SAN ANTONIO -- The University of the Incarnate Word took advantage of an overmatched opponent, putting up 566 yards of offense in a 66-14 blowout of Northwestern State in Southland Conference football play Saturday.
Against a Demon team that has won just one of its last 41 games, UIW put things away quickly, jumping out to a 28-0 lead at the end of the first quarter and a 49-7 advantage at the half.
"I told them, 'If you want to be a championship-level football team, you've got to be able to dominate games like this,'" head coach
Clint Killough said after the game. "So it shouldn't come as a surprise to those guys."
The Cardinals fed
Roy Alexander early and often, as the Preseason All-American had 131 of his career-best 173 receiving yards in the first quarter.
Alexander didn't play in the second half, concluding his day with a 42-yard catch on the final drive of the second quarter. That set up the third touchdown run of the first half by
Jayden Hibbler, who had 102 yards rushing in the opening two periods.
Hibbler scored the first touchdown of the game from 17 yards out in the first quarter and then exploded for a 52-yard scoring run in the second. Entering the day just three yards shy of the FCS punt return lead, Hibbler had a 33-yard return in the first quarter that set up a 5-yard
Lontrell Turner touchdown run.
Fresh off winning Southland Conference
Offensive Player of the Week honors,
Emmett Brown had another great outing, going 21-of-32 with 312 yards and two touchdowns. His first was a 28-yard strike to
Jacob Emmers in the first quarter, his second a 15-yard catch-and-run to
Jamir Roberts in the second.
Emmers had 68 yards while Roberts had 59 as well as a second touchdown catch from 20 yards out from
David Rasor in the third quarter.
All three Cardinal quarterbacks that played accounted for at least one touchdown.
Jackson Fields had the game's final score on a 14-yard run with just over two minutes remaining.
The defense also got into the end zone for the second time this season. Immediately following UIW's first touchdown, a bobbled ball landed in the arms of
D'Arius Carmouche, who raced the other way 29 yards for a touchdown.
That was the first of three first-half picks for UIW.
Patrick Batiste had an interception for the third game in a row in the first quarter, then
Pig Cage had his first interception in the second.
Declan Williams led the unit with 12 tackles while
Logan Granville forced another turnover with a strip sack in the third quarter.
After losing the turnover battle in each of their first six games, the Cardinals have won it in each of their last three games. They were plus-three (4-1) Saturday and are plus-seven during a three-game win streak in which they have a point differential of 109.
That recent surge has Incarnate Word back above .500 at 5-4, its first winning record since starting the year 2-1.
At 4-2 in the SLC, UIW's toughest remaining test is next week on the road against Southeastern Louisiana.
The Lions fell to 4-5 overall and 2-4 in the SLC with a 10-7 loss at East Texas A&M Saturday. Despite some major inconsistency, they have earned a 38-35 win over FBS Louisiana Monroe and a 34-31 win over a Lamar team that was No. 8 in the FCS rankings at the time of the matchup.
The Cardinals are 5-0 at home this season, but 0-4 on the road, and turning the corner away from Benson Stadium is going to be crucial if the team hopes to play in the postseason.
"You don't get into the playoffs without being able to win on the road," Killough said. "We have not been able to do that yet, so that's going to be a big challenge for the team this week.
"This is a really good football team that deserves to be in the playoffs. And that's what they're working for."
Next Saturday's game in Hammond, La. kicks off at 6 p.m.
