Clinton, Mississippi - Texas A&M Kingsville football won its first game of the season, 27-7, over Mississippi College, forcing three turnovers and holding the Choctaws to just seven points at Robinson-Hale Stadium Friday night.

Defense led the way for the Javelinas, who forced two fumbles, turned MSC over on downs twice, and picked off Choctaw QB Eli Anderson once. Junior linebacker Jaylen Hackney came up with the interception and recovered a fumble for TAMUK in under 1:10 of gametime late in the second half, while redshirt junior Demarcus Hendricks posted a pair of sacks and three tackles for loss.

"Just proud of our guys for handling the trip in a first-class manner," said Head Coach Michael Salinas. "We faced a little bit of adversity and we're really proud of our guys for staying united and staying together throughout the course of the game."

Offensively, 162 combined ground yards from the running back duo of redshirt senior Roger Hagan and sophomore Santana Scott helped give the Javelinas their win and burned clock late. Hagan posted 95 total yards and two of the team's three touchdowns. 

The first of Hagan's TDs came in the waning moments of the second half after a wild sequence of turnovers set up TAMUK with great field position. Interceptions on back-to-back drives were compounded by a fumble just five seconds later resulted in three total turnovers in the final 90 seconds of the first half. 

When the dust settled, the Javelinas found the ball on the MSC five yard line. A few plays later, on fourth down, head coach Mike Salinas made his first gamble of the night, keeping the offense on the field. Hagan paid it off with a two-yard score to give TAMUK a 13-7 halftime lead.

After taking over under center midway through the game, sophomore quarterback Teague Sedtal went 10-for-16 passing with an interception, and though he didn't throw a touchdown, he caught one. 

Early in the third quarter, holding on to a one-possession lead, TAMUK's defense forced a three-and-out, setting up its offense in plus territory. The Javelinas then pounded the run game, as Hagan and Scott led the team on a drive deep into MSC territory before it stalled inside the Choctaw five. Then, facing a fourth-down and goal from the two yardline, TAMUK went deep into its bag of tricks, pulling out a trick play that ended with Sedtal making a tough catch in the endzone to extend the Javelina's lead.

From there, the defense flexed its muscles, holding the Choctaws to just 16 rushing yards and six total first downs in the second half. Late in the contest, it was the run game's turn to take over, as the Javelina offense held the ball on a run-heavy, clock-bleeding final drive that lasted 16 plays, took 9:34 off the clock, and ended in a 7-yard Hagan TD from the wildcat that capped off the night's scoring.

The season's first win gives TAMUK momentum headed into its first Lone Star Conference contest of the year, as a trip to UT Permian Basin next Saturday looms on the horizon. 

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