SAN ANTONIO -- Playing at home for the first time in nearly a month provided the jolt the University of the Incarnate Word football team needed.
Jayden Hibbler accounted for 238 yards from scrimmage, three first-half interceptions produced 17 points and the Cardinals snapped a three-game losing streak with a dominant 41-16 win over Southland Conference foe UTRGV Saturday night.
The electricity began on the opening play, when defensive back
Patrick Batiste made an acrobatic, one-handed interception with his left hand while falling to his right along the sideline.
That set UIW up at the Vaqueros 40 and five plays later,
Lontrell Turner scored the game's first touchdown from two yards out.
Leading 7-3, UIW looked to be in danger of falling behind after UTRGV got into the red zone. But the momentum turned back when
Buddha Garrett made an interception at the goal line and returned it 88 yards to the Vaquero 12.
That was the longest interception return in program history and eventually led to a field goal.
Leading 20-10 in the closing moments of the first half,
Declan Williams had the third interception of UTRGV quarterback Aidan Jakobsohn that was returned all the way to the Vaquero 3-yard line. That set up a
Roy Alexander touchdown run on the very next play to push the lead to 17 points at the half.
Williams also forced a fumble in the second half, as the Cardinal defense finished with a season-high four takeaways.
Helping things was a ferocious pass rush that generated a season-best five sacks. The most pressure came from
Walt Gray, who had 1.5 sacks and 2.5 tackles for-loss.
It wasn't just the defense that set UIW up with short fields.
Hibbler, who entered the night third in the country with 235 punt return yards, had another massive run back of 50 yards in the second quarter, setting up the offense at the UTRGV 35.
He then found the end zone on a 15-yard catch-and-run from quarterback
Emmett Brown five plays later, breaking a 10-10 tie and giving the Cardinals the lead for good.
Hibbler did it all Saturday, leading all players with 96 yards rushing, seven receptions and 92 yards receiving.
After UIW averaged 224.7 yards rushing in its first three games, that number dropped to 115.7 during a three-game losing streak.
The attack got back to form Saturday, with the team finishing with 204 yards.
Damashja Harris scored two touchdowns in the second half, the last of which concluded a 7 minute, 41 second drive that put an exclamation point on the victory.
The Cardinals, who are 3-4 overall, are now 2-2 in the SLC and 3-0 at home.
They have a good chance to build on the win, as the next two weeks bring about home games against McNeese and Northwestern State, who are a combined 3-11 on the season.
The McNeese game will kick off at 4 p.m. Saturday.
