KINGSVILLE, Texas – Following a 273-day layoff, the Texas A&M-Kingsville football team will pop the cork on its 2017 season when it hosts the Central Washington Wildcats at Javelina Stadium Saturday at 7 p.m.
 
The Javelinas enter this contest after posting a 9-3 mark in 2016 that included a season-ending seven-game win streak. Their accomplishments helped pick up 36 points in the NCAA's American Football Coaches Association preseason poll.
 
Their opponents in the opening contest of the 2017 slate are coming off a 7-3 season in which they captured six of their final seven games. They also received votes in the AFCA poll, totaling 10 points overall.
 
Both offenses will look to build on the success they had just a year ago. The Hogs topped 50 points four times, including a 68 point performance against Simon Fraser. Coach Wilkinson saw his charges average 38.2 points per game, second-best in the Lone Star Conference. The Wildcats' offense reached 40 points five times, with a season high of 55.
 
Graduation hit each offensive unit hard, however. Each head coach was forced to say goodbye to their starting signal caller, leading rusher and leading receiver. Among the biggest pieces returning to Kingsville's offense are a pair of seniors in tight end Stehly Reden and guard Stuart Sanchez. Reden snagged eight touchdowns as a junior and earned a spot on the Division II College Coaches Association Super Region Four second-team. Sanchez, a member of the 2016 All-LSC first-team, figures to help anchor an offensive line that will be opening holes for, among others, starting tailback Nick Pelrean. The Houston native collected nine touchdowns in his sophomore campaign, tied for the team-high, and also totaled 568 yards on the ground.
 
"The offense just needs to do its job," said Wilkinson. "I don't think our gameplan is extremely difficult. What we don't want to have is those first game errors. We need to make sure we're taking care of the football and not having any penalties. It amounts to getting prepared and being able to play our game."
The 'Cats will benefit from the return of junior left tackle James Moore, a D2CCA All-Region first team selection and one of three starters back on that unit. They will be attempting to open holes for a diverse group of running backs that include senior Austin Pernell, junior Christian Cummings and sophomore Jordan Tufaga. Each runner topped 200 yards last year. The question of who will be under center for head coach Ian Shoemaker appears to have more than one answer, as both Jonathan Hillel and Reilly Hennessey figure to take snaps.
 
While each squad saw a lot of success on offense in 2016, the defenses may provide most of the highlights on Saturday. Each program had a student-athlete capture defensive player of the year honors in their respective conference. For the Javelinas, defensive end Brandon Jones earned the award by leading the LSC with 11 sacks and adding 14 tackles for loss, garnering him the honor of D2Football.com second-team All-American.
 
Kevin Haynes nabbed the award in the GNAC after racking up 110 tackles and 19 tackles for loss, the best total in the league. Haynes will be joined by four other players who were all-LSC performers in the people of linebacker Sean Elledge and defensive backs Darien Williams, Max McIntosh and Jackson Huerta.
 
Jones is joined by all-LSC performers Braedon Robinson, DeMarcus Spurlock and Jarrod Sanders. Robinson's 51 tackles tied for tops on Kingsville's roster and his 12.5 tackles for loss ranked eighth in the LSC. Fellow linebacker Spurlock rolled up 44 tackles and a trio of sacks while Sanders helped lock down the secondary. He totaled seven pass breakups and a pair of interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown.
 
"The biggest thing for us [on defense]," said Wilkinson, "is to be able to use our strengths. I think we're extremely quick at every position; we just need to use it. We also need to stick to our assignments. You have to do your job. If we do that and run to the ball, we'll be okay on defense."
 
Coach Wilkinson's team will be attempting to maintain the program's perfect record against Central Washington, as the Javelinas own a 3-0 mark against the Wildcats. The schools last met up in 2013 in Ellensburg for a contest that resulted in the 21-14 triumph. The previous two years, the Hogs had been the hosts and won both matches by double digits.
 
The opening kickoff is set for 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast online at javelinaathletics.com and on the radio via Wild 105.5 FM (KLHB-FM Corpus Christi). Mark Inserra and Ian Bernal will bring you the action live, beginning with the pregame show at 6:45 p.m.
 
Fans are encouraged to follow and interact on all Javelina social media accounts. For full coverage of Texas A&M-Kingsville football, please follow @JavelinaFB on Twitter and Instagram, like the official Facebook page of Javelina football (/JavelinaFootball) and subscribe to the JavelinaAthletics YouTube channel.