SAN ANTONIO – Keyondrick Philio ran for three short touchdowns and University of the Incarnate Word survived a late comeback effort to earn its first Southland Conference win of the season Saturday night with a 31-24 victory over Abilene Christian University in Benson Stadium.
ACU (2-3, 1-2), which entered the game averaging 505 yards of offense per game, managed just 72 in the opening half against UIW (2-2, 1-1), then held the Cardinals to just 110 yards in the second half.
The Wildcats ended up with a 330-274 advantage in total yards but fell a touchdown short on the scoreboard, one week after rallying for a last-second win over McNeese. UIW bounced back from a 45-6 thrashing in Huntsville last week from Sam Houston State.
The Cardinals scored two first-quarter touchdowns on fourth-down plays to build a 13-3 halftime lead.
Tracy James recorded his FCS-leading 10th TD of the season for ACU with 2:40 remaining in the final quarter, but the Wildcats fell short of a game-tying score when the Cardinals intercepted
Luke Anthony for a third time with two seconds left.
"It's disappointing," said head coach
Adam Dorrel. "I don't think we came ready to play, and it's frustrating to see us take way too long to get started on offense. There were also too many missed tackles on defense, and the one blunder we had on special teams led them to having a short porch.
"Moving forward we have to get production early on offense in the first and second quarter. We cannot not be scoring points, so we'll figure some things out Sunday and Monday, self scout and draw from all that."
If not for lackluster play in the first half, ACU would not have found itself facing another late-game drive to beat the clock and its opponent.
But the game, for one play, certainly didn't begin that way.
Abilene Christian, the Southland's top team in turnover margin, intercepted UIW on the first snap from scrimmage when junior linebacker
Jack Gibbens stepped in front of a Jon Copeland pass at the ACU 31. The Wildcats could not capitalize on that generosity, however, or much of anything in the first half until the final play, when a field goal got them on the scoreboard.
In fact, Wildcat punter
Gabe Ortega, who also plays safety on defense, pinned UIW inside its 15-yard line twice early in the game, but ACU's offensive futility – nine plays for 4 yards vs. UIW's 27 for 102 yards in the first quarter – was evident in more places than the scoreboard.
The Cardinals spent nearly half of the first quarter on their second drive – a 19-play trek that consumed 7:36 and resulted in a 5-yard touchdown run by Philio with just over three minutes left. UIW converted twice on fourth-down plays on the drive and dropped a pass at the goal line on another play.
ACU gave the ball right back to the home team when
Hunter Kier fumbled the ensuing kickoff at his team's 33-yard line. The Wildcat defense stiffened and got the ball back when the Cardinals turned it over on downs in the red zone – on yet another fourth-down gamble by UIW.
Philio scored his second touchdown of the half, ramming his way into the end zone on 4th-and-goal with 4:53 left. The two-point conversion attempt failed, leaving the Cardinals up 13-0.
Ryan Stepp returned the ensuing kickoff 33 yards and ACU began its only productive drive since the opening kickoff: a 14-play, 51-yarder capped by
Blair Zepeda's 21-yard field goal.
In hindsight, UIW's ball-control scheme was largely responsible for keeping ACU at bay, with the Wildcats managing just five first downs and 72 yards of offense in the first half, when the Cardinals also maintained a nearly 2:1 time possession advantage in building their 13-3 lead.
ACU opened the second half with a promising-looking drive, but an interception by freshman Shawn Holton was returned 21 yards to give UIW the ball in Wildcat territory. Five plays later, the Cardinals found the end zone again with Ameer King's 1-yard run, and upped their lead to 20-3 with 11:52 left in the quarter.
The Wildcats bounced back on their next drive, moving 59 yards in 11 plays, mixing the run and pass successfully and winning a fourth-down gamble of its own when Anthony found
Josh Fink in the back of the end zone on a 15-yard TD pass to draw closer, 20-10, with 4:24 on the clock.
The turnover bug bit UIW for a second time on its next drive when Ortega caused Kamden Perry to fumble following a pass reception. ACU linebacker
Jeremiah Chambers picked up the loose ball and returned it 11 yards to the Cardinal 40-yard line.
Five plays later, the Wildcats made UIW pay for the mistake when Anthony scrambled and found
Justus Lee on a 14-yard scoring pass with 1:48 remaining in the quarter. ACU's second straight touchdown of the quarter pulled the team even closer, 20-17.
On Abilene Christian's next drive, Anthony was intercepted for the second time in the game, this time by freshman Tre Richardson, who returned the ball 56 yards to the ACU 12. The Wildcat defense held and forced UIW to a 36-yard field goal attempt by Mohr. He made it, extending his team's lead to 23-17 with 14:28 left in the game.
