KINGSVILLE, Texas – The Texas A&M-Kingsville football program made history for head coach Daren Wilkinson on Saturday at Pepsi Field at Javelina Stadium with a 72-0 shutout of former longtime rival Sul Ross State to cap off Hispanic Heritage Weekend sponsored by IBC Bank.
 
The Javelinas (1-1) surpassed the 70-point mark for the first time in over four decades in the win and the first shutout of an opponent with Wilkinson at the helm.
 
"After a game like we had last week, where we didn't play the way we are capable of, it was a challenge to the team to come out and not just focus on who we were playing but to come out and play to the best of our ability," said Wilkinson. "I believe for the most part we did that as we were about as even as we could get in passing and rushing yards.
 
The Javelinas posted 600 total yards of offense with 302 coming on the ground while the remainder went through the air. The defensive half of the ball held the Lobos (0-2) to 98 total yards, including net rushing yardage of -1 on 28 attempts.


The Hogs wasted little time getting on the board as redshirt senior Luis Lopez (San Diego, Texas) took the first play from scrimmage to the house for 70 yards on the ground to put his squad up 7-0 at the 11:28 mark of the opening quarter.
 
The ensuing Lobo drive went three-and-out and the Javelinas need only seven plays to march 52 yards down the field before redshirt junior Cade Dyal (Kerrville, Texas) connected with redshirt senior Devin Milburn (Galveston, Texas) for 12 yards to double up the hosts' lead at 14-0 with 5:37 remaining in the stanza.
 
SRSU was unable to make any headway on the next drive as Jorge Barerra lost the handle on the ball and it was junior Jacob Clarkson (Houston, Texas) who found himself on the bottom of the scramble for possession.
 
It took only three plays for TAMUK to convert the turnover into points on the board as Dyal found his second score of the day on a strike to redshirt senior Aaron Dilworth (Corpus Christi, Texas) for a 21-0 lead before the first quarter expired.
 
Both sides exchanged possession for the remainder of the frame as the Blue and Gold forced a three-and-out while the visitors picked off a pass from Dyal late in the quarter.
 
The turnover had no impact as a stringent Hog defense forced their third three-and-out of the opening stanza to return possession from the Lobos. The Javelina offense took their following drive six plays down the field for the fourth score of the evening after Lopez rumbled his way for three yards and his second rushing touchdown.
 
TAMUK's defense forced its second turnover of the day as redshirt junior Tre'Michael Tutt (Channelview, Texas) ended up at the bottom of the pile and the turnover resulted in a touchdown just four plays later after senior Kris Barnes (Fort Worth, Texas) charged ahead for four yards for a 35-0 Javelina lead with 12:23 showing on the clock in the second quarter.
 
Barnes put the cushion at 42 points with another four-yard rush as the Hog defense continued with the shutout going into halftime. His counterpart Lopez added a two-yard touchdown run coming out of the break for his third score of the contest before a minute had passed in the third quarter.
 
Redshirt senior Koy Detmer Jr. (Somerset, Texas) took over play-calling duties in the stanza and connected with Dilworth for 25 yards with seven seconds remaining in the quarter to put the Hogs up 56-0 going into the fourth.
 
The points kept piling on after redshirt freshman Amonte Bowen (Donna, Texas) forged ahead for nine yards early in the final frame to push the total to 63, and added a second score at 7:38 to move TAMUK's total 70 for the first time in nearly 43 years.
 
The last time the Hogs reached the 70-point threshold was October 2, 1976, in a 77-7 throttling of Stephen F. Austin on the road in Nacogdoches, Texas.
 
The Javelinas finalized their scoring after the ensuing kickoff was muffed near SRSU's goal line and the result was a safety for the hosts that pushed the score to its eventual final at 72-0.
 
TAMUK's passing corps finished with 298 yards through the air as Dyal went 14-for-18 with 146 yards and two scores while Detmer Jr. added 101 yards on an 11-for-13 night.
 
Six different targets finished with at least four receptions and 35 yards as the trio of senior Donte Ross (Palmdale, Calif.), redshirt junior Darrian Hambrick (Nashville, Tenn.) and Milburn all eclipsed 50 yards. Ross led the way with five catches for 53 yards, followed by Hambrick at four grabs for 52 yards, with Milburn rounding out the trio at four receptions and 50 yards.
 
Lopez rumbled for 132 yards on the ground on 12 carries for an 11.0 yard per rush average, while Barnes posted 74 yards, also on twelve attempts.
 
The Javelina defense was led by Tutt who finished with nine tackles, two for loss, and a fumble recovery. Clarkson added two sacks and five total tackles alongside a forced fumble and fumble recovery of his own.

Senior Ronnie LaRue (Dallas, Texas) had the other turnover as he picked off Trey Johns early in the fourth to set up Bowen's first score.
 
TAMUK will return to Pepsi Field at Javelina Stadium next week for the Lone Star Conference opener against No. RV Angelo State for a 7 p.m. kickoff for the Hall of Fame & Champions Weekend celebration.
 
Watch your Javelinas live today on the Javelina Sports Network sponsored by Mendoza's Pharmacy. For more information on Javelina football visit JavelinaAthletics.com, or follow the team on Facebook /JavelinaFootball and on Twitter @JavelinaFB
 
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