The Colonels narrowly fell short Saturday in South Texas to the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley 28-21.
Breaking Down the Game
The Colonels (3-7, 3-3 SLC) won the toss and deferred to the second half, putting UTRGV’s (7-3, 3-3 SLC) offense on the field first.
Running back Nathan Denny gained a couple of first downs. Eddie Lee Marburger connected with Xayvion Noland for a 24-yard gain to the Colonel’s 29-yard line. The drive stalled and resulted in a field goal attempt. Brysen Gardner missed the 44-yard attempt, giving possession to the Colonels.
Seven run plays by Miequle Brock Jr., Shane Lee and Ean Rodrigue got the Colonels to the UTRGV 42. Deuce Hogan entered the game in place of Rodrigue after a hit he took. Hogan targeted Jackson Dufrene on fourth down, but could not connect, resulting in a turnover on downs.
The first points of the game came when Marburger found Tony Diaz for the 4-yard score. UTRGV ahead 7-0 with 3:42 left in the first quarter.
The Colonels drove the ball down the field, ending the quarter with possession. In the second quarter, Dufrene caught a 15-yard pass from Rodrigue on fourth down to extend the drive. Rodrigue found Karaaz Johnson for 10 yards, and Brock Jr. scored a rushing touchdown from four yards out. The game was tied at seven apiece early in the second.
UTRGV drove the ball down the field, draining five minutes off the clock. Nathan Denny capped the drive with a four-yard rushing touchdown.
The Colonels drove down into the Red-Zone with less than 30 seconds and no timeouts. The clock expired on a completed pass to Lee, preventing the Colonels from scoring points before halftime.
Travin Lee intercepted Marburger’s pass with nine minutes remaining in the third quarter, setting the offense up with great field position.
Rodrigue found his tight-end Everett Hunter for a 16-yard score to even the game at 14.
After a bad punt, UTRGV had the ball on the Colonels’ 35-yard line. Marburger connected with Ismael Smith Flores for a 28-yard strike. Denney got his second touchdown of the game to extend the lead to 21-14.
Early in the fourth quarter, UTRGV’s Spencer Rich forced and recovered a fumble to end a promising Colonel drive.
Marburger made the turnover count with a 44-yard touchdown pass to Tavian Cord, extending the lead to 14.
The Colonels responded with a four-minute drive, capped off by Lee’s eight-yard rushing score to decrease the lead to seven.
UTRGV drained five and a half minutes off the clock before they punted the ball back to the Colonels. The Colonels had 43 seconds and no timeouts.
Rodrigue connected on a 21-yard pass to Dufrene. UTRGV’s Ian Box sacked Rodrigue for an 11-yard loss. Rodrigue suffered an injury on the play that caused the time to run down to one second. Hogan came in and completed the pass to Johnson, who tried to lateral the ball but fumbled it. The defense recovered to win the game.
Offensive Struggles
The Colonels’ third-down conversion troubles showed up again, converting just 6-17 third downs. The Colonels averaged just 3.1 yards per carry in the contest. The Colonels also had a costly fumble that set their opponent up with a scoring opportunity. The Colonels have to eliminate these slight mistakes to win close games.
Defensive Struggles
The Colonels’ defense allowed 392 yards of offense, including 247 passing yards, the most all season. The defense also let up 145 rushing yards and two rushing scores. The Colonels’ defense has to get back to shutting down the pass to get back in the win column next week against Northwestern State.