With the ball back in its hands once more, ACU gambled on 4th-and-1 near midfield but
Sema'J Davis was stopped short at the Wildcat 46. UIW responded with a determined drive, typified by Kam Williams' 26-yard catch-and-run that broke several Wildcat tackles and set up Philio's third rushing TD of the night. The 1-yarder and a successful two-point conversion run by Philio put the Cardinals up 31-17 with 7:30 left on the clock.
ACU converted a 4th-and-1 from the UIW 41 with 5:11 left when James ran 7 yards, and the junior running back carried the ball eight plays later again for a 1-yard TD run that pulled the Wildcats to within seven, 31-24, with 2:40 remaining.
UIW recovered the ensuing onside kick at the ACU 43-yard line. The Cardinals were forced to punt with 1:02 left.
ACU's final drive began at its 8-yard line and ended with an interception by the Cardinals' Jaylon Jimmerson, the third pick of Anthony on the evening, all by UIW freshman defensive backs.
James ran for a game-high 97 yards to push him past 2,000 for his career, while Anthony completed 26 of 46 for 197 yards for ACU, eclipsing the 5,000 yard plateau. Copeland threw for 170 yards (18 of 35 passes), King ran for 61 yards and Williams caught seven passed for 105 yards.
The Wildcats remain on the road next Saturday when they play a 6 p.m. game with Lamar in Beaumont.
PLAYS THAT MATTERED
- 1Q – ACU linebacker Jack Gibbens intercepted Jon Copeland on the first play from scrimmage in the game. The Wildcats got the ball on the 31 but couldn't convert the turnover into points.
- 1Q – UIW got on the scoreboard first when Keyondrick Philio ran 5 yards for a TD with 3:05 to play in the opening quarter. Carson Mohr's successful PAT put the Cardinals on top, 7-0.
- 2Q –Philio ran 1 yard for his second TD of the game with 4:53 left in the half. UIW failed on a two-point conversion, leaving the Cardinals with a 13-0 lead.
- 2Q – Blair Zepeda kicked a 23-yard field goal with six seconds left to shorten the UIW lead to 13-3.
- 3Q – Following an interception of Luke Anthony on ACU's opening drive of the second half, UIW upped its lead to 20-3 when Ameer King ran 1 yard for a TD and Mohr added the PAT.
- 3Q –Anthony threw a 15-yard TD pass to Josh Fink with 7:23 left.
- 3Q – Anthony threw a 14-yard TD pass to Justus Lee with 1:48 left to cap a 40-yard drive set up by a fumble recovery by Jeremiah Chambers.
- 3Q – With six seconds left in the quarter, Anthony was intercepted by Tre Richardson, who returned it 56 yards to the ACU 12-yard line.
- 4Q – With 7:32 left in the game, Philio ran 1 yard for his third TD of the night, and then scored a two-point conversion to put UIW up, 31-17.
- 4Q – Tracy James ran 1 yard for a TD with 2:40 left to pull ACU to within 31-24, the game's final margin.
- 4Q – Jaylon Jimmerson intercepted Anthony with two seconds left to seal the Cardinals' win.
THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
- Abilene Christian entered the game as the only Southland team to have not suffered an interception this season. Luke Anthony was picked three times by UIW in tonight's game.
- ACU linebacker Jack Gibbens had 13 tackles in the win last week over McNeese, and 9 in tonight's first-half alone, plus an interception and a sack. He finished with 10 overall. Jeremiah Chambers led the Wildcats with 13 tackles (7 solo).
- Tracy James passed the 2,000-yard mark in career rushing yards tonight, and Luke Anthony passed the 500-completion and 5,000-passing-yard threshholds in his career.
STAT CORNER
- The Cardinals entered the Southland with ACU in 2013. The Wildcats own a 7-4 advantange in their series, which began in 2010, and are 3-3 in games played in San Antonio.
- ACU entered the game ranked No. 6 in nation (FCS) in total offense (505.3 yards per game), fifth in sacks per game (3.75) and 18th in passing (300). The Wildcats were No. 2 in the Southland on opposing third-down conversions at (26.2 percent) and No. 4 on its own third-down conversions (41.2 percent). UIW was No. 4 in the Southland (and 22nd in the FCS) in total offense (455.7 yards per game).
- At the half, UIW owned advantages in score (13-3), first downs (13-5), total yards (164-72), passing yards (86-34), rushing yards (78-38), time of possession (19:15-10:45).
NOTABLE
- UIW was co-champion of the Southland last season with a 6-2 mark, although just 6-5 overall.
- Tom and Gayle Benson Stadium, the venue for this game, is one of two football stadiums named after Tom, the late owner of the NFL's New Orleans Saints and NBA's New Orleans Pelicans. The other is Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio. Tulane University plays its home games on Benson Field at Yulman Stadium in New Orleans. The men's and women's soccer teams at UIW also play their home matches at Benson Stadium.
- UIW was established in 1881 by the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, and is affiliated with the Catholic church. It enrolls about 10,000 university students and also operates two high schools and two elementary schools in San Antonio and Alamo Heights.
