Hogs Win

37-9 with a great showing of Javelina fans.
It was not the prettiest of victories, but in college football all that matters is the winning part and #6 Texas A&M-Kingsville took care of that by jumping all over University of the Incarnate Word on Saturday night at Benson Stadium. The Javelinas led 21-0 after one quarter and finished with a 37-9 win in Lone Star Conference South Division play. (box score)

The Javelinas (4-0, 3-0, 1-0) came out of the gates ready to play as they scored on each of their first three drives of the game. The first score was a 31-yard run by junior quarterback Nate Poppell (Spring/Spring HS) with 9:59 left in the first quarter. The touchdown was set up by a 22-yard run by Connell Davis (Portland/Gregory-Portland HS).

After forcing a Cardinal (1-3, 1-2, 0-1) punt the Hoggies drove 75 yards in nine plays. The offense used a nice mix of run and pass as Poppell scored again on a quarterback sneak from the 1-yard line with 3:13 left in the quarter.

The Hoggie defense forced another three-and-out possession by the Cardinals and the offense took advantage. A long 37-yard pass from Poppell to Delashaun Dean (Fairfield, CA/Fairfield HS) gave the team a first-and-goal at the 10. On second down, sophomore Jonathon Woodson (Missouri City/Marshall HS) scored his first career touchdown on a 10-yard sweep with 36 seconds left in the quarter.

The Cardinals finally picked up their initial first down of the game on the third play of the second quarter, but were forced to punt shortly after. The Javelinas found themselves pinned back at their own 5-yard line after a block in the back penalty on the return. After an incomplete pass, Davis was smothered in the end zone for a safety by Anthony Vela with 11:53 remaining in the second quarter.

After the free kick by the Javelinas, the Cardinals had good field position at their own 40. The Hoggie defense stood strong and forced the Cardinals to punt. A bad snap forced punter Aaron Willis to field the ball and he then fumbled when he was hit by Paul Fontenot (Dayton/Dayton HS). Corey Robertson (Denison/Denison HS) was there for the recovery and returned the fumble for a 24-yard touchdown with 10:37 to play in the half.

Just when it looked like the game would turn into a blowout, the Cardinals bounced back with an 11-play, 68-yard scoring drive that culminated in a 26-yard pass from Eric Massoni to Dominic Hamilton with 5:59 left in the half. The score ended the Javelinas’ streak of not allowing an offensive point at 189:36 covering 12 full quarters.

Woodson returned the ensuing kickoff 59 yards to give the Javelinas great field position at the UIW 36-yard line. On the first play, Poppell hit Ryan Lincoln (Bastrop/Bastrop HS) with a little swing pass that he took all the way down to the 3-yard line, but the play was called back for a holding call. It was just one of many penalties that would slow down the Javelina offense the rest of the game.

The Javelinas led 28-9 at halftime and the score remained that way through the entire third quarter. Each team managed only two first downs in the period. The Javelinas gained 54 yards from scrimmage while the Cardinals were held to 16 yards.

The fourth quarter was marked by a pair of long drives by each team. First, the Cardinals drove 60 yards in 15 plays only to have Thomas Rebold’s 47-yard field goal attempt hit the right upright and bounce wide.

Then, the Javelinas methodically drove 70 yards in 14 plays while eating up 7:41 on the clock. Sophomore Myron Brew (San Antonio/Jay HS) capped off the drive with an 18-yard scoring run on his only carry of the night.

The Javelinas also tacked on a field goal at the beginning of the fourth quarter after recovering a Cardinal fumble at the UIW 8-yard line. Christian Brom (McAllen/McAllen HS) drilled a 25-yarder to improve to 4-for-5 on the season.

The Javelina defense held their fourth straight opponent to under 200 yards of offense. The Cardinals gained 40 yards rushing on 36 carries and added 147 yards passing. Junior linebacker Marcus Sanders (Houston/Westfield HS) led the team with nine tackles and a half sack. Overall, the team had nine tackles for losses totaling 54 yards.

The Javelina offense picked up 321 total yards of offense as they sputtered over the final three quarters of action. Davis led the team with 44 yards rushing while Poppell added 35 and Woodson 34 yards. Poppell went 14-of-24 for 131 yards passing while Daniel Ramirez (Sinton/Sinton HS) when 6-of-8 for 53 yards. Robert Armstrong (Cuero/Cuero HS) led the team with five catches for 28 yards while Dean added 3 receptions for 59 yards. Woodson led the team with 114 all-purpose yards.

Trent Rios led the Cardinal ground game with 39 yards on 19 carries. Eric Massoni went 14-of-25 passing for 141 yards and a touchdown. Dominic Hamilton led all receivers with six catches for 87 yards and a score.

The Cardinal defense had a pair of sacks in the game by Diego McClain and Hakim Blackwell. Juan Asencio and Todd Lyons each had six tackles to lead the team.

The Javelinas return home next weekend for a matchup with #5 Abilene Christian at 7 p.m. at Javelina Stadium.
By SID Shane Meling