ACU grounds UTPB 34-9 with fast-strike offense, turnover-happy defense

Box Score

ABILENE, Texas – Tyrese White ran for 103 yards and Kobe Clark rocketed up ACU's career receiving list to power the Wildcats to a 34-9 win over University of Texas Permian Basin on Saturday night at Wildcat Stadium.
 
ACU (2-1) and UTPB (2-1, 1-0) met for the first time in the Wildcats' 100^th season of football, with the home team scoring three times in the final minute of the first half to break open a tight game. Abilene Christian blocked a punt and forced its first four turnovers of the season to throttle the Falcons and win its second straight.
 
The game matched opposing quarterbacks who each threw six TD passes last week: ACU's Stone Earle against Louisiana College and UTPB's Clayton Roberts against West Texas A&M. The Wildcats, however, held Roberts to just 102 yards through the air, while rushing for more than 200 yards as a team in consecutive weeks.
 
Clark, a junior wide receiver and former walk-on, caught nine passes for 92 yards and one touchdown, and moved from eighth to fifth in career catches (160) for the Wildcats. He passed some legendary performers in the ACU record book: Ronnie Vinson (153 from 1969-71), Pat Holder (155 from 1968-70) and Clyde Gates (158 from 2007-10). 
 
Vinson and Holder are members of the ACU Sports Hall of Fame. Gates was a fourth-round NFL draft choice who played for the Miami Dolphins in 2011 and the New York Jets (2012-13). Vinson was selected in the eighth round of the 1972 Draft by the New Orleans Saints.
 
ACU blew open a first-half defensive battle and 3-3 tie with a 24-point explosion in the waning four minutes of the second quarter – including 21 points off turnovers.
 
After being stopped on a 4^th and 4 on its opening drive at the UTPB 34-yard line, ACU claimed its first turnover of the season with 12:09 on the clock when Tory Hargrove intercepted a Clayton Roberts pass at the Falcon 47-yard line and returned it to the 41. The Wildcats could not turn the generosity into points when Blair Zepeda's 36-yard field goal attempt sailed wide right.
 
The Falcons backed ACU up to its 12-yard line on the next drive, forcing a Wildcat punt from under the shadow of Wessel Scoreboard. UTPB got the ball back at the ACU 46-yard line, turning the good field position into a Carson Roberts 35-yard field goal with 52 seconds left in the opening quarter, and a 3-0 lead. 
 
On ACU's next drive, a 13-yard TD pass from Earle to Darius Lewis was called back by a holding penalty. But Zepeda recovered some of the points on a 30-yard field goal three plays later to even the score at 3-3 with 12:37 left before halftime.
 
Tyrese White's tackle-breaking 40-yard scoring run on ACU's next drive gave the Wildcats their first lead of the night, 10-3, just seconds before the four-minute mark. 
ACU's lightning-quick scoring blitz began as fans started to head to the concession stands at intermission.
 
Kobe Clark caught a 16-yard TD pass from Earle at the one-minute mark, then a 22-yard pick-six by defensive lineman Jordan Paup eight seconds later and a 26-yard field goal by Zepeda with three seconds remaining ignited the Wildcats and essentially grounded the Falcons for the evening.
 
A scoreless stretch – including the entire third quarter for both teams – was ended by UTPB's Jayvon Davis, who sprinted 13 yards for his team's first TD of the game with 10:47 left. The PAT pass attempt failed but pulled the Falcons closer, 27-9. 
 
But ACU redshirt sophomore running back Anthony Smith darted 4 yards to cap his team's longest drive (62 yards) of the game and provide the game its final score, 34-9.
 
Clark's second-quarter TD pass was his eighth in seven games for ACU. 
 
White's 103 yards and one TD came on 12 rushes. Smith ran 11 times for 73 yards and one score.
 
Roberts completed 11 of 23 passes for 102 yards and two interceptions for the Falcons. Suddin Sapien added 50 yards, completing seven of 11 passes. UTPB's MJ Link caught five passes for 53 yards.
 
Defensively, linebacker Greg Green had seven tackles and defensive tackle Dre Jones added six for ACU. The Falcons had a pair of defenders with 12 tackles: linebacker Miquon Mayes and defensive back Donta Stuart.
 
ACU returns to the road next Saturday to play Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas. Kickoff is at 6 p.m. CST at Provost Umphrey Stadium. The Wildcats and Cardinals play a home-and-home series this season, although the first is considered a non-conference game. LU returns to Abilene Oct. 16 to play in ACU's Homecoming game.
 
