KINGSVILLE, TEXAS – Sometimes a team can play well enough to overcome turnovers, but rarely can a team overcome committing four more turnovers than its opponent and still win.  On Saturday, #24 Texas A&M-Kingsville did just that against the #3 team in the country, Delta State University winning 28-17 in front of 10,500 fans on Gene Upshaw Day.  (box score)

The game began ominously for the Javelinas (1-0) as they turned the ball over on consecutive possessions in the first quarter.  Each time the Statesmen returned the ball for a score.  The first came when Byron Davenport scooped up a fumble and rumbled 25 yards for a touchdown with 7:09 to play in the first quarter.  On the next possession, a tipped ball landed in the hands of Christian Graham and he raced 55 yards for the score giving DSU a 14-0 lead less than 10 minutes into the game.

The bad luck for the Javelinas continued as the Statesmen forced two more turnovers before the game was barely 20 minutes old.  However, the Hog defense was up to the challenge and prevented DSU from putting anymore points on the board.

The Javelinas finally started to get something going on the offensive end when E.J. LeBlanc (Beaumont/Texas State) returned a punt 19 yards to give the team excellent field position.  Seven plays later, the Javs scored their first points of the game on a Christian Brom (McAllen/McAllen HS) 24-yard field goal with 6:42 left in the half.

The Hogs forced a quick three-and-out and once again a nice return from LeBlanc set the team up at the DSU 36-yard line.  The Hogs quickly drove to the 2-yard line and Joe Williams (Houston/Forest Brook HS) scored the touchdown with 3:57 left in the half.  A botched snapped prevented the extra point and the Javs trailed 14-9.

The Javelinas threatened to score later in the half, but it was the Statesmen who tacked on three points at the buzzer.  A long 42-yard pass from Garrett DeWitt to Eldred King with two seconds left in the half set up a Matt Dean 36-yard field goal to make it 17-9 at the break.

In the third quarter, the Javelinas used another excellent punt return from LeBlanc to start a drive inside the DSU 30-yard line.  The Hogs drove down to the 3-yard line and had first and goal, but were stopped three straight times.  Finally, on fourth down Williams bulled his way over from the one to score.  The two-point conversion failed and the Statesmen remained in the lead 17-15.

On their next possession, the Javelinas were about to take the lead after a 59-yard pass from Billy Garza (Brownsville/Porter HS) to Ryan Lincoln (Bastrop/Bastrop HS) gave the team a first down at the DSU 16-yard line.  Unfortunately, a botched handoff ended up in the hands of the Statesmen ending the scoring threat.

The Statesmen used the momentum of the turnover and their offense finally started to click for the first time in the game.  Short passes from DeWitt and the running of Trevar Deed set up the team with a first-and-goal at the Hoggie 7-yard line.  Javelina senior linebacker Jeff Edwards (Houston/Westside HS) came up with the defensive play of the game when he knocked down a DeWitt pass and came up with the interception, the only turnover of the game for the Statesmen.

The Javelinas quickly drove out to midfield and then junior transfer Connell Davis (Portland/Gregory-Portland HS) showed why he has been so highly touted.  On third-and-2 from the DSU 47-yard line, Davis took a flair pass from Garza and raced down the right sideline breaking one tackle and outrunning two more would be tacklers to give the Hogs their first lead of the game with 9:57 to play.  The two-point conversion failed and the score stood at 21-17.

The Javelina defense continued its stellar play and forced another punt with 6:37 remaining.  One good drive would ice the game for the Hogs.

The Javelinas embarked on an 11-play, 77-yard drive that included 10 running plays.  Garza kept the drive going with a 15-yard scramble on third-and-10 and three plays later Williams busted through the line for a 9-yard score, his career-high third touchdown of the game.  Brom tacked on the extra point and the celebration was on with 39 seconds left in the game.

The Javelina offense finished the game with 506 yards of total offense, 200 on the ground and 306 through the air.  Garza finished 22-of-38 for 306 yards, the sixth time in his career, one touchdown and two interceptions.  He also ran for 58 yards on 13 carries.  Williams finished the game with 80 yards on 14 carries.  Lincoln finished the game with a career-high nine catches for 140 yards.  Davis ended up with 23 rushing yards on four carries and 54 receiving yards.  LeBlanc added seven punt returns for 76 yards.  The offense gained 26 first downs and held the ball for 36:56.

The Javelina defense gave up a mere three points on the night.  They limited a team that had averaged 489 yards of offense a year ago to 234.  The Statesmen were limited to 80 yards rushing and a 154 yards passing with a completion percentage of less than 50 percent.  Corey Robertson (Denison/Denison HS) led the team with eight tackles, including two for a loss of 10 yards in his first game in nearly two years.  Senior Arlen Childress (Humble/Humble HS) was his usual reliable self with eight tackles.  Edwards made six tackles to with his interception.  The defensive line was led by Jimmy Saddler-McQueen (Houston/Forest Brook HS) and red-shirt freshman Matt Romig (Bells/Bells HS) who combined for seven tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and two pass break ups.

The Statesmen were led by DeWitt who finished 13-for-32 for 154 yards and an interception.  King finished the game with 56 yards receiving to lead the team and Deed rushed for 59 yards.  All-American Lardester Hicks-Green led the defense with seven tackles.

The Javelinas are back in action next Saturday at home against East Central University at 7 o’clock at Javelina Stadium. 
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