SAN ANTONIO -- Facing major adversity for the first time in over a month, the University of the Incarnate Word football team found another gear down the stretch to extend its win streak to five.
The 22nd-ranked Cardinals outscored Nicholls 21-0 over the final 17 minutes, 26 seconds of play to secure a 42-24 win at Benson Stadium Saturday in a game that doubled as both homecoming and senior day.
For the second week in a row, the defense saw a historic performance, as linebacker
Christian Barney tied the single-game program record with 17 tackles.
Entering the day having won four straight by an average of 35.6 points per-game, Saturday appeared like it would be another breezy affair. UIW opened up a 14-0 lead in the first eight-and-a-half minutes, scoring on a 17-yard
Jayden Hibbler run and a 35-yard pass from
Emmett Brown to
Jacob Emmers.
But after a 33-yard touchdown run by quarterback Chase Richardson, the Colonels recovered a surprise onside kick and went down and scored again on a 35-yard field goal, holding the ball for a consecutive stretch of 11 minutes, 30 seconds.
After the teams traded touchdowns -- UIW getting a 6-yard
Lontrell Turner run, Nicholls a 28-yard pass from Preston Welch to Devin Scura -- the Cardinals led 21-17 at the half before a mistake put them behind for the first time since an Oct. 10 loss to Lamar.
Three minutes into the third quarter, linebacker Charlie Diedrich stepped in front of a Brown pass and returned it 7 yards for a touchdown to put Nicholls ahead 24-20.
But the struggles would be short-lived, as several of the Cardinals' top players were able to dig them out of the hole.
Hibbler, the Southland Conference leader in yards from scrimmage, started things off with a 19-yard punt return, which set UIW up at the Nicholls 39. Hibbler had 164 total yards Saturday, with 117 coming on the ground, his third-straight game topping the century mark.
Seven plays after
Isaiah Champagne made a great catch to gain 10-yards on 3rd-and-9, UIW retook the lead when Brown found tight end
Dane Farley wide open for a 4-yard touchdown pass.
Â
Champagne was only getting started with the heroics, as he capped the next Cardinal drive with a spectacular, one-armed touchdown grab from 36 yards out.
On an under-thrown pass, Champagne beat the defensive back to the ball and hauled in it despite the defender appearing to have a hold of his left arm. This stretched the lead to 35-24.
Â
The defense took over from there.
Declan Williams had two fourth-quarter interceptions, while
Jeremiah Young also set up the final touchdown of the night with a strip sack.
Young, who last week set a UIW single-season sack record, had 1.5 sacks on Saturday, giving him 11 on the season. He may have made an even bigger play on special teams, blocking a 39-yard Kingston Phan field goal try early in the fourth quarter, which set up Champagne's touchdown catch.
Â
Brown threw for 200 yards while also rushing for 89. The Cardinals rushed for 240 yards as a team with Hibbler, Turner and
Damashja Harris all finding the end zone.
Roy Alexander led the team with 79 receiving yards. He moved into fourth all-time on the UIW career receiving yardage list Saturday, having gained 1,694 in a Cardinal uniform.
Williams had 12 tackles to go along with his two interceptions, but was actually outshined by fellow linebacker Barney, who equaled a previous single-game tackle record shared by Myke Tavarres and Kelechi Anyalbechi.
Tavarres had 17 tackles against Sam Houston State on Oct. 10, 2015 with Anyalbechi doing it against Lamar on March 6, 2021.
Saturday was UIW's fifth win in a row, upping its record to 7-4 overall with a 6-2 mark in the Southland entering the final week of the regular season.
The Cardinals also ended the year a perfect 6-0 at home. This marked the fifth time in nine seasons they went unbeaten at Benson Stadium, also doing so in 2018, 2021, 2022 and 2024.
Still battling to try and get into the FCS playoffs, the Cardinals will travel to East Texas A&M for a 3 p.m. game next Saturday.
SENIORS HONORED
Prior to the game, UIW held a senior day ceremony.
Players honored were
Jamir Roberts,
Mekhi Brown, Turner, Alexander,
Chase Carter,
Price Morgan,
David Rasor, Brown,
Terrell Elliott,
Isaiah Blair,
Chance Symons,
Reece Sylvester,
D'Arius Carmouche,
Braden Hay,
Joey Bryson,
Lamont Johnson-Burrell, Harris,
Jordan Norwood,
Pig Cage,
Dane Farley,
Efren Jasso,
Ryan Dirksen,
Lloyd Johnson and
Josh Gonzalez.
Â
