Another Javelina Victory

We beat Midwestern St. 27-7 and move to 9-1 on the season.

The Texas A&M-Kingsville football team used a dominating defensive and ball control performance to defeat Lone Star Conference South Division rival Midwestern State on Saturday night, 27-7 at Javelina Stadium. (box score)

The fourth-ranked Javelinas (9-1, 8-1, 5-1) held possession of the ball for 40:46 and limited the No. 19 Mustangs (7-3, 6-3, 3-3) to only two second half first downs. The Hoggies tallied 26 first downs and ran 86 plays compared to only 48 by the visitors.

The Javelinas got off to a good start by scoring on their first drive of the game. The Hoggies drove 71 yards in 11 plays and scored on a Jonathon Woodson (Missouri City/Marshall HS) 2-yard run with 6:49 left in the first quarter.

The Mustangs responded with their drive of the night going 71 yards in 14 plays. They converted on three third downs and scored when Zack Eskridge found Desmond Ratliff in the endzone from six yards out with
18 seconds left in the quarter.

The rest of the half saw the Javelinas go on a pair of time consuming drives, but they were unable to put any points on the board. Christian Brom (McAllen/McAllen HS attempted a career long 49-yard field late in the half, but came up short.

The second half was all Javelinas as they dominated on both sides of the ball. The Hoggies received the ball to open the half and went 80 yards in 17 plays and 8:35. It was the longest drive of the season in terms of plays and time of possession. They converted three third downs and a fourth down. Nate Poppell (Spring/Spring HS) hit Ryan Lincoln (Bastrop/Bastrop HS) with a 29-yard pass play on third-and-14 for the biggest play of the drive. Lincoln scored later from eight yards out on a run when he took the direct snap in the “Pineapple Express” formation with 6:18 left in the third quarter.

The Javelina defense quickly forced a three-and-out as Marcus Sanders (Houston/Westfield HS) forced MSU quarterback Brandon Kelsey to throw before he was ready on third down.

When the Javelinas got the ball back they drove 56 yards to the MSU 18-yard line before stalling. Brom came on and calmly booted a 35-yard field goal to make it 17-7 with 32 seconds left in the third quarter.

The Hoggie defense forced another three-and-out and then Hector Sobers (Converse/Judson HS) blocked the MSU punt to give the team possession at the Mustang 20-yard line. The Javs were unable to punch in the touchdown, but settled for another Brom field goal from 29 yards with 9:53 left in the game.

The Mustangs finally got their initial first down of the second half when the Javelinas were flagged for a penalty that moved the ball to the Kingsville 35-yard line. The defense was able to respond by not allowing MSU to convert on fourth down.

The Hoggies then iced the game traveling 70 yards in 17 plays and scoring on a Lincoln 1-yard run with eight seconds remaining in the game. Poppell completed a trio of third down pass plays into first downs to keep the drive alive and the ball away from the Mustangs.

The Javelinas tallied 153 yards rushing and 358 total yards of offense. Woodson led the offense once again with 96 yards rushing and a career high nine catches for 61 yards. He also added a pair of kick returns for 42 yards giving him 199 all-purpose yards.

Lincoln added 10 carries for 23 yards and a pair of scores to go with three catches for 40 yards. Poppell went 27-of-40 for 205 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions while picking up 15 yards on three carries. The offensive line did not allow a sack for the third time in four games.

The Javelina defense limited the Mustangs to just 86 yards rushing and 75 yards passing. Junior Roderick Benman (Oklahoma City, OK/Rogers HS) made a career high 10 tackles, forced a fumble and had a half sack in just his second start of the season. Sanders finished the game with seven tackles, two quarterback hurries and his fourth sack of the season.

The Mustangs lost star quarterback Zack Eskridge to an injury late in the first half and had to go to backup Brandon Kelsey. Eskridge was 9-for-15 for 72 yards and a touchdown before getting injured. Lester Bush led the rushing attack with 31 yards on 10 carries while David Little had five catches for 44 yards.

The Mustang defense tallied 72 total tackles in the game. Neiko Conway led the way with six solos and six assisted for a total of 12. Ty Duncan added nine tackles. Mason Taugavau had four tackles and three quarterback hurries.

The Javelinas went 16-for-23 on third down conversions while the Mustangs were only 3-of-11. The Hogs had eight penalties for 84 yards while MSU committed seven for 76 yards. Neither team turned the ball over in the game.

The Javelinas outscored the Mustangs 20-0 in the second half and held the ball for 24:06. Over the final three quarters of the game the Mustangs had the ball for a total of 9:40. The win ended a five game losing streak to MSU and evened the overall series at 6-6. The Hoggies scored on their last four possessions of the game and 5-of-8 total.

The Javelinas will close out the regular season next Saturday against LSC North rival Southeastern Oklahoma at 7 p.m.