ACU Wins, Ends Two Game Skid
By: Lance Fleming/ACU Sports Information
Updated: October 31, 2009
ABILENE -- Redshirt freshman quarterback Mitchell Gale threw for 289
yards and two scores and Reggie Brown ran for 106 yards and two
touchdowns Saturday afternoon as No. 15 Abilene Christian snapped a
two-game losing streak with a 47-35 win over No. 9 Texas
A&M-Kingsville in a Lone Star Conference South Division game at
Shotwell Stadium.The win pushes the Wildcats to 8-2 overall, 6-2 in the LSC and 3-2 in the LSC South Division, while the Javelinas fall to 8-2, 6-2 and 3-2. ACU will play its regular-season finale next Saturday at 1 p.m. in Wichita Falls against Midwestern State in a game that will likely send the victor to the NCAA Division II playoffs while the loser will likely see its season end.
Gale directed the ACU offense to 456 yards and six touchdowns, quite a turnaround for a unit that last week didn't score a touchdown in a 13-6 loss at Tarleton State. That game marked the first time the Wildcats hadn't scored a touchdown in a game since a 31-0 loss at Angelo State on Oct. 13, 2001.
But the Wildcats -- playing to keep their playoff hopes alive -- answered the challenge Saturday afternoon, moving 78 yards for a score on their first drive of the game, and then rallying for two late first-half touchdowns to turn a 14-10 deficit into a 24-14 halftime lead.
The Wildcats then blew the game open in the third quarter, outscoring the Javelinas 23-0 in the quarter to take a commanding 47-14 lead to the fourth quarter. Gale hooked up with Edmund Gates on a 72-yard touchdown pass to make it 31-14, and then Fred Thompson sacked Kingsville quarterback Billy Garza for a safety and a 33-14 ACU lead.
Two possessions later, the Wildcats scored again as Gale connected with Justin Andrews for a 5-yard scoring pass to make it 40-14. Brown capped the third quarter with a 4-yard touchdown run to make it 47-14 with 56 seconds left in the quarter.
The Javelinas scored three cosmetic touchdowns in a wild fourth quarter, but it was too little, too late as ACU won its sixth straight over Kingsville.
