Final: ACU 24, UIW 12

With 11:16 to play, UIW’s Saul Meza kicked his fourth field goal of the game, this one a 26-yarder to pull the Cardinals to within 5 points, 17-12.

Charcandrick West puts ACU further ahead with a 5-yard TD run, capping an eight-play, 62-yard drive. Ryan Owens’ PAT kick was good, giving the Wildcats a 24-12 lead with 8:17 left.

FINAL STATISTICS

First downs: UIW 20, ACU 18

Rushing: UIW 46 for 181 yards, ACU 18 for 76 yards

Passing: ACU 25 of 36 for 408 yards, 2 TDs and 1 INT, UIW 16 of 25 for 104 yards

Total yards: ACU 484, UIW 285

Penalties: ACU 8 for 89 yards, UIW 4 for 27 yards

Time of possession: UIW 36:06, ACU 23:54

Third-down conversions: ACU 2 of 8, UIW 5 of 16

ACU passing: Mitchell Gale, 25 of 36 for 408 yards, 2 TDs and 1 INT

ACU rushing: Charcandrick West, 11 for 72 yards, Darrell Cantu-Harkless, 1 for 0 yards; John David Baker, 2 for 11 yards; and Mitchell Gale, 2 for -3 yards

ACU receiving: Charcandrick West, 4 for 109 yards and 1 TD; Darrell Cantu-Harkless, 9 for 102 yards; Darian Hogg, 3 for 92 yards and 1 TD; Demarcus Thompson, 5 for 70 yards; Jonathan Parker, 2 for 19 yards; Temi Ogunleye, 1 for 13 yards; and Taylor Gabriel, 1 for 3 yards

ACU tackles: Justin Stephens, 12.5 and 1 sack; Mike Wallace, 9; Angel Lopez, 4.5 and 1 sack; Nick Richardson, 4.5 and 1 sack

End of Q3: ACU 17, UIW 9

UIW's Saul Meza kicked a 37-yard field goal with 7:20 left in the quarter, cutting ACU's lead to 17-9. The drive was set up by a Kielyn Lewis interception of ACU's Mitchell Gale.

Halfway through the quarter, on a 28-yard pass completion to Demarcus Thompson on second down and 8 from the Wildcat 40-yard line, Gale became the ACU and Lone Star Conference career passing leader.

End of Q2: ACU 17, UIW 6

On ACU's first drive of the quarter, Mitchell Gale completed a short shovel pass to Charcandrick West and the speedy back went 87 yards – the longest TD pass play in Gale's four-year career – at the 14:42 mark. Ryan Owens’ PAT was successful, giving the Wildcats a 10-6 lead.

With 2:58 left in the quarter, Gale dialed another long-distance TD strike, this one for 80 yards to wide receiver Darian Hogg. Owens’ PAT kick put the Wildcats up 17-6. 

FIRST-HALF STATISTICS

First downs: UIW 13, ACU 7

Rushing: UIW 28 for 120 yards, ACU 5 for 14 yards

Passing: ACU 9 of 17 for 237 yards and 2 TDs, UIW 11 of 17 for 79 yards

Total yards: ACU 251, UIW 199

Penalties: ACU 3 for 24 yards, UIW 1 for 2 yards

Time of possession: UIW 22:02, ACU 7:58

Third-down conversions: ACU 1 of 4, UIW 2 of 9

ACU passing: Mitchell Gale, ACU 9 of 17 for 237 yards and 2 TDs

ACU rushing: Charcandrick West, 3 for 16 yards, Darrell Cantu-Harkless, 1 for 0 yards; and Mitchell Gale, 1 for -2 yards

ACU receiving: Charcandrick West, 3 for 106 yards and 1 TD, Darian Hogg, 1 for 80 yards and 1 TD; Darrell Cantu-Harkless, 4 for 48 yards; and Taylor Gabriel, 1 for 3 yards

ACU tackles: Justin Stephens, 8.5; Mike Wallace, 7; Angel Lopez, 2.5 and 1 sack; Nick Richardson, 1.5 and 1 sack

End of Q1: UIW 6, ACU 3

Incarnate Word did not get off to a great start. Marcus Wright fumbled the opening kickoff, giving ACU the ball at the UIW 12-yard line.

The Wildcats could not convert on a touchdown try, so they settled for a 27-yard field goal by Ryan Owens at the 14:30 mark, and a 3-0 lead.

The Cardinals went on a 17-play drive that concluded with a 43-yard field goal by Saul Meza with 6:25 left, pulling UIW even at 3-3.

Following an ACU punt, UIW went on top 6-3 with a 28-yard field goal by Meza with 42 seconds on the clock.

Final: ACU 22, West Alabama 16 OT

West Alabama got on the scoreboard when backup quarterback Kyle Caldwell threw a 10-yard TD pass to wide receiver Malik Lofton with 12:34 left, cutting ACUs lead to 13-7.

ACU added another 3 points on Ryan Owens’ third field goal of the game, a 24-yarder with

Caldwell threw his second TD pass of the quarter a 34-yarder to Chad Toocheck with 6:06 remaining. However, linebacker Thor Woerner blocked the extra point attempt, leaving the new score 16-13.

