ABILENE – Matt Stoll kicked three field goals, Nate Poppell threw for 372 yards and defensive-minded Texas A&M-Kingsville held off No. 9 Abilene Christian University, 16-13, on Saturday night at Shotwell Stadium.
The No. 24 Javelinas improved to 2-0 on the season, and 1-0 in the Lone Star Conference South Division, while ACU fell to 1-1 and 0-1 in the LSC. The win ended ACU's eight-year winning streak in the 47-year series, which Kingsville dominated from 1984-2003, and snapped the Wildcats' 12-game regular season home winning streak.
Kingsville's fierce defense held preseason NCAA Division II player of the year Mitchell Gale to his lowest output in three years, and broke a stretch of 23 straight games in which he had thrown a touchdown. Gale, a senior, completed 13 of 31 passes for 137 yards. After scoring 51 points in its season-opener last week against McMurry, ACU could only muster 11 first downs and 224 yards of offense against the Javelinas.
ACU held the Javelinas' vaunted running game to only 52 yards – and 1,000-yard rusher Jonathan Woodson to 27 yards – but had no answer for Poppell, who completed 33 of 50 passes and one TD.
Wide receiver
Taylor Gabriel's second 7-yard end-around scoring run in as many weeks staked the Wildcats to a 6-0 lead on the last play of the first quarter. Kingsville answered back when Nate Poppell threw a 22-yard TD pass to Robert Armstrong on the first drive of the second quarter. The Javelinas padded their lead to 10-6 when Matt Stoll kicked a 35-yard field goal with 1:07 left in the first half.
Kingsville opened the third quarter with a 16-play drive that Stoll capped with a 29-yard field goal and upped the Javelina advantage to 13-6. Stoll's third field goal of the game, with 14:57 left in the fourth quarter, gave his team a 16-6 advantage.
But on the first play of the ensuing drive, ACU wide receiver
Darrell Cantu-Harkless ran 65 yards for a TD to pull his team to 16-13. Stoll missed a 29-yard field goal on Kingsville's next possession, and the Wildcats took over. ACU could get no closer than the Javelina 33-yard line on its drive, and
Morgan Lineberry's 51-yard field goal attempt missed with 7:05 remaining.
ACU's last-chance drive began after being pinned on its 6-yard line by Javelina punter Angel Millan. But on a fourth-down-and-7, Kingsville's defense rose to the occasion again, sacking Gale on his own 12 with 1:11 remaining.
Harkless was the Wildcats' leading rusher with 70 yards, and top receiver with four catches for 36 yards.
The Wildcats play rival Tarleton State next Saturday at 4 p.m. in the second annual Lone Star Football Festival in Cowboys Stadium in Arlington.
