow with every remaining game of his senior season.
 
Abilene Christian answered UIW's score with an eight-play, 65-yard drive, capped by a 22-yard touchdown pass from Luke Anthony to Tyreese White, giving the Wildcats a 14-7 lead with 1:43 remaining in the first quarter.
 
The Cardinals knotted the score with 10 seconds remaining in the first quarter on an eight-yard touchdown pass from Copeland to Lamont Johnson. The play concluded a 75-yard, five-play drive, with the key play coming on a 39-yard pass from Copeland to Edwards that set up the touchdown play.
 
ACU took a 21-14 lead on its second drive of the subsequent quarter. Going 80 yards in ten plays, the Wildcats took advantage of a 43-yard pass from Anthony to Josh Fisk to establish themselves in UIW territory. Tracy James' one-yard touchdown run culminated the drive.
 
A 21-yard run by Copeland, followed by a 13-yard blast by Dickens, set up Dickens for a one-yard plunge that threatened to tie the game again. However, the Wildcats blocked Cody Seidel's point after touchdown, leaving ACU with a 21-20 lead with 8:13 left before halftime.
 
The Wildcats padded their lead by virtue of a 75-yard, 13-play drive that consumed six minutes and 14 seconds. Anthony's touchdown pass gave ACU a 28-20 margin.
 
With only 25 seconds remaining before halftime, when the Cardinals seemed to be pinned in their own territory, Dickens swept right, broke several tackles, and then outran Wildcat defenders along the right sideline for a 66-yard touchdown run. The ensuing PAT closed the halftime score to 28-27 in favor of Abilene Christian.
 
Two key Cardinal pass defense plays stopped promising ACU drives in the third quarter. Mar'kel Cooks batted down a fourth-down pass after an 11-play, 43-yard drive put the Wildcats in UIW territory. Then, on ACU's subsequent drive, Luke Termin broke up a third down pass that forced the Wildcats to punt.
 
The Cardinals took the lead with 3:30 remaining in the third period when Copeland handed the ball to wide receiver Lamont Johnson, who pitched to wide receiver Kam Williams, who found a wide-open Copeland for an 8-yard, go-ahead touchdown pass. The trickery capped an 89-yard, 10-play drive that made the score 34-28 in favor of UIW.
 
Then, a third key defensive play in the quarter put UIW in position to widen the gap. Jamarkese Williams intercepted Anthony's pass to give the Cardinals the ball in Wildcat territory. Rhett Marshall's 48-yard field goal extended UIW's lead to 37-28 with 57 seconds left in the third period.
 
The end of the third quarter saw the Cardinals' count of outstanding defensive plays run to four. Justin Alexandre sacked Wildcat quarterback Anthony, who fumbled. Cooks recovered for UIW and advanced the ball 17 yards to the ACU 28 as the quarter closed. Copeland exploited ACU's misfortune with a 21-yard touchdown pass to Phillip Baptiste, giving UIW a 16-point lead, 44-28, with 13:39 remaining in the game.
 
Abilene Christian responded with a 72-yard drive in 10 plays, consummated by Anthony's two-yard touchdown pass. Anthony's two-point conversion failed, however, leaving the Cardinals with a 10-point (44-34) victory for its second conference win of the season.
 
QUOTES FROM UIW HEAD COACH ERIC MORRIS
On the defense…
"The defense didn't play very well in the first half, but we made some adjustments and we came out and executed at a really high level in the second half. So as a coach, you know, it was disappointing in the first half because I know what those kids have in them, and then they came out and proved me right. That's what we talked about at halftime: 0-0. Then they came out and did what I know they're capable of. We just have to be good as coaches to get them mentally prepared."
 
On the resilience of the offense…
"We're getting better. We have a true freshman quarterback He's learning, and he's learning fast. The boys are playing hard together, and that's all I can ask for as a coach."