ABILENE, Texas – In his first game action since his senior year of high school in 2018, newly named ACU starting quarterback
Maverick McIvor threw for 258 yards and two scores while
Kendall Catalon scored two touchdowns to lead the Wildcats to a season-opening 28-14 win Thursday night over Lamar at Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium.
The victory was the first for new ACU head coach Keith Patterson, who took over as the Wildcats' head coach in December 2021 after spending the previous three seasons (2019-21) as the defensive coordinator at Texas Tech.
McIvor – who transferred to ACU after spending three seasons at Texas Tech (2019-21) – was named the starting quarterback by first-year head coach Keith Patterson last Saturday. He responded by completing 22 of 38 passes for 258 yards and two scores, helping the Wildcats rally from a 14-7 second-quarter deficit.
Catalon – a graduate transfer from Arkansas – was McIvor's favorite target, catching seven balls for 119 yards and one score, a 30-yarder from McIvor early in the second quarter that tied the game, 14-14. He also scored on a 37-yard double-reverse with 1:54 left in the first half to give ACU a 21-14 lead over the Cardinals.
ACU dominated the second quarter, outgaining Lamar 124-9 in total yards and running 22 plays to just nine for the Cardinals. The Wildcats outscored Lamar 14-0 in the decisive second quarter.
The Cardinals had 145 yards in the first quarter on two long touchdown passes from Mike Chandler to Jalen Dummett (59 yards) and Sevonne Rhea (75 yards), but only managed 127 yards the rest of the way.
Seven different Wildcats ran the ball and they ran for 186 yards as ACU gained 444 yards against a beleaguered Lamar defense. Defensive end Tyrin Bradley led the Wildcats with five tackles and two quarterback hurries.
GAME SUMMARY
How They Scored:
1Q (10:24) – Anthony Smith capped a 75-yard drive on the opening drive of the season with an 11-yard touchdown run. The Wildcats converted three third-down plays on the march, including on the touchdown run. Quarterback Maverick McIvor found Kobe Clark and Smith for the other two third-down conversions.
Drive: 12 plays, 75 yards, 4:36. Blair Zepeda PAT. ACU 7, Lamar 0
1Q (9:07) – Lamar answered quickly as Mike Chandler hit Jalen Dummett over the middle for a 59-yard touchdown catch and run. Dummett was the Cardinals' starting quarterback last season.
Drive: 3 plays, 65 yards, 1:17. Chris Esquada PAT. ACU 7, Lamar 7
1Q (1:04) – After Blair Zepeda missed a 42-yard field goal attempt for ACU, the Cardinals struck quickly as Mike Chandler hit Sevonne Rhea for a 75-yard touchdown pass on the drive's only play.
Drive: 1 play, 75 yards, 0:11. Chris Esquada PAT. ACU 7, Lamar 14
2Q (12:49) – The Wildcats tied the game on a 30-yard touchdown pass from Maverick McIver to Kendall Catalon. The drive was kept alive when Lamar defensive tackle Blake Gotcher was called for targeting and ejected on a third-and-6 pass rush. ACU scored four plays after the penalty.
Drive: 8 plays, 75 yards, 3:15. Blair Zepeda PAT. ACU 14, Lamar 14
2Q (1:54) – Kendall Catalon scored his second touchdown of the night when he took a double-reverse 37 yards for a score to give ACU a lead late in the first half. The Wildcats converted two third-down plays with Catalon catching a 12-yard pass on third-and-7, and then quarterback-turned-safety Peyton Mansell converted a third-and-1 with a 1-yard run. Catalan scored on the reverse on the next play.
Drive: 7 plays, 62 yards, 2:44. Blair Zepeda PAT. ACU 21, Lamar 14
4Q (10:49) – Maverick McIvor threw his second touchdown pass of the night, a six-yarder to senior Kobe Clark to cap another long scoring drive for the Wildcats. ACU came up big on third down as McIvor hit Kendall Catalon with a 26-yard pass on third-and-12, and then McIvor hit Clark with the TD pass on third-and-goal.
Drive: 10 plays, 62 yards, 4:03. Blair Zepeda PAT. ACU 28, Lamar 14
Turning Point: With ACU trailing 14-7 early in the second quarter, quarterback Maverick McIvor threw an incomplete pass on third-and-six from his own 45-yard line. However, after a discussion and video review, the officiating crew flagged Lamar defensive tackle Blake Gotcher for targeting, earning an ejection and giving the ACU drive new life with a first down at the Lamar 40. The Wildcats tied the score at 14-14 when McIvor found Kendall Catalon for a 30-yard touchdown pass.
Key Stat: The Wildcats converted 9 of 18 third-down plays into first downs or touchdowns, including 7 of 8 on their four scoring drives. The ACU defense, meanwhile, limited Lamar to just 2 of 13 on third-down conversions.
