(10-4-08)

Hogs Upset #13 Tarleton State

STEPHENVILLE, TEXAS - Texas A&M-Kingsville senior running back Billy Martin (Pittsburg/Pittsburg HS) had a career night on the ground and defense played superbly as the Javelinas upset #13 Tarleton State University, 27-16 on Saturday night at Memorial Stadium.

Martin carried the ball 23 times for a career high 178 yards and one touchdown. He also caught one pass for an 18-yard score. He was the first Javelina to rush for over 100 yards in a game since Raymorris Miller accomplished the feat on the final game of the 2007 season. Martin and the Hoggie offensive line excelled against a TSU defense that had been giving up just 68.4 yards per game on the ground.

Kingsville senior quarterback Billy Garza (Brownsville/Porter HS) did not have his best game of the season, but was still 16-of-33 for 226 yards and three touchdowns with just one interception.

The Javelinas (4-2, 1-1) struck first on their second drive of the game. After a Clavens Charles (Miami, FL/Northwest HS) 12-yard punt return gave the team the ball at their own 16-yard line, it took the Hogs just three plays to hit pay dirt. Martin rambled 49 yards on first down, sophomore Ryan Lincoln (Bastrop/Bastrop HS) caught a swing pass for a 17-yard gain and then Garza connected with Martin on an 18-yard touchdown pass with 3:22 left in the first quarter.

The Texans (5-1, 0-1) quickly returned the favor. After a nice kick off return to the TSU 45-yard line, Roderick Smith took the hand off on the first play and burst up the middle for a 55-yard touchdown. The Texans missed the extra point.

A Javelina turnover on a fake field goal attempt early in the second quarter did not come back to haunt the team. The Hoggie defense stopped the Texans on a fourth-and-1 as senior Tyrrell Herndon (Copperas Cove/Copperas Cove HS) smothered Smith behind the line of scrimmage.

The Javelinas tacked on another touchdown with a sustained 13-play drive that was kept alive by a Texan personal foul penalty. On a third-and-goal from the 14-yard line, Garza threaded the needle to senior Dante Higgins (Houston/Yates HS) for his first touchdown of the season. Sophomore kicker Christian Brom (McAllen/McAllen HS) tacked on the extra point.

The Texans scored on a Garrett Lindholm 35-yard field at the end of the first half. TSU had a first-and-goal at the 2-yard line with 16 seconds left in the half and scored a touchdown, but the play was called back due to an illegal chop block.

The Texans took the lead early in the third quarter. Tremaine Wright's interception and ensuing 31-yard run back set up Tarleton with a first-and-goal at the 5-yard line. Two plays later Scott Grantham found Devin Guinn for a 9-yard touchdown pass. Lindholm's point after made the score 16-14 TSU with 11:15 to play in the third quarter.

The Javelinas responded with an 8-play, 60-yard drive that was punctuated by a 24-yard touchdown pass from Garza to sophomore Damian Couthren (Bastrop/Bastrop HS), his fourth of the season. The key play in the drive was a 15-yard run by Garza and the 15-yard late hit penalty against TSU on third down from near midfield. The two-point conversion failed giving the Hogs a 20-16 lead midway through the third quarter. It was a lead they would take going into the fourth quarter.

On the Javelinas' first drive of the fourth quarter, Garza completed a third-and-14 pass to senior Jareko Taylor (Detroit, MI/Ford HS) for 67 yards to give the team a first-and-goal at the TSU 5-yard line. The good news did not last long as a bad snap went by Garza's hands and was recovered by Tarleton's O'Lindsay Brown at the 32-yard line.

A key play in the game came with just over 10 minutes remaining and the Hogs facing a fourth down at their own 14-yard line. The snap to punter Cody Smith (Kingwood/Kingwood HS) was bounced to him and he was forced to run and he was able to convert as he gained 13 yards to keep the drive going. Three plays later, Martin broke through the line and went 55 yards for the score and a 27-16 Hoggie lead.

The Texans had great field position on the next possession and drove all the way to the 2-yard line getting a key fourth down conversion from running back Travis Evans. The Javelina defense would not be denied though as they turned back Tarleton on four straight plays giving the ball back to the offense.

The Hog offense converted one first down on sophomore Daniel Ramirez's (Sinton/Sinton HS) nine-yard run and then went into the victory formation to close out the game.

The Javelina defense held the top rushing team in the Lone Star Conference to only 136 yards on 35 carries. Freshman Marcus Sanders (Spring/Westfield HS) led the team with 10 tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss. Herndon also had a big night for the defense with eight tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss. In all, the Javelina defense made 11 tackles for loss, a season high.

The Javelina offense gained over 400 yards for the fourth time this season. Taylor led the team with 87 receiving yards while Lincoln had a team high four catches. Cody Smith finished the game with two runs for 31 yards and three punts for an average of 46.0 yards with two inside the 20-yard line. It was the first win against a ranked opponent for Javelina head coach Bo Atterberry.

The Texans were led by Roderick Smith's 78 yards on 13 carries while Evans added 61 yards on 14 carries. Grantham finished the game 15-of-24 for 176 yards and a touchdown. Guinn led all receivers with five catches for 90 yards and a touchdown. Punter Kyle Hopf averaged 45.8 yards on five kicks with a long of 69 yards and three inside the 20-yard line.