Maryville, MO - Texas A&M-Kingsville could not overcome a 14-point second quarter by Northwest Missouri State as it fell, 49-20, at Bearcat Stadium on Saturday.
The Javelinas (1-1) were outgained 193-78 in the second quarter by the Bearcats (2-1, 1-0 MIAA) despite running just five less plays. Texas A&M-Kingsville was able to rally in the third quarter, but it was not enough to overcome NWMSU.
Northwest Missouri got the game off to a hot start after taking the ball 63 yards in just seven plays to open up the scoring for the mid-afternoon contest. A stalled drive from the Javelinas gave the ball right back to the Bearcats, but
Charlie Moore would punch the ball out and recover it right around midfield.
Jack Turner would then connect on a deep ball to
King Phillips to set the Javelinas up in the redzone for
Andre Branch to quickly punch it in.
Knotted up at seven apiece, Northwest Missouri opened the floodgates in the second quarter. A 12-play scoring drive by the Bearcats would give them a touchdown lead. Another touchdown drive by the Bearcats, this time taking just seven plays, gave NWMSU a decisive two-touchdown lead. Another stalled drive by the Javelinas gave the Bearcats great field position to go up by three scores, but
Travis Bielefeld caught a breakup from
D'Cambren Verrett to keep Northwest Missouri out of the endzone. Another Bearcat turnover forced by
Jeremiah Conaway gave the Javelina a chance to get points just before the half, but the Bearcats would block the kick and take a two TD lead into halftime.
The third quarter did not start much better for the Javelinas, as Northwest Missouri drove right down the field to score their fourth touchdown of the game. Texas A&M-Kingsville responded quickly with a 14-play touchdown drive capped off by a
Raymond Hudson III one-yard rush. A quick three-and-out for the Bearcats gave the Javelinas some hope, and Turner gave the Hogs some more after a deep 27-yard shot to Christian Krentz set up a field goal.
Two sacks by
Micah Lewis and
Blake Jaques put the Javelinas back in business heading into the fourth quarter. Turner would find
Ivan Thomas for a 25-yard completion to get the Javelinas back into Bearcat territory. The Javelinas would stall out in Bearcat territory and settle for a field goal cutting the game to a one-score lead for the Bearcats.
That would be the closest the Javelinas would get however, as Northwest Missouri would answer quickly off of a flea flicker inside Javelina territory to go up 35-20 in the fourth. A quick three-and-out by the Javelinas would seal their fate as the Bearcats put up 21-unanswered in the fourth to put the game away.
Texas A&M-Kingsville heads back home for a massive conference opening matchup against top-10 ranked UT-Permian Basin. Fans of the Javelinas can watch live on FloCollege or follow the game at JavelinaFB on X.
Quick Hitters:
- Bielefeld's interception at the end of the first half was his first career INT with the Javelinas
- Thomas' 67 yards receiving was a team-high in today's game. The last time a Javelina TE led the team in receiving yards was 2018 when Torrey Thomas' 54 yards was a team-high.
- The two sacks that the Javelina defense forced were the first two sacks given up by the Northwest Missouri offensive line this season.
- This week marks back-to-back games where the Javelinas had three-plus turnovers, forcing and recovering three fumbles while intercepting one pass.
