SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – Jonathan Woodson (Missouri City/Marshall HS) ran wild at Incarnate Word on Saturday night for the Texas A&M-Kingsville football team, but it was almost for naught as the Cardinals erased a 17-point fourth quarter deficit. Thomas Rebold’s 50-yard field goal attempt for the Cards with 1:41 remaining in the game hit the cross bar preserving the Javelinas’ 41-38 win at Benson Stadium.

The Javelinas (4-3, 2-2) built up a 41-24 lead thanks to the legs of Woodson and the arm of Daniel Ramirez (Sinton/Sinton HS). Woodson had a historic night in becoming the first player in school history to gain 100 yards both rushing and receiving. He gained 162 yards on 16 carries, snatched five catches for 106 yards, picked up 94 kick return yards and scored three touchdowns. Ramirez passed for a career high 373 yards and four touchdowns to lead an offense that gained 558 yards.

Woodson finished the game with 362 all-purpose yards missing out on Johnny Bailey’s school record set in 1986 at North Dakota State by two yards. Early in the game he became the school’s all-time leader in kick return yardage and has 1,399 and counting.

The Javelina offense got off to a good start for the first time this year. They went 70 yards in five plays on the opening drive that was capped by a 50-yard screen pass to Woodson.

A missed extra point allowed the Cardinals (2-5, 2-3) to take an early 7-6 lead when they took advantage of a tipped pass that turned into an interception giving them great field position. They drove 26 yards in six plays and scored on a 1-yard plunge by Trent Rios with 5:02 left in the first quarter.

The Hoggies were able to take advantage of an interception by Rockeem Collins (Gonzales/Gonzales HS) late in the first quarter. They went 44 yards in four plays and found paydirt on a 15-yard run by Randall Toney (Hendersonville, TN/Station Camp HS) on his only carry of the night. The extra point was mishandled, but Joseph Vela (Harlingen/Rio Hondo HS) was able to throw a pass toward the end zone that was tipped and caught by Johnny Tivao (Compton, CA/Paramount HS) for a two-point conversion with 14:30 left in the second quarter.

The Javs went up 20-7 on their next drive. First, Ramirez hit Jake Willingham (Van Alstyne/Van Alstyne HS) for a 22-yard gain and then Woodson sprinted around left end for a career long 70-yard touchdown run with 11:43 to play in the quarter.

The Cardinals came right back with Eric Massoni connecting on a 57-yard bomb to Jacob Love just 1:18 later to cut the lead to 20-14.

The Javelina offense was running on full power when they scored on a third straight drive. They went 61 yards in eight plays and Ramirez found Sherman Batiste (Fort Bend/Marshall HS) in the end zone from 20 yards out with 7:05 left in the half. The extra point made it 27-14.

The Cards were able to tack on a field goal by Rebold with 1:53 left in the half to make it a 27-17 game heading into the break.

In the second half, the two teams traded punts, but the Cardinals got excellent field position on their second drive and took advantage. Massoni quickly drove the team 33 yards in five plays and connected with Stan Sullivan on an 8-yard scoring pass with 10:29 left in the third quarter.

The Javelinas had the answer. First, Ramirez hit Batiste on a short crossing pass that turned into a 32-yard gain plus a 15-yard personal foul penalty. Then, Ramirez hit Woodson in stride on a wheel route to the right sideline for a 34-yard touchdown pass with 9:34 left in the third.

Late in the third quarter, Marcus Sanders (Houston/Westfield HS) snuffed out an Incarnate Word drive in the redzone with his first interception of the year. The Hoggies were able to make the Cards pay for the turnover by driving 87 yards in eight plays and scoring on a second touchdown pass to Batiste with 13:39 remaining in the game.

The lead appeared safe, but it was not. The Cards drove 69 yards in 10 plays taking up 4:54 on their ensuing possession. Massoni connected with Colton Palmer on a 25-yard scoring pass with 8:44 to play. Then, the Cardinal defense forced a three-and-out and blocked the Javelina punt and Nick Ginn grabbed the lose ball and returned it for a touchdown with 6:59 left in the game to make it 41-38.

The Javelinas were able to use up over four minutes of clock on their next drive and pinned the Cardinals deep on a Ramirez 37-yard punt that rolled dead at the UIW 7-yard line with 2:55 remaining.
Massoni guided the Cardinals down the field picking up three first downs in a row, including a 39-yard strike to Palmer to put the ball at the Javelina 28-yard line. Three straight incompletions set up a fourth down and a potential game-tying 45-yard field goal attempt by Rebold. The Cardinals were flagged for a false start moving the ball back five yards. Those five yards proved big when Rebold’s 50-yard try hit the cross bar and fell short allowing the Hoggies to run out the clock.

The Javelinas rushed for 185 yards and passed for 373 yards while picking up 28 first downs. In addition to Woodson and Ramirez, Batiste added seven catches for 91 yards and two touchdowns while both Robert Armstrong (Cuero/Cuero HS), Damian Couthren (Bastrop/Bastrop HS) and Willingham had at least 47 yards receiving.

On defense, Sanders led the way with a team high seven tackles and an interception. Roderick Benman (Oklahoma City, OK/Rogers HS) added six tackles, three tackles for loss and his team best eighth sack of the season.

The Cardinals picked up 82 yards on the ground and 311 through the air while notching 22 first downs. Rios led the rushing attack with 52 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries. Massoni finished the night 21-of-39 for 311 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. Love was his favorite target with seven catches for 129 yards and a score while Palmer finished with four catches for 97 yards and a score.

The Cardinal defense was led by Chaz Pavliska’s 10 tackles and a half sack. Dakota Mawyer added eight tackles, a tackle for loss and a fumble recovery. Devin Haywood had seven tackles and picked off his seventh interception of the season.

The Cardinals won the time of possession battle 33:37-26:23. Each team committed two turnovers and seven penalties although the Cardinals were penalized 24 more yards than the Hogs.

The Javelinas return home next week for the Kleberg Bank Homecoming game against Tarleton State.
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