KINGSVILLE, TEXAS – Despite struggles on the offensive side of the ball, #6 Texas A&M-Kingsville defeated visiting Minot State, 19-7 on Saturday night at Javelina Stadium in front of 13,121 fans. (box score)

The Javelinas (2-0) relied upon a strong defensive effort to pick up their second win of the season. The team had seven different players record at least five tackles in the game and they limited the Beavers (0-3) to only 3.4 yards per play.

It was the Beavers who struck the first blow in the game when Zac Rudolph connected on a wide receiver reverse pass to Jabari Taylor. Taylor broke a tackle and scored on the 69-yard play with 5:00 left in the first quarter.

The Taylor touchdown came after the two teams combined for five punts and no first downs on the first five possessions of the ball game.

Late in the first quarter, the Javelinas got on the board thanks to a pair of big plays from sophomore wide receiver Robert Armstrong (Cuero/Cuero HS). On the first play of the drive, he made a diving over-the-shoulder catch for a gain of 42 yards. Two plays later, he laid out again in the back of the end zone while keeping his feet in bounds for a 31-yard touchdown catch with 52 seconds remaining in the quarter.

Over the next 12 minutes of the game, the two teams traded punts, traded interceptions and then traded punts again before the Javelina offense got things going late in the second quarter.

The Javelinas put together a 6-play, 60-yard scoring drive that culminated in a second touchdown pass from Nate Poppell (Spring/Spring HS) to Armstrong from 17 yards out with 55 seconds left in the half. Jonathan Woodson (Missouri City/Marshall HS) did most of the damage on the drive as he accounted for 39 rushing yards and seven receiving yards.

Two missed extra points made it a 12-7 game at the half and it stayed that way until the fourth quarter. Both defenses stood strong until a Minot State fumbled punt gave the Javelinas excellent field position. Jonathan Woodson (Missouri City/Marshall HS) put the game away with a 9-yard touchdown run with 4:37 left in the game.

Prior to Woodson’s game-clinching touchdown, the two teams combined for eight punts and no points in the second half.

The Javelinas kept the Beavers scoreless in the second half when Robert McCormick (Corpus Christi/Flour Bluff HS) nabbed his second interception of the game with 2:21 to play. A Woodson 33-yard gain on first down allowed the team to go to the victory formation to close out the game.

The Javelinas finished with 368 yards of total offense and 19 first downs. Woodson led the way with a career high 170 on 19 carries en route to 225 all-purpose yards. Armstrong finished the game with five receptions and a career high 103 yards receiving and now has four touchdowns on the season. Poppell was 13-of-23 for 174 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.

The Beavers gained 204 yards on offense with only 44 coming on the ground. Tyson Schatz had 40 yards on 12 carries to lead the team. Bryce Jorgenson went 11-for-30 for 91 yards and two interceptions passing. Taylor finished with five catches for 86 yards and a touchdown.

Robert McCormick (Corpus Christi/Flour Bluff HS) led the Hoggie defense with the first two interceptions of his career and five tackles. Zane Brown (Houston/Harding) and Marcus Sanders (Houston/Westfield HS) each had six tackles while Roderick Benman (Oklahoma City, OK/Santa Monica CC) also had six tackles and his second sack of the season. Trevor Pesek (Inez/Industrial HS) added five tackles and three pass breakups while Demontrelle Smith (Reddick, FL/The Citadel) had five tackles and his first sack of the season. Overall, the defense had three sacks, three forced turnovers and nine pass breakups.

The Beavers relied upon a defense that put together a strong pass rush throughout the game. Josh Weidler led the team with seven tackles, three for loss and a sack. Mike Hickman had the team’s lone interception.

The punters from both teams had strong games. Angel Millan (Edinburg/Economedes averaged 37.9 yards per kick and had four land inside the 20-yard line for the Javs while his MSU counterpart Andrew Walker averaged 39.7 yards per punt on 11 chances. He put four punts inside the 20-yard line and had a long of 72 yards.

With the win, the Javelinas improved to 49-13 all-time in home openers at Javelina Stadium and 66-16-1 overall.

The Javelinas are back in action next Saturday at 8 p.m. against West Texas A&M as part of the Lone Star Football Festival at Dallas Cowboys Stadium.
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