With the Gayle and Tom Benson Stadium scoreboard reading 0:00 and 53-18 Cardinals, Incarnate Word Saturday moved to 4-3 on the season and for the first time since opening night rose to the plus side of break even.
Saturday’s UIW victory, its third in a row, came at the expense of Texas Lutheran. The Bulldogs fell to 0-6.
“I don’t think anyone out there would have guessed we would win three in a row,” wide receiver Dominic Hamilton said. “We are starting to gain the confidence of our fans.”
And in the confidence department, Hamilton must be the leader. In this three-game winning streak, Hamilton has caught two passes for touchdowns in all three. He did it again against TLC with a 41-yarder from quarterback Thomas Specia in the second quarter and then again in the third on a 38-yard throw and run from quarterback Eric Massoni.
“He likes to score in doubles now,” Massoni said of Hamilton. “We are starting to expect it every week.”
For the game Hamilton caught six for 123 yards and the two touches. Massoni was 11-15 for 176 yards, and three touchdowns. He was intercepted once.
The Cardinals amassed 479 yards on offense, 213 rushing and 266 through the air. Massoni threw for the first two scores of the game, an eight-yarder to running back Alex Torres and a 46-yard pass and run to wide receiver Todd Walker, who, on his lunge into the end zone injured his left elbow and he was done for the day.
On the reverse side, Texas Lutheran put up 226 total offensive yards, 101 of which came in the fourth quarter when the Bulldogs managed to score 16 points.
UIW’s defense, in limiting TLU to 125 yards and two points through three quarters, also came up with two fumble recoveries and two interceptions. Safety Chaz Pavliska was everywhere. He covered one of the fumbles by the Bulldogs and he had both UIW interceptions. And for good measure he had six tackles, three for losses, plus he cooperated on one quarterback sack.
His interception near the end of the second quarter was a thing of beauty. He speared the ball out of the air with one hand while falling backwards. “I was going for the catch,” Pavliska said when asked if he was just knocking it down. “I was not supposed to be in that area but I had no one to cover so I just sort of drifted there.”
The Cardinal defense for the second straight week scored a touchdown. After returning two fumbles for scores against East Central Oklahoma, the defenders blocked a TLU punt and Robert Williams scooped it up and went 15 yards for the touch. After a Saul Meza 39-yard field goal at the end of the third quarter two other Cardinals found the end zone. Running back J. J. Johnson roared 28 yards for his TD while Keith Brown covered 16 for his.
The Cardinals, as a team, got good mentions from the UIW staff. “They did good,” Coach Mike Santiago said. “I was scared of this game. We were favored for the first time, people were saying we should win and how do you handle that?”
How the Cardinals handled that was to put up a season high points and to win by a season-best margin.
Next week Incarnate Word goes back on the road seeking win number five. If that happens Saturday at Southwestern Assemblies of God in Waxahachie, the Cardinals would be assured of at least a .500 season. And other than maybe the players themselves, who would have predicted it.