A new year in Hog Nation began on Saturday as the Texas A&M University – Kingsville Javelinas defeated the Texas Wesleyan Rams, 52-10 at Pepsi Field at Javelina Stadium on Hall of Fame & Champions Weekend.
The Javelinas would waste no time after a defensive stand in front of 7,348 fans in attendance on a beautiful night in Kingsville by scoring at the 11:57 mark in the first quarter with a touchdown scamper from senior running back Nick Pelrean to put the Blue and Gold up 7-0 early. The tortillas would begin to fly throughout the air to recognize the first home score of the season. On the following possession of the game, the Rams of Texas Wesleyan would respond with a touchdown of their own as quarterback Avery Childs threw a 28-yard pass to Le’Mant Monroe to even the score at 7. After the score by the opposing team, the Javelinas offense and defense would not look back. The Javelinas offense would get the ball back after the ensuing kickoff and scored in the first 12 seconds of the
drive as senior running back from Temple, Texas, Jeff Carr ran right up the middle seeing green grass in front of him making his way into the end zone to put the home team back ahead. The defense would put pressure on the Rams’ offense the entire game making a way for the offense to put the visitor from Fort Worth, Texas. in an even deeper hole. The Javelinas scored on three straight possessions that would include two impressive touchdowns from senior Luis Lopez as well as a 22-yard touchdown pass to Aaron Dilworth from quarterback, Koy Detmer Jr. The Javelinas took a 38-7 lead into the half after 30 minutes on their home field.
Following the break, the Javelinas’ defense would pick up right where they left off as Dynamite Fa’agata would pick off Child while taking it back 45 yards into the end zone to increase the lead to 45-7. Then, a few minutes later, Pelrean scored on a 65-yard touchdown run to break the game wide open for the last end zone score of the game for both teams. The Javelina running backs that consists of Lopez, Carr, Pelrean and Josh Oglesby played a major role in the victory Saturday. The backfield for the Blue and Gold as a whole would run for a total of 345 yards on 46 attempts while averaging 13.3 yards a carry.
“We still have a lot of things to get better at, and we can’t get complacent,” Carr said.
The defense included stellar nights from Caleb Valentine, Brandon Jones, Devonte Williams, and Tre’Michael Tutt, who held the Rams to a total of 67 yards. Due to the intensity all night, the Rams would be held to only three first downs for the entire game while going 0-14 on third down conversions.
At the post-game press conference in McCulley Hall, head coach Daren Wilkinson had much to say following the home opening victory.
“It is always great to get a win,” he said. “It doesn’t matter who we are playing whether it is the number one team in the country or any other opponent. There is a lot of things we can build on. Our defense played well. Those are the type of wins a coach likes. But there are some things we need to get better at as we get into conference play.”
The Javelinas will travel to San Angelo, Texas, next Saturday to take on the Rams of Angelo State at LeGrand Stadium at 1st Community Credit Union Field. In conference, the battle begins at 6 p.m. The following week, the Blue and Gold will return to Pepsi Field at Javelina Stadium to take on Eastern New Mexico on Hispanic Heritage Weekend.
