Thursday night stories

Northeastern State leading Tarleton 31-23 late in the fourth.  Tarleton cannot convert fourth and 15, Riverhawks take over on Texans 21 with 1:39 to play.
WT ahead by 2 over Grand Valley 24-22 with 14:31 to go in game.



Javelinas Shock #1 NWSU
MARYVILLE, MISSOURI – A stout defense and great play from a new quarterback gave #14 Texas A&M-Kingsville a 16-7 win over #1 Northwest Missouri State on Thursday night in NCAA Division II football action.

The game was a defensive struggle from the start, but it was the Javelina (1-0) defense that really shined. Sophomore defensive end Matt Romig (Bells/Bells HS) starred for the team with a career high three sacks for a loss of 33 yards, including a game-clinching sack with less than 25 seconds left in the game. Overall, the team had seven sacks on the night.

The Javelina pass rush limited Bearcat (0-1) All-American quarterback Blake Bolles into a 17-for-29 night for only 140 yards. The Bearcats, the 2009 National Champions, were limited to 189 yards and 11 first downs on the night.

Hoggie junior quarterback Nate Poppell (Spring/Spring HS) made his first start a memorable one as he guided the team to an outstanding victory. He went 26-for-38 for 258 yards and a touchdown. He also scored a touchdown in the third quarter on a fourth down QB sneak with 2:11 left in the quarter.

The Bearcats took the early lead when they took advantage of a botched fake punt by the Hoggies. Bolles drove the team 44 yards in nine plays for the score. He hit Jake Soy with an 8-yard pass for the score with 35 seconds left in the first quarter.

The Javelinas put their first points on the board midway through the second quarter when senior Christian Brom (McAllen/McAllen HS) booted a 42-yard field goal.

The Hoggies took the lead with 3:32 remaining in the first half when Poppell connected with running back Fred Winborn (N. Hollywood, CA/Grant HS) on a 26-yard scoring strike. Winborn jumped over two defenders to make the catch and managed to stay in bounds.

The Javelinas had a chance to extend the lead late in the half, but a bad snap prevented a field goal try.
The second half began with the Bearcats driving down to the Kingsville 14-yard line, but then they were stopped on fourth down as Bolles fumbled the center snap.

The Hogs proceeded to drive 85 yards in 16 plays eating up 7:12 on the clock. Poppell connected with Ryan Lincoln (Bastrop/Bastrop HS) on a pair of third down conversions to keep the drive alive. They had a first-and-goal at the 1-yard line, but were stopped three times before Poppell finally dove in to the endzone on fourth down.

Winborn led the Javelinas with 82 yards rushing on 27 carries. He also had 3 catches for 30 yards and a touchdown.

Lincoln led the Hoggie receivers with nine catches for 98 yards while Delashaun Dean (Fairfield, CA/Fairfield HS) added six catches for 75 yards.

Tressor Baptiste (New York, NY/Curtis HS) and Marcus Sanders (Houston/Westfield HS) led the defense with seven tackles apiece. Baptiste forced a fumble that was recovered by Marc Kinney (San Antonio/LaVernia HS).

The Bearcat defense was led by Chad Kilgore and Willie Horn who combined for 21 tackles.

Ryan Lincoln moved into third place in the school’s career receptions list passing up Dwight Harrison. He now has 154 receptions and needs 24 more to become the Javelina record holder.

The Javelinas are back in action on Saturday, September 11 at 6 o’clock at Lone Star Conference rival East Central University.





Bolles, Tjeerdsma blame loss on themselves

From the LSC Website
No. 14 Texas A&M-Kingsville 16, No. 1 Northwest Missouri State 7

MARYVILLE, MO. – A fantastic defensive effort keyed a Texas A&M-Kingsville victory over defending national champion Northwest Missouri State on Thursday night, 16-7 at Mel Tjeerdsma Field.

The Javelinas (1-0) played a stifling brand of football as they limited the #1 Bearcats (0-1) to just 189 yards of total offense. Matt Romig spearheaded the unit with a career high three sacks, including one with less than 25 seconds left in the game to secure the victory. Overall, the Hoggies had seven sacks on the night and forced one turnover.

On offense, it was Nate Poppell making good on his first career start. He went 26-for-38 for 258 yards and a touchdown. He connected with seven different receivers in the game, including running back Fred Winborn on a beautiful 26-yard scoring pass in the second quarter. Poppell’s 1-yard touchdown run on fourth down in the third quarter gave the team a 16-7 lead that they would not relinquish.

