ADA, OKLAHOMA - The No. 6 Texas A&M-Kingsville football team used a smothering defensive effort to knock off Lone Star Conference North Division rival East Central, 20-7 on the road on Saturday night. (box score)

The Javelinas (2-0, 1-0) limited the Tigers (0-2, 0-1) to a total of 87 yards of offense and zero offensive points in the game. Senior safety DeIra Glover (Hempstead/Hempstead HS) led the way with nine tackles. The Tigers had negative nine yards rushing on the night and only 96 yards passing.

The Hoggie offense gained 452 yards, but turned the ball over four times. Fred "Hollywood" Winborn (N. Hollywood, CA/Grant HS) was the offensive player of the game for the team with 161 yards rushing and a touchdown. Nate Poppell (Spring/Spring HS) went 27-for-41 for 297 and a touchdown, but was hampered with three interceptions.

The game began sluggishly with both defenses dominating. The Javelinas finally put some points on the board when Poppell connected with Sherman Batiste (Fort Bend/Marshall HS) on a 24-yard scoring strike with 8:38 left in the second quarter. The scoring drive covered 88 yards in nine plays and 2:59.

After a Glover interception, the Hoggies drove 61 yards in seven plays to take a 14-0 lead with 3:43 remaining in the first half. Winborn scored his first rushing touchdown of the season on a 9-yard scamper. The big play of the drive was a 36-yard completion to Robert Armstrong (Cuero/Cuero HS) on third-and-10.

It appeared that the Javelinas had put their troubles behind them coming out of halftime, but Poppell had a pass knocked in the air and intercepted by Charles Burks. Burks returned it 10 yards for a touchdown just 55 seconds into the third quarter. The rest of the game was a dog fight.

The Javelinas would add a pair of Christian Brom (McAllen/McAllen HS) field goals in the third and fourth quarters, but the defense was still put to the test.

Three times the Tigers had possession of the ball in the red zone and all three times they failed to score. Four fumbles hurt the Tigers as they lost two and the two others ended drives. Tyler Vanderzee was harassed into a 12-for-25 passing night that included two interceptions and only 96 yards. He was sacked four times. On the ground, Charles Opeseyitan was the leading gainer with seven yards on five carries. Zack Patteson had five catches for 43 yards to lead the team.

The Javelina defense limited the Tigers to only 2-for-13 on third down conversions and a total of seven first downs. They held the Tigers without a first down and only 12 total yards of offense in the second half. James Cannell (El Campo/El Campo HS), Michael Talamantez (Laredo/United HS), Matt Romig (Bells/Bells HS) and Roderick Benman (Oklahoma City, OK/Rogers HS) were each credited with sacks. Romig now has a team high 4.5 on the season. Mardrick Johnson (Lafayette, LA/West Orange HS) picked up an interception in the game.

Ryan Lincoln (Bastrop/Bastrop HS) and Delashaun Dean (Fairfield, CA/Fairfield HS) each had six receptions for the Javelinas. Lincoln tallied 56 yards and now has 160 career receptions. He needs only 18 more to set a new school record.

Seven Javelinas had at least two catches in the game. Armstrong had four catches for a team high 85 yards. Winborn added three catches for 33 yards to give him a 194 all-purpose yards on the evening.  It was his sixth career 100-yard rushing game.

The Tigers tallied 133 interception return yards on the night. Dontae Smith picked off two passes for 77 yards with a long return of 72 yards. Markell Walker had a 46-yard return and Charles Burks added a 10-yard return.

The Tigers had five sacks and nine tackles for loss as a team. Travis Buchanan led the way with two tackles for loss and a sack. Kerel James and Dontae Smith each had nine tackles to lead the team.

The Javelinas are 2-0 for the second straight season and return home next week to take on Texas A&M-Commerce in their home opener at Javelina Stadium. The game begins at 7 o’clock.
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