SAN ANTONIO - Sixty minutes wasn't enough time to play the University of the Incarnate Word's Southland Conference football opener Saturday.
And despite a few ugly moments, the Cardinals made enough plays down the stretch to survive a 30-23 overtime thriller against visiting Houston Christian.
"Just glad we started conference play with a win," a visibly tired
Clint Killough said after the game. "I'm proud of the way those guys battled."
A double-digit halftime lead had slipped away with six minutes remaining. On a third-and-21 play, Husky receiver Ja'Ryan Wallace caught a slant pass and took it 53 yards for a touchdown to put HCU ahead 23-20.
The Cardinals were ahead 20-10 at halftime, but left points on the field, when receiver
Isaiah Champagne was tackled in bounds with no timeouts at the HCU 2-yard line as time expired in the second quarter.
The Huskies then recovered a fumble on the opening kickoff and held UIW scoreless for more than 27 minutes in the second half. But following a nine-play drive,
Joey Bryson tied the score at 23 with a 24-yard field goal with 2:24 remaining.
It seemed like the Cardinals would be able to end the game in regulation, after
Pig Cage recovered a
Jeremiah Young forced fumble near midfield. They moved the ball all the way to the HCU 8-yard line, only to fumble themselves with 16 seconds to play.
Undeterred, Incarnate Word got the ball first in overtime, where quarterback
Emmett Brown made two great plays to get in the end zone.
Brown spun out of a potential sack and found
Price Morgan for 14 yards on third-and-5. Then, two plays later, he took a designed quarterback run 10 yards for the go-ahead touchdown.
"(It was) just a light box, safety got out (of position)," Brown said. "Kind of the concept we had was to get in the end zone. (If) no one has me, just take off and run."
A defense that came into the night third in the FCS in total yards needed to make one more stop and it delivered.
After giving up a first down the the opening play of HCU's next drive, the Cardinals forced a fourth-and-6 from the 8-yard line. Maddox Kopp threw a jump ball to Trayjen Llanas-Wilcox in the corner of the end zone, but UIW defensive back
Patrick Batiste was in perfect position to bat it away, clinching a win with his third pass breakup of the night.
Brown finished 30-of-46 with 259 yards and interception and two rushing touchdowns. All four Cardinal touchdowns were scored on the ground, the others by backup quarterback
David Rasor and running back
Lontrell Turner.
Champagne led the team with 10 catches for 113 yards, while
Jayden Hibbler had a team-best 73 yards rushing and also set up Turner's touchdown with a 35-yard punt return to the HCU 15.
For the second week in a row,
Christian Barney had double-digit tackles, recording 10 on Saturday. The defense recorded seven tackles for-loss and nine pass breakups.
UIW improves to 2-1 overall on the season and is now 7-6 all time in Southland Conference openers.
The Cardinals also improved to 4-2 in overtime games, with Saturday being their first since a 35-28 win over Stephen F. Austin in the FCS playoffs
on Nov. 27, 2021.
Next week brings a return to non-conference play and a step up in competition, as the Cardinals travel to face FBS foe Texas State at 5 p.m.
