WICHITA FALLS, Texas - Redshirt sophomore Zadock Dinkelmann (Somerset, Texas) threw for 316 yards and two touchdowns in his collegiate debut, but the Texas A&M-Kingsville football program ultimately fell in its 2021 spring season opener to Midwestern State by a score of 45-34 at Memorial Stadium on Saturday.
"We fell short today but I'm proud of how we competed," said head coach Mike Salinas, also in his Blue and Gold debut on the sidelines. "We lost the field position battle in the first have and didn't sustain drives early.
"We have to do a better job of taking care of the football. Hats off to [Bill] Maskill and his staff, we will get back to work and get better. We will put this one behind us in 24 hours and fix what needs fixing."
The Javelinas (0-1) fell behind 24-7 by the half and had momentum in their favor late in the fourth before the Mustangs (1-0) used a 55-yard interception return to squelch any hope of a comeback.
Dinkleman's 316 yard came courtesy of a 28-for-47 look from the pocket as he connected with redshirt junior Ryan Martinez (Kingsville, Texas) and senior Kevin Reynolds (Houston, Texas) for his scores. Both Martinez and Reynolds finished with 63 receiving yards as the former did so in six catches while the latter needed only three.
The Hogs also posted three touchdowns on the ground, with redshirt sophomore Amonte Bowen (Donna, Texas) and the freshman pair of Roger Hagan (Houston, Texas) and Craig Clemons (Corpus Christi, Texas) all tabbed for one each. Bowen finished with 32 rushing yards, followed by Hagan and Clemons with 16 apiece.
MSU Texas struck first on the opening drive with a 35-yard field goal from Jacob Rowland. The first TAMUK trip down the length of the field stalled out after three plays while the ensuing attempt from the hosts ended in a 65-yard touchdown pass from Derrick Ponder to Kylan Harrison.
The Hogs found the back of the end zone for the first time just past the minute mark of the first quarter. Hagan capped off a 14-play, 73-yard drive with a one-yard dive over the goal line to get the visitors on the board. The next few drives fell short of the mark for either side before the Mustangs had the final say in the first half with a 25-yard connection from Ponder to Ja'Marzeyea Arvie for a 24-7 score heading into the break.
MSU Texas was poised to add to its lead at the start of the third after intercepting a pass in Hog territory but missed wide left on the ensuing field goal attempt from Rowland. The next possession had Clemons capping off a seven-play, 80-yard drive from the Javelinas with his 16-yard scramble into the endzone after he was set up by a 21-yard toss from Dinkleman to Reynolds on a third-down pass into the Mustang red zone.
The hosts pushed their lead to 31-13 a few drives later after forcing another turnover by way of a recovered fumble. The one-yard rush from K'Vonte Jackson ended a 33-yard drive for the 18-point advantage.
The score grew to its largest gap later in the third when Ponder found Harrison for another 28 yards for a 38-13 Mustang lead heading into the final quarter. Ponder finished the day with 329 yards through the air and three scores.
The fourth quarter was all about the Javelinas as they outscored their hosts 21-7 in the frame. A one-yard run from Bowen ended an 18-play, 75-yard march down the field that cut the deficit to 38-20, while a 17-yard rocket from Dinkleman to Martinez set the score at 38-27 with 4:54 remaining in the game.
The Hog defense forced a punt on the following drive to give the offense a chance to shrink MSU Texas' lead even further, but a Dinkleman pass was cut off by Jovane Parkinson and returned the other way for 55 yards for a 45-27 advantage just past the two-minute mark.
One final attempt to cut the score down ended in a 30-yard touchdown pass from Dinkleman to Reynolds with 48 seconds remaining, but the on-side kick was recovered by the Mustangs to secure the win.
The Javelinas return to action in two weeks' time as they host UT Permian Basin on Saturday, March 20, at Pepsi Field at Javelina Stadium.
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