Monmouth, OR. - Texas A&M-Kingsville got back in the win column beating Western Oregon, 21-14, at McArthur Stadium on Saturday.
After losing their previous two games, the Javelinas (5-3, 4-2 Lone Star Conference) made clutch play after clutch play to hand the Wolves (5-3, 5-1 LSC) their first conference loss of the year. It was the Javelina's third game of playing a top conference opponent in as many weeks.
Demarcus Hendricks was the star of the show for the Javelinas. The junior defensive end racked up six total tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble that he would recover. Not to be outdone, quarterback
Jalen Brown stepped up for the Javelinas in a massive way, throwing two touchdowns to go with 276 yards.Â
Lawrence Starks would lead the team in rushing with 31 yards and a touchdown, while
Vance Brazile had 107 yards receiving.
Jacob Montes would lead the Javelinas in tackles with 10.
As the game started, it looked like it would be all Western Oregon. A quick three-and-out by the Javelinas was followed by an equally as fast touchdown drive by the Wolves. Texas A&M-Kingsville however would not be denied, as Brown found Brazile for a 68 yard completion that set the Javelinas up in Wolves' territory. A quick strike from Brown to
Jackson Allen would knot the game up at seven apiece.
Both teams would go on to trade punts with each other, and it would be the Javelinas who would strike next. This time it was Brown to
King Phillips to put another touchdown on the board. The Wolves would start driving down the field, but a clutch strip-sack by Hendricks would stop that drive in its tracks going into halftime.
Coming out of the break, Texas A&M-Kingsville once again used downfield shot plays to carve the Wolves up. Brown would find Brazile for a 39-yard completion to set Starks up for his first touchdown of the season. The Wolves would answer quickly however, going down the field in just 10 plays to get one back heading into the fourth quarter.
In the final quarter of the game, the Javelina defense showed why it is one of the best run defenses in all of Division II. Facing a second a two from its own two-yard line,
Xavier Henderson punched the ball out from Western Oregon's running back to hold the Wolves out of the endzone. Later in the quarter, with time winding down, Western Oregon would once again find themselves in a goal-to-go situation. In four plays, they would only get one yard as Henderson and
Blake Jaques would keep the Wolves out of the endzone and seal the victory.
Texas A&M-Kingsville returns home to take on West Texas A&M for their community night game. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m. CT. The game will be streamed on Flosports.
Quick Hitters:
- Brown's TD pass to Allen was the first time the Javelinas scored in the month of October and the first TD scored in two weeks.
- Brazile 100-yard outing was the first time a Javelina receiver eclipsed 100 yards since
Nate Dantley did it against Midwestern last year (11/11/23). It was also the first 100-yard receiving game from a tight end in over a decade.
- Phillip's 11-yard touchdown reception marks the first touchdown of the freshman receivers career.
- Hendricks' multi-sack performance is the second time he has done so this year, with the first coming against Mississippi College (9/14)
- One of the best red zone defenses in the country showed up today. The Javelinas only allowed two scoring conversions on four attempts by the Wolves.
