SAN ANGELO, TEXAS – The Texas A&M-Kingsville air assault hit full stride on Saturday night as quarterbacks Billy Garza and Daniel Ramirez combined for a school-record 484 yards passing in a 38-14 win at Angelo State. (box score)
Garza, playing in his final game as a Hog, completed 24-of-39 passes for a season high 389 yards and four touchdowns.  He spread the ball around enough to have three receivers go over 100 yards on the night, a first in Javelina history.
The game began well for the Javelinas (7-4, 6-3) as defensive lineman Jimmy Lugo (Alice/Alice HS) sacked Michael Cochran on the opening possession of the game and forced a fumble that was recovered by Tyrrell Herndon (Copperas Cove/Copperas Cove HS).  The Hoggies drove all the way to the one foot line before being pushed back by the Rams.  The Javs were forced to settle for a 22-yard field goal by Christian Brom (McAllen/McAllen HS) with 5:57 left in the first quarter.
The Javelinas forced their third turnover of the first half when safety Jabir Perkins (Dallas/Irving Nimitz HS) stepped in front of a Cochran pass near midfield and returned it seven yards to the ASU 42-yard line.  Two plays later quarterback Garza (Brownsville/Porter HS) connected with Jareko Taylor (Detroit, MI/Ford HS) on a 43-yard scoring play.  That catch put Taylor over 1,000 yards receiving for the season, just the third Javelina ever to reach the milestone, and gave him his 10th touchdown on the year.
After a defensive stop, the Javelinas were pinned at their own 1-yard line by ASU punter Dylan Wiggs.  Ramirez (Sinton/Sinton HS) replaced Garza on the series and in the process, put his name in the record books.  Facing a third-and-sixth at the five-yard line, Ramirez connected with Ryan Lincoln (Bastrop/Bastrop HS) on a swing pass to the left.  Lincoln made one man miss and then was off to the races for a touchdown.  The 95-yard pass tied the school record held by an Oktay Basci to Karl Williams pass against Central Oklahoma during the 1995 season.
The Javelinas went into halftime with a 17-0 lead that could have been much more.  Two interceptions deep in Ram territory and a missed field goal prevented the team from having a larger lead.  The offense gained 307 yards in the half, 269 through the air, its second highest total of the season.   The defense held the Rams to only 88 yards and forced three turnovers.
In addition to the 95-yard record-tying pass, the Javelinas set two other records in the first half.  Garza eclipsed Abel Gonzalez’s seven-year old record for passing yards in a season and Taylor broke a 32-year old record for most receptions in a season.  Glenn Starks set the record with 60 catches during the 1976 season.
The Javelinas got on the board early in the second half driving 68 yards on 11 plays to take a 24-0 lead.  Running back Billy Martin (Pittsburg/Pittsburg HS) did most of the damage.  He carried the ball four times for 37 yards and caught an 11-yard touchdown pass from Garza, his fourth receiving score of the season.
The Rams finally got on the scoreboard with 2:47 to play in the third quarter.  After a Javelina turnover, the Rams drove 52 yards in four plays.  Cochran connected with Damien McCradic on a 24-yard scoring pass, the Rams’ first home touchdown in 16 quarters.
The game appeared to be turning back towards the Rams late in the third quarter as they stopped the Javs and took possession at the A&M-Kingsville 43-yard line.  However, Hoggie corner back Eric John (Miami, FL/UM-Crookston) picked off his fourth pass of the year to give the ball back to the Javelinas at their own 31-yard line.
The Javelinas picked up a few first downs before they faced a third-and-19 at the ASU 35-yard line.  Garza connected with Taylor on a 29-yard gain to pick up the first down and put Taylor over 100 yards for the sixth time on the season.  Garza went right back to Taylor on the next play for a 6-yard scoring strike to make the score 31-7 with 13:10 left in the game.
After another defensive stop, the Javelinas were pinned deep again at their own 2-yard line after another excellent punt by Wiggs.  Garza ran 29 yards on the quarterback sneak on the first play of the drive to get the team out of the shadows of their own end zone.  Three plays later, a Garza pass fake left Damian Couthren (Bastrop/Bastrop HS) open on the side lines and he went 63 yards for the score.  The extra point made it 38-7 with 9:40 to play.
The Rams picked up a late score when Cochran connected with Drew Peterson on a seven-yard scoring strike to make the final score 38-14.
In addition to Garza’s big game, Javelina receivers had their way with the Ram secondary.  Taylor finished with nine catches for 130 yards and two touchdowns.  He finished the season with 1,090 yards and 11 touchdowns, the second highest total in school history.  His 66 catches during the season are a new Hog record.  Lincoln had four catches for a career high 154 yards and a touchdown, his second 100-yard receiving game of the season.  Couthren finished with four catches for a career high 143 yards and a score, his first 100-yard game of the season. 
Taylor and Lincoln became the most prolific pass receiving duo in school history.  They combined for 1,830 yards and 114 catches on the season, both are school records.
Garza finished his one season as a Javelina with a school record 2,787 yards passing and 23 touchdowns, one away from tying the school record.
The Javs gained a season high 616 yards of total offense.  Martin led the ground game with 18 carries for 67 yards.
The Hog defense held the Rams to 220 total yards of offense.  Linebacker Mike Martinez led the squad with 11 tackles, a forced fumble and one tackle for loss.  Lugo finished the game with a team high two sacks while Jimmy Saddler-McQueen led the team with three tackles for loss.  Perkins finished the night with six tackles, two tackles for loss and an interception.
The Rams were paced by Cochran who went 17-of-30 for 157 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.  Running back Daniel Thomas gained 56 yards on the ground to become the 10th player in ASU history with 1,000 yards in a season.  Sam Tindol led the receiving corps with six catches for 50 yards.
The Javelinas finished the season at 7-4 and tied for third place in the Lone Star Conference after back-to-back losing seasons.  The Hogs will play their first four game of the 2009 season at home and will have seven home games on the schedule.
####
pr08079-smm