Quoting Coach Patterson
On First Game: "There were so many unknowns going into this game because we have so many new players, every coach is new, and we really only had three weeks to prepare with all of our pieces in place. And we're still trying to get our guys in place as they come back from injuries or other reasons."
On Performance of New Players: "That's what creates the unknown going into the game. We've got some talent, but a lot of them didn't get an opportunity where they were for whatever reason, and I believe in all of those guys. We're going to get better and better as the season goes along and I'm excited to see where this thing ends up."
On Team's Response to Being Down 14-7: "We talked about it in our team Chapel earlier (Thursday) and I told them they would be tested with fire and it would be how we responded. How we responded was that nobody flinched and that was what I was looking to see from our team."
Quoting Maverick McIvor
Two Touchdown Passes: "We connected on a couple of those, and we'll get some more. Once we get everybody going, we'll be dangerous. Tonight was a good start.
On First Game Since 2018: "You just gotta go back to the basics and do what you've learned and what you're taught. I got comfortable after that first hit. Words can't describe how good it felt to be out there. I love football so much, and to finally get the opportunity to do what I do was great."
On Kendall Catalon: "He's my roommate and a really good dude and a really good player, and that's going to go a really long way this season."
What It Means: ACU's victory snapped an eight-game losing streak in season-openers. The last time ACU won a season-opener was Aug. 31, 2013, when it beat Concordia (Ala.), 84-6, on a night when John David Baker set the school record with seven touchdown passes in his first career start. Since then, the Wildcats have opened the season on the road against FBS opponents and lost to Georgia State (2014), Fresno State (2015), New Mexico (2016), Air Force (2017), Baylor (2018), North Texas (2019), Texas-El Paso (2020), and SMU (2021).
Post-Game Notes
• ACU senior wide receiver Kobe Clark caught six passes for 71 yards and one touchdown. Clark now has 211 career catches, four behind Taylor Gabriel (215 catches from 2010-13) for second place, and 24 behind ACU running backs coach Jerale Badon (235 catches from 2004-07) for the all-time lead. Clark now has 2,278 career yards, passing Johnny Knox (2,227 yards from 2007-08) for eighth place on the career yards receiving chart.
• Prior to Thursday night's game, the last time Maverick McIvor appeared in a game was Sept. 7, 2018, when he led San Angelo Central High School to a 49-3 win over Del Rio in the season-opener. McIvor, though, tore his ACL in the game, ending his season and high school career.
• After scoring on two long passes (59 and 75 yards) in the first quarter and putting 145 yards of total offense in the opening quarter, the Cardinals didn't complete a pass in the second quarter and gained just nine yards. Lamar ran just nine plays on offense, committed five penalties and was 0 for 3 on third-down plays in the second 15 minutes of the game.
• ACU head coach Keith Patterson is the 21st head football coach in ACU history and is the 12th coach to win his Wildcat debut. Others who won their first game as the head coach are Vernon McCasland (Midland College in 1919), Sewell Jones (Clarendon in 1920), Tonto Coleman (Texas A&M-Commerce in 1942), Garvin Beauchamp (Eastern New Mexico in 1950), N.L. Nicholson (McMurry in 1956), Wally Bullington (Northwestern State in 1968), Dewitt Jones (NW Oklahoma State in 1977), Ted Sitton (East Central Oklahoma in 1979), John Payne (West Texas A&M in 1985), Dr. Bob Strader (Western New Mexico in 1993), and Ken Collums (McMurry in 2012).
• Patterson and his staff spent the spring and summer rebuilding the talent level on the roster through the transfer portal. The Wildcats' offensive two-deep listed 15 transfers with 10 of those from Power 5 conferences, including quarterback Maverick McIver (Texas Tech). The defense has 13 transfers on its two deep with five from Power 5 conferences.
• Lamar is going through a rebuilding phase in head coach Blaine Morgan's third season, and that's reflected in its depth chart. Of the 26 players listed on Lamar's offensive two-deep, 23 are either freshmen or sophomores. On the defensive side, of the 24 players listed on the two-deep, 23 are either freshmen or sophomores.
Up Next
The Wildcats will host Southwestern Athletic Conference member Prairie View A&M next Saturday (Sept. 10) at 7 p.m. at Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium. The Wildcats lead the all-time series against the Panthers, 3-0. The last time the teams met was Nov. 16, 2013, when the Wildcats finished off their first season at the NCAA Division I level with a 65-45 victory at Prairie View. The last time the Panthers played in Abilene was Sept. 9, 1994, when ACU beat the Panthers, 35-0, at Shotwell Stadium, a game that was part of the Panthers' 80-game losing streak.
#GoWildcats
