KINGSVILLE, TEXAS – In an area of the country known for its strong, prevailing winds, it was Abilene Christian quarterback Mitchell Gale leading the Wildcats to a 31-24 win over Texas A&M-Kingsville in a battle of unbeaten, top-ranked ball clubs at a packed Javelina Stadium on Saturday night. (box score)

The Javelinas (4-1, 1-1) entered the game with the top defensive unit in the nation, but could not stop the passing of Gale who had an outstanding game. He became the first quarterback to pass for over 400 yards against the Hoggies since West Texas A&M’s Keith Null accomplished the feat in 2008. He finished the night 34-of-51 for 417 yards and three touchdowns.

The Javelinas fell behind by 21 points on two occasions, but were able to rally to give themselves a couple opportunities to tie the game in the fourth quarter. The Hoggie defense struggled against the passing of the Wildcats, but shut down the running game allowing just 23 yards on 26 attempts.

Gale got the Wildcat (5-0, 2-0) offense started on the very first drive of the game. He drove the Wildcats 67 yards in just six plays for a touchdown. Darrell Cantu-Harkless scored the opening touchdown on a 5-yard run with 12:01 left in the quarter.

Gale led the Wildcats to another touchdown late in the first half by completing five straight passes, including a 26-yard touchdown to Edmund Gates with 1:44 remaining in the half. Gale had a key 27-yard third down conversion to Kendrick Johnson that kept the drive alive.

In the third quarter, the Javelinas pinned the Wildcats back at their own 8-yard line, but once again Gale could not be stopped. He completed 5-of-6 passes on the drive, including a 27-yard scoring pass to Justin Andrews with 8:52 left on the clock in the quarter.

The Javelinas got on the board on their ensuing possession. On the second play from scrimmage, Connell Davis (Portland/Gregory-Portland HS) took a pitch and went 59 yards for the touchdown with 8:05 remaining in the third quarter.

The Javelinas stopped the Wildcats on a three-and-out, but could not capitalize. A failed fake punt gave the Wildcats possession at the Javelina 35-yard line.

The Hoggie defense stood strong and kept the Wildcats from finding the end zone by holding them to a 21-yard Morgan Lineberry field goal with 3:03 left in the third.

The Javelinas caught another break when Gale fumbled late in the third quarter and Derrick Thomas (San Antonio/Jay HS) recovered the ball at the ACU 19-yard line. The Hoggies were unable to punch the ball into the end zone, but made the score 24-10 after a 27-yard field goal by Christian Brom (McAllen/McAllen HS).

The fourth quarter began with the Wildcats driving 10 plays and 77 yards for another touchdown. This time, Gale found tight end Ben Gibbs in the end zone from 10 yards out with 11:28 left in the game. It appeared that the game might be over, the Javelinas still had a lot of fight left in them.

On the ensuing kickoff, Jonathon Woodson (Houston/Marshall HS) returned the ball 41 yards to the Hoggie 49-yard line. A 24-yard pass from Nate Poppell (Spring/Spring HS) to Damian Couthren (Bastrop/Bastrop HS) had the Javelinas in business. Four plays later, Poppell found Delashaun Dean (Fairfield, CA/Fairfield HS) open in the end zone for an 11-yard score with 9:10 to play.

The Javelina defense sacked Gale on first down on the next ACU possession and was able to force a punt two plays later. Junior Roman Pula (Tacoma, WA/Lincoln HS) snaked through the line and blocked the Mark Sprague punt giving the Javelinas possession at the ACU 29-yard line.

Poppell quickly completed a 17-yard pass to Dean and then found Ryan Lincoln (Bastrop/Bastrop HS) for a 12-yard scoring strike to make it a 31-24 ball game 6:46 left in the game.

The teams traded punts over the final minutes of the game with the Javelinas getting the ball back at their own 28-yard line with 3:15 left. They drove to midfield, but a Poppell pass went off a Hoggie receiver into the hands of Wildcat defensive back Darien Williams.

The Hoggies got the ball back with 29 seconds left needing to go 73 yards to tie up the game. They moved the ball to the ACU 43-yard line and had one last chance. Poppell completed a pass to Dean over the middle. He tried to lateral the ball, but it was ruled a forward lateral and the game ended with the Wildcats holding on for the victory.

The Javelinas gained 386 yards of offense in the game. Davis finished the night with an even 100 yards rushing on 16 carries. Poppell passed for 279 yards, but completed only 24-of-56 attempts. Lincoln led the Hoggie receivers with nine catches for 95 yards and a score while Dean added seven catches for 93 yards and a touchdown. Woodson led the team with 140 all-purpose yards.

The Javelina defense sacked Gale twice and recorded 10 tackles for loss in the game. Senior safety Corey Robertson (Denison/Denison HS) led the team with a career high 13 tackles. Tressor Baptiste (New York, NY/Curtis HS) added nine tackles and a half sack. Dondi Cooks (Mesquite/North Mesquite HS) and Matt Romig (Bells/Bells HS) combined for 11 tackles and 4.0 tackles for loss.

For the Wildcats, Gale connected with eight different receivers. Gates led the team with 11 catches for 135 yards and a touchdown. Johnson added seven catches for 134 yards. Daryl Richardson led the ground game with 23 yards on 10 carries. ACU had 440 yards of total offense.

The ACU defense was led by Richard Havins who had nine tackles. The aggressive group was limited to only five tackles for loss and one sack by Aston Whiteside.

This was the seventh straight win for the Wildcats over the Javelinas.  The Hoggies travel to Lone Star Conference rival Angelo State next Saturday for a 6 p.m. kickoff.
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