PLAYS THAT MATTERED
1Q – A 35-yard field goal by Carson Roberts gave UTPB the early lead, 3-0, with 52 seconds on the clock. Scoring drive: 5 plays, 29 yards, 1:32
2Q – A 30-yard field goal by Blair Zepeda tied the game at 3-3 at the 12:37 mark. Scoring drive: 7 plays, 47 yards, 3:10
2Q – Tyrese White ran 40 yards for a TD and Zepeda's successful PAT kick put ACU up 10-3 with 4:07 left. 5 plays, 54 yards, 1:58
2Q – Jordan Paup returned an interception of Roberts 22 yards for a TD to grow the Wildcat lead to 17-3 with 52 seconds left.  
2Q – Zepeda's 26-yard field goal following a blocked punt put ACU up 27-3 with three seconds remaining in the half. 3 plays, 10 yards, :20
4Q – Jayvon Davis ran 13 yards for a Falcon TD, but the PAT pass failed, pulling UTPB closer, 27-9, with 10:47 left. 9 plays, 80 yards, 4:05
4Q – Anthony Smith ran 4 yards for a TD to build ACU's lead to 34-9. 6 plays, 62 yards, 3:09
 
THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

• The Wildcats eclipsed the 200-yard team rushing mark for the second straight week, totaling 226. ACU ran for 204 against Louisiana College last Saturday.
• With 103 yards tonight, Tyrese White became ACU's first 100-yard rusher since Oct. 26, 2019, when Sema'J Davis ran for 150 against Nicholls.
• ACU senior Sema'J Davis, one of 10 Wildcat captains for this season, participated in tonight's pregame coin toss. The dynamic double-threat quarterback is recovering from injuries in a car accident in early October 2020. He was joined at midfield by his brother, UTPB wide receiver Shemar Davis.

 
STAT CORNER

• With the win, ACU halted UTPB's eight-game winning streak, including nine of its last 10 (6-0 in Spring 2021) since 2019. 
• After one quarter, the Falcons led in total yards (62-46), passing yards (44-21) first downs (5-3), time of possession (8:00-7:00) and on the scoreboard (3-0). The Wildcats led in rushing yards (25-18) and forced turnovers (1-0).
• At the half, ACU led in total offense (228-105), first downs (12-8), rushing yards (108-24), passing yards (228-105) and on the scoreboard (27-3). 
• After three quarters, ACU led in total offense (303-137), first downs (16-10), rushing yards (154-35), passing yards (149-102), time of possession (25:06-19:54) and on the scoreboard (27-3). 

 
QUOTABLE

• "UTPB is a good football team, and their coaching staff deserves a lot of credit. Our fans were awesome tonight, and there were times that it was electric on our sidelines. It was huge to see us get some turnovers tonight, and I thought our guys were aggressive. They set us up in a good spot offensively right before the half, and we continued to work at it the rest of the football game. When your defense does what ours did tonight, that's going to be a good thing for us. We ran the ball really well tonight against a good defensive line, and the running game got us back into our rhythm early. Tyrese White and Anthony Smith feed off each other and were a good 1-2 punch tonight, and we try to play to their strengths. We have a tough team ahead next week, and we've worked on their stuff a lot already. They will be a huge test for us, and we will have to make the best of our opportunities. " - head coach Adam Dorrel 

 
NOTABLE

• ACU's senior class was honored before the game tonight on the university's annual Family Weekend: defensive back Koy Richardson, safety Brian Bullock, running back Robert McKnight, linebacker Hunter Kier, long snapper David Stone, offensive lineman Zach Terry, kicker Oscar Hernandez and defensive lineman Garviea Freeny.
• The Wildcats are playing in their 100^th season in 2021 but this is their first meeting with UTPB. Abilene Christian did not play football from 1943-45 because of World War II. Adam Dorrel is in his fifth season as the 20th head coach in ACU football history. He was hired in 2016 as a three-time American Football Coaches' Association Division II Coach of the Year at Northwest Missouri State University and had a head coaching record of 90-34 record (.754) entering 2021.
• The University of Texas Permian Basin was founded in 1969 and has 5,834 students on its campuses in Odessa and Midland. Campus landmarks include a full-size replica of Stonehenge and the childhood home of President George W. Bush. The Falcons compete in NCAA Division II and are members of the Lone Star Conference.
• The Permian Basin covers 75,000 square miles and stretches across much of West Texas and into southeastern New Mexico, and is known for its rich petroleum, natural gas and potassium deposits. Revenue from the region's historic ranches – including Edwards, Masten and Gardner – have played important roles in Abilene Christian's financial growth through the years. Wildcat Ranch Wind Farm in Cochran County, near the Texas-New Mexico border, is one of ACU's newest economic developments in the Permian Basin.
• The Wildcats play six regular-season home games in 2021, including three (Louisiana College, Texas-Permian Basin and Central Arkansas) of its first five and its final two (Tarleton State and Sam Houston State) on their schedule.