The Javelinas travel to Lone Star Conference rival East Central University on September 11 for a 6 o’clock kickoff.


No. 2 Grand Valley State 34, No. 8 West Texas A&M 31

Allendale, Mich. – Four turnovers simply proved too costly as #8-ranked West Texas A&M fell to #2-ranked Grand Valley State, 34-31, Thursday night in a nationally-televised contest from Lubbers Stadium in Allendale, Mich.

The game saw the Buffaloes take a 24-16 lead into the fourth quarter, only to have GVSU score 18 unanswered points in the final stanza to take the win.

The contest, the season-opener for both teams, saw WTAMU drop to 0-1 on the year, while GVSU improves to 1-0.

“We knew coming into this game that it would be a war, said WT head coach Don Carthel. “But, we also knew we could play against a team as good as what Grand Valley State is.

“Hopefully, when we get the disappointment of losing out of our heads, we’ll recognize that we can play with, and beat, any team in the country. But, we will also realize that we can’t turn the ball over four times and expect to win a ballgame.

“After the first couple of possessions, our offensive line did a great job of picking up their blitzes,” Carthel said. “We moved the ball well, and our defense stepped up, especially deep in our own territory.

For the game, WT outgained the Lakers, 567-475 yards but GVSU maintained possession 33:00 to 27:00 for the Buffs.

Taylor Harris completed 37-of-53 passes for 421 yards and two TDs, while being intercepted four times. Tyson Williams led all receivers with a career-high 14 receptions for 182 yards. Brittan Golden had 103 receiving yards on seven catches. Tommy Hampton picked up 99 rushing yards and one TD while Thompson contributed 59 yards and a TD. Thompson also had one receiving score.

GVSU’s Kyle McMahon completed 17-of-32 passes for 295 yards and two TDs. Jovanne August had three receptions for 107 yards and a TD, while Justin Sherrod had seven catches for 77 yards. Sherrod also had a team-high 73 yards rushing and one TD, while McMahon rushed for 61 yards and one TD.

“We’ll put this game behind us and concentrate on getting ready for Southwestern Oklahoma State next week,” Carthel said.

Next week finds the Buffs traveling to Weatherford, Okla., where they will face Southwestern Oklahoma State, Saturday, Sept. 11. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. CDT.


Northeastern State 31, Tarleton State 23

STEPHENVILLE – For the first time since the 2002 season, the Northeastern State RiverHawks won their first game of the year to spoil the Tarleton Texans’ home opener, 31-23.

The RiverHawks scored the first 14 points of the game with two field goals of 44 and 29 yards by Drew Patton. The second field goal was set up by an interception by the visitors. Trey McVay then hit Daryn Alves for a 14-yard pass with 2:31 left in the first half to give the visitors the 14-point advantage.

Tarleton scored on a 19-yard touchdown pass from Nick Stephens to Devon Gray with 26 seconds left in the half to give cut the lead to seven heading into the break.

The RiverHawks added to their lead with a one-yard run just 1:21 into the second half to make it 24-7. However, the Texans scored the next 10 points. Jeken Frye caught a 48-yard pass from Stephens before Wiest had a 39-yard field goal to make it 24-16 with 7:02 on the clock.

On the ensuing kickoff, Nate Robinson returned the ball 95 yards to the end zone. Patton’s kick made it 31-16 after 16 seconds ran off the clock.

Tarleton’s Frye then caught a 60-yard pass from Aaron Doyle to score the Texans’ final points. Wiest kicked the point after to give the game its final total, 31-23.

Tarleton gained 463 yards, including 328 through the air and 135 on the ground while holding the RiverHawks to just 287 total yards, including 94 on the ground and 193 yards passing.

Stephens threw for 255 yards and two touchdowns and was 19-of-40. Most of the missed throws were actually dropped passes by the Texan wide receivers. Frye led the Texans in receiving with 11 receptions for 215 yards and both receiving touchdowns for Tarleton’s fourth-best receiving game all-time. Evan Robertson ran the ball 16 times for 76 yards.

Kenny Davis was 12-of-26 for 180 yards for NSU while McVay had three catches for 89 yards and a score. Prince McKinney had 12 carries for 55 yards to lead the visitors.

The Texans will return to action on Saturday, Sept. 11 at Central Oklahoma at 6 p.m. in Edmond, Okla. NSU will host Abilene Christian at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 11 in Tahlequah, Okla.