UWA cashed in on its third scoring drive of the quarter when placekicker Ryne Smith booted a 30-yard field goal with 13 seconds left in regulation, tying the game at 16.

ACU's Darrell Cantu-Harkless returned the ensuing kickoff 46 yards to the Tigers’ 46-yard line, and Morgan Lineberry's 63-yard field goal attempt as time expired fell short.

ACU got the ball in the first overtime and scored when Cantu-Harkless caught a pass in the left flat and scored a 14-yard TD. The Wildcats held the Tigers on their possession, with defensive back Steven Ford breaking up a fourth-down pass to give the Wildcats the wild win.

FINAL STATISTICS
First downs: ACU 22, UWA 16

Rushing: ACU 34 for 87 yards, UWA 41 for 155 yards

Passing: ACU 24 of 42 for 284 yards and 1 TD, UWA 21 of 30 for 240 yards

Total yards: ACU 371, UWA 395

Penalties: ACU 6 for 45 yards, UWA 4 for 28 yards

Time of possession: UWA 29:36, ACU 30:24

Third-down conversions: ACU 9 of 18, UWA 4 of 14

Fourth-down conversions: ACU 2 of 3, UWA 4 of 6

ACU passing: Mitchell Gale, ACU 24 of 42 for 284 yards and 1 TD

ACU rushing: Darrell Cantu-Harkless, 13 for 58 yards; Charcandrick West, 12 for 55 yards, Taylor Gabriel, 2 for 7 yards; and Eldon Crochran, 1 for 2 yards

ACU receiving: Darrell Cantu-Harkless, 9 for 113 yards and 1 TD; Taylor Gabriel, 5 for 71 yards; Darian Hogg, 5 for 46 yards; Demarcus Thompson, 2 for 31 yards; Drew Peters, 1 for 16 yards; Charcandrick West, 1 for 5; and Eldon Crochran, 1 for 2 yards

ACU tackles: Angel Lopez, 12 and 1 forced fumble; Mike Wallace, 11; L.B. Suggs, 9; Justin Stevens, 8 and 1 fumble recovery; and Thor Woerner, 7 and 1 blocked PAT

End of Q3: ACU 13, West Alabama 0

Ryan Owens kicked his second field goal of the game with 3:23 left in the third quarter, a 24-yarder that put ACU further ahead, 13-0.

The quarter ended with West Alabama driving into Wildcat territory.

End of Q2: ACU 10, West Alabama 0

ACU drove to the UWA 19 but a sack, a bad snap from center and a delay of game penalty pushed the Wildcats back to the 35, where they were forced to punt.

On their next drive, ACU advanced to the Tigers 10-yard line, but fell 1 yard short of a first down on fourth down and 4, turning the ball over to UWA on downs at the 7-yard-line with 4:41 left in the half.

UWA’s George Rowe ran 10 yards for a first down but Wildcat defensive back Angel Lopez forced a fumble that Justin Stewart recovered on the ACU 30-yard line with 1:47 remaining.

FIRST-HALF STATISTICS

First downs: ACU 10, UWA 6

Rushing: ACU 17 for 49 yards, UWA 17 for 38 yards

Passing: ACU 14 of 23 for 176 yards, UWA 7 of 9 for 91 yards

Total yards: ACU 225, UWA 129

Penalties: ACU 6 for 45 yards, UWA 3 for 23 yards

Time of possession: UWA 13:29, ACU 16:31

Third-down conversions: ACU 2 of 8, UWA 1 of 5

ACU passing: Mitchell Gale, ACU 14 of 23 for 176 yards

ACU rushing: Charcandrick West, 7 for 33 yards and 1 TD, Darrell Cantu-Harkless, 4 for 28 yards; Taylor Gabriel, 2 for 7 yards; and Mitchell Gale, 3 for -4 yards

ACU receiving: Darrell Cantu-Harkless, 5 for 70 yards; Taylor Gabriel, 3 for 46 yards; Demarcus Thompson, 2 for 31 yards; Darian Hogg, 2 or 11 yards; Drew Peters, 1 or 16 yards; and Eldon Crochran, 1 for 2 yards

ACU tackles: Mike Wallace, 5; Justin Stewart, 3 and 1 fumble recovery; L.B. Suggs, 3; Thor Woerner, 3; Angel Lopez, 3 and 1 forced fumble; Travis Tarver, 3; and Melvin Shead, 3

End of Q1: ACU 10, West Alabama 0

ACU opened the game with a 33-yard pass from quarterback Mitchell Gale, playing in the final home game of his career, to wide receiver Taylor Gabriel. The Wildcats successfully gambled on a fourth-down-and-1 from the West Alabama 22 yard line. Three plays later, Ryan Owens kicked a 34-yard field goal to put his team on top, 3-0 with 9:58 left in the first quarter.

West Alabama's first drive was stopped by the Wildcat defense, and Darrell Cantu-Harkless returned the Tiger punt 71 yards to the UWA 9-yard line. Three plays later, Charcandrick West barreled up the middle for a 1-yard TD. Owens’ successful PAT gave ACU a 10-0 lead with 5:50 remaining.

The quarter ended with ACU beginning its third drive of the game.