KINGSVILLE, Texas (Football) – Trey Mitchell jump-started Texas A&M University-Kingsville (1-1) to a 7-3 lead with a 67-yard run on the Javelinas' opening drive and the defense finished with 97 total tackles as Kingsville defeated Colorado Mesa University (1-1), 17-14, on Saturday evening at Javelina Stadium.
 
The defense, highlighted by seniors Henry Greathouse and Trevor Pesek's combined 21 tackles, was locked in all evening, registering six forced fumbles and four quarterback hits. The Javelinas added five sacks for 35 yards and limited the fast paced offense of the Mavericks to 6-of-17 on third-down conversions and 0-of-4 on fourth-down opportunities.
 
"Once our defense got rolling, everyone was cognizant of what our game plan was and we all held ourselves accountable," said Greathouse. "We definitely worked on improving on some things and it was good to give our crowd a win tonight."
 
Playing with a heavy heart days after his grandfather's passing, Mitchell showed just how tough the new signal caller for the Javelinas is.
 
"I felt good tonight, but good play or bad play, you forget about it and move on to the next possession," said Mitchell. "The play definitely boosted the offense and the defense shined out there tonight. The offensive line made it easy for me to find open lanes and pick my spots to run tonight. They worked hard all evening and made it easy for our offense to click. I knew my grandfather was on my side tonight and it really felt good to end with a win."
 
The win put an emphatic end to a nine-game losing streak dating back to last season and marked the first time that a player rushes for two touchdowns in a game since Greg Pitre and Cornelius Shackelford did so against McMurry University last season (Sept. 21). The 67-yard rush for a score was also the longest touchdown run since Pitre's 89-yard carry against the Warhawks.
 
Mitchell's sensational run gave the Javelinas a 7-3 lead, but a miscue in the end zone on the ensuing possession led to a safety for the Mavericks to cut CMU's deficit to 7-5. However, Mitchell capped off a 10-play, 56-yard drive with his second rushing touchdown of the first quarter as the Javelinas ended the opening frame with a 14-5 advantage.
 
At halftime, the Javelinas led 14-12. Pesek registered six first-half tackles and Forker, Savere and Greathouse each added five tackles apiece.
 
TAMUK began the second half with a field goal to take a 17-12 lead with 10:22 left to play in the third quarter. A second safety with 3:10 left in the third led to two points for the Mavericks as CMU was now just a field goal away from tying the contest.
 
A late fumble gave CMU one last crack at potentially tying the contest as the Mavs recovered a fumble on the Kingsville 23-yard line, but back-to-back tackles for losses (Kyle Williams and Kamen Ruelas on the first play and Pesek and Trey Oliver on the next run) forced a third-and-17 for Colorado Mesa. After an incomplete pass, CMU's kicker attempted a 47-yard field goal but missed short of the uprights and the Javelinas took over with 5:07 left to play.
 
A 13-yard rush by Mitchell and a 35-yard rush by Joe Te'o put TAMUK on the CMU 22-yard line. With 1:36 remaining and with Kingsville 11 yards away from a first down, Mitchell ran for six yards, and followed with another six-yard rush, this time on fourth-and-five, to clinch the victory for the Javelinas.
 
Te'o finished with 70 yards rushing and Mitchell ended his second game as a Javelina with 106 yards on the ground and 72 yards passing. Defensively, Darius Lively and Mark Savere added nine tackles and Savere, Williams, Ruelas, Braedon Robinson, Anthony Forker, DeVon Rhodes and Joshua Toki added a tackles for losses. Pesek finished with three quarterback hits and as a unit, TAMUK recorded 14 tackles for losses (50 yards).
 
"Defensively, we made stops when we needed to and held a great offensive team to 14 points," said head coach David Calloway. "Offensively, we got off to a quick start and managed the ball late in the game and it led to a quality win."
 
TAMUK heads to the 2014 Lone Star Conference Football Festival on Saturday, Sept. 20 to take on Texas A&M University-Commerce in the opening game at AT&T Stadium. Kickoff is slated for a 10 a.m. start.
 
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