Game highlightsABILENE –
De'Andre Brown ran for three touchdowns and
Cade Stone caught eight passes for 121 yards and a score Saturday to help ACU to a 55-14 Homecoming afternoon win over Ave Maria University in a non-conference game in Shotwell Stadium.
The Wildcats of the FCS Southland Conference rolled to 513 yards of total offense while the Gyrenes of The Sun Conference (NAIA) ran into a second-half brick wall in falling to 1-5.
ACU quarterback
Parker McKenzie completed 22 of 31 passes for 304 yards and a score in just three quarters of action. The Wildcats allowed the Gyrenes 315 yards of offense and two touchdowns in the first half, but no points, 39 yards of offense and two first downs in the final two quarters.
The Wildcats got on the scoreboard at the 9:46 mark of the first quarter with a 36-yard field goal by
Nik Grau after the Gyrenes, backed deep into their own territory, managed only an 18-yard punt to their own 31-yard line.
Defensive back
Angel Lopez intercepted Clayton Uecker on the first play of AMU's next drive, and Brown ran 8 yards around left end on the Wildcats' subsequent play, giving ACU a 10-0 lead just 18 seconds after their first score.
AMU broke out a big play with 7:56 left in the quarter when Uecker hit wide receiver Travis Makauskas on a 48-yard touchdown pass, cutting ACU's lead to 10-7.
The Wildcats responded with a four-play, 85-yard drive capped by running back
Herschel Sims bulling his way 39 yards up the middle with 11:19 remaining in the first half to put his team up 17-7. The score was Sims' first touchdown in Shotwell Stadium since Oct. 8, 2010, when he led Abilene High School to a 49-21 win over Odessa High School.
The Gyrenes used another big play – a 52-yard pass from Uecker to wide receiver Frank Garcia – to set up their next touchdown, a 22-yard pass from Uecker to wide receiver Brian Byrd with 8:37 left that cut the ACU lead to 17-14. ACU's offense again rolled out its four-play-drive offense, moving 43 yards in 1:27 to set up Brown's second touchdown of the afternoon, a 5-yard run that made the score 24-14.
A bad snap caused AMU to fumble away a field goal try with 1:15 remaining in the half, giving ACU the ball at the Gyrene 33-yard line. Thirty-one seconds and five plays later – three of them passes to wide receiver
Cade Stone – the Wildcats forged ahead 31-14 on Stone's 15-yard reception.
Uecker totaled 262 yards passing in the first half for AMU but ACU held him to 14 in the third quarter before Bob Orban replaced him.
Grau's second field goal of the game, a 28-yarder on ACU's first drive of the third quarter, built the Wildcat lead to 34-14 at the 12:11 mark. After a 19-yard punt by the Gyrenes gave the Wildcats the ball at the AMU 41-yard line, Brown ran for his third touchdown of the game. The 32-yarder on fourth-and-2 put ACU up 41-14 with 2:53 left in the quarter.
Running back
Adrian Duncan padded the Wildcat fourth-quarter lead to 48-14 when he ran one yard for his second touchdown of the season with 11:38 remaining.
A little more than a minute later, linebacker
Nick Richardson recovered a Gyrene fumble at the AMU 31-yard line. Running back
Randy Gober's 8-yard scoring run converted the turnover into the final 55-14 lead at the 5:47 mark.
ACU rushed for 168 yards, led by Sims' 86 yards on 10 carries and Brown's 58 on 10 carries. Tight end
Noah Cheshier caught five passes for 60 yards and linebacker
Justin Stephens' 12 tackles led the Wildcats' suffocating second-half defense.
Uecker also led AMU in rushing with six carries for 47 yards and O'Rourke caught six passes for 72 yards.
ACU travels to Lake Charles, La., to play McNeese State University next Saturday in a Southland Conference game at Cowboy Stadium. Kickoff will be at 6 p.m. CST with the game broadcast on ESPN3.com.
