Wildcats stun No. 2 Kingsville, 17-10
ACU snaps 20-year losing streak to Javelinas
KINGSVILLE – ACU wiped away 20 years of frustration Saturday night at Javelina Stadium with a stunning 17-10 win over No. 2 Texas A&M-Kingsville in a Lone Star Conference South Division game.
The victory pushes the Wildcats to 5-4 overall and 3-2 in the LSC South Division, while the Javelinas – ranked No. 1 in the NCAA Division II West Region – fell to 7-1 and 4-1 and lost their first home game since a 2002 loss to Texas A&M-Commerce. The Wildcats' victory is their first over the Javelinas since a 38-24 win in 1983.
The Wildcats' victory could have been considered somewhat improbable given the fact that four starters and at least that many key backups stayed home in Abilene, missing the game with various injuries and illnesses.
"Everybody is beaten up at this time of the year, but we didn't use that as an excuse to not play well," ACU head coach Gary Gaines said. 'We had some guys step up from backup roles and really play well. Everybody contributed to this one."
Perhaps no one more than junior running back Rashon Myles, who finished the game with 148 yards on 32 carries, including 134 on 17 carries in the first half when the Wildcats seemed to seize control of the contest.
Despite dominating the first quarter, the Wildcats found themselves trailing at the end of the quarter after Kingsville quarterback Daniel Taylor hit Clint Bingham with a 41-yard touchdown pass with 3:27 left in the first quarter. But the Wildcats pushed ahead at the half, 9-7, thanks to three Eben Nelson field goals – from 35 yards at the 5:56 mark, from 44 yards at the 2:11 mark and from 32 yards at the 1:01 mark.
The Wildcats' running game – which has been their saving grace offensively the last four weeks of the season – seemed to catch the Javelinas off-guard, giving the ACU defense a chance to stay rested on the sidelines. That defense had spent 41 minutes on the field in last week's loss to Texas A&M-Commerce, and had played 170 plays in the Wildcats' last two games.
But Myles and the patchwork offensive line – missing starters Cody Savage and John Douty to injury – controlled the ball for 20 minutes in the first half.
"We didn't really plan to run the ball that much early, but the wind (out of the southeast at 15-20 mph) and the fact that we were having success running it dictated that we continue to run it," Gaines said.
The Javelinas grabbed the lead late in the third quarter when Richard Hammond capped a 13-play, 70-yard drive with a 26-yard field goal that made it 10-9 in favor of the Javelinas. But the Wildcats responded in dramatic fashion as quarterback Greg Wiggins hit Warren Rogers for a 76-yard touchdown pass on third-and-20 to give the Wildcats the 15-10 lead with 1:23 left in the third quarter. Wiggins' 2-point conversion pass to Brett Unger was on target, and the Wildcats led 17-10.
The Wildcats' defense then rose up in the fourth quarter as Doug Barnett stopped one Kingsville drive with an interception in the end zone, and then it forced a three-and-out on the Javelinas' next possession.
After an ACU punt, the Javelinas started another drive that moved down to the ACU 12-yard line late in the fourth quarter. But a short run by Ray Miller, a delay of the game penalty and two incomplete passes stopped the drive at the ACU 11-yard line. Danieal Manning knocked down a fourth-down pass in the end zone to preserve the lead.
The Javelinas forced the Wildcats to punt on their next possession, but not until after Wiggins completed a big second-and-12 pass to tight end Clinton Farrell for 30 yards, moving the ball out to the 39-yard line and keeping the clock moving in the Wildcats' favor.
After forcing a Wildcat punt, the Javelinas had one last shot, but a 10-play drive was stopped on fourth down when Taylor's pass to Maurice Washington went out of the back of the end zone on fourth down, and the Wildcats had their win.
The Wildcats – who earlier this year beat then-No. 7 Tarleton State on the road – have now assured themselves of at least five wins for the third straight season, the first time the program has accomplished that since 8-2, 6-4-1 and 7-3 from 1981-83. ACU will close out its season next Saturday at 1 p.m. when it hosts Midwestern State at Shotwell Stadium.
