COMMERCE – Leading the No. 6 team in country entering the fourth quarter, the East Texas A&M University football team fell short in a 38-24 loss to the UIW Cardinals in the season finale on Saturday afternoon inside Ernest Hawkins Field at Memorial Stadium.
The Lions end the season with a record of 3-9 overall and 2-4 in Southland Conference play, finishing seventh in the conference standings.
The Cardinals are ranked No. 6 in this week's AFCA and FCS Stats Perform rankings and end the regular season with a record of 10-2, going 7-0 in SLC action. UIW awaits its seeding and matchup in the NCAA Playoffs.
SENIOR DAY
Prior to the game, the Lions honored their 13 graduating seniors as well as student equipment coordinator Caleb Welch. The list of the graduating seniors for the Lions can be found below.
| Name |
Hometown |
| Kendall Paul |
Dallas, Texas |
| Paul Odidi |
Mansfield, Texas |
| Max Epps |
Spring, Texas |
| King Ambers |
Pickering, Canada |
| Warren Robinson |
Houston, Texas |
| Jared Wilson |
Mesa, Ariz. |
| Christian Jourdain |
New Orleans, La. |
| Mitchell McGarry |
Tannum Sands, Australia |
| Brock Nellor |
Mount Vernon, Texas |
| Josiah Kennard |
Manvel, Texas |
| Zayden Davis |
Colorado Springs, Colo. |
| Clifford Funderburk |
Forney, Texas |
| Leon Young |
Dallas, Texas |
UIW's offense took the field first in the game and drove into Lion territory, but the Lion defense made the stop on fourth down for a turnover on downs. The Lion offense was forced to punt on its first drive of the game.
Receiving the ball at its own 13 following the punt, the Cardinals put together a 12-play 87-yard drive and Zach Calzada rushed in a one-yard touchdown for the first points of the game. UIW converted two third downs on the drive.
The Lions responded with a seven-play 50-yard drive of its own as
Ron Peace (Malakoff) answered with a 14-yard touchdown scramble to tie the game.
RON PEACE TOUCHDOWN HIGHLIGHT
The Cardinals went three-and-out on the next drive and East Texas A&M took the lead on an eight-play 57-yard drive with
KJ Shankle (Fort Bend Travis) rushing in a 14-yard touchdown. The Lions had a fourth and four play at the Cardinal 34-yard line, but Peace found Jourdain for a five-yard catch and a penalty on the Cardinals tacked on 15 more yards.
KJ SHANKLE TOUCHDOWN HIGHLIGHT
With UIW driving to the Lion 30-yard line, Epps forced a fumble, stalling the drive. The Lions were forced to punt, giving the ball back to UIW.
MAX EPPS FORCED FUMBLE HIGHLIGHT
On the next Cardinal drive,
Jaden Rios (Frisco – Lone Star) came up with an interception to stall another Cardinal drive, but UIW picked off Peace on the first play of the Lions drive, and Calzada found Jalen Walthall for a 43-yard touchdown to tie the game with 8:30 left in the first half.
JADEN RIOS INTERCEPTION HIGHLIGHT
After another Lion punt, the defense made another stop on fourth down to put the offense back on the field. Aided by two defensive penalties, the Lions drove into the red zone and took the lead on a 39-yard field goal by
Luke Jackson (Bensalem, Pa.).
LUKE JACKSON FIELD GOAL HIGHLIGHT
UIW got the ball at the Lion 46-yard line with 30 seconds left on the clock thanks to a Lion penalty on the punt return. Following another Lion penalty, UIW got to the Lion 19-yard line and Brack Peacock kicked in a 37-yard field goal as the clock expired to tie the game at 17 going into halftime.
The Lions jumped ahead 24-17 in the second half on a seven-yard touchdown pass from Peace to Shankle.
KJ SHANKLE TOUCHDOWN CATCH HIGHLIGHT
Both teams exchanged punts heading into the fourth quarter until Lontrell Turner tying the game once again on a five-yard touchdown run. On the ensuing drive, the Lions did drive down to the UIW 28-yard line and had a chance to take the lead, but Jackson's kick was blocked.
UIW capitalized on the blocked field goal and took its first lead since 7-0 in the first quarter on a nine-yard touchdown catch from Logan Compton thrown from Calzada.
Following a Lion punt, UIW built some separation capping off an eight-play 63-yard drive over four minutes and 30 seconds with an 18-yard touchdown catch from Calzada to lead by 14 with 2:43 left in the game.
The Lions were outgained 496-231, as the UIW offense ran 83 plays, while the Lions ran 64. Peace went 21 for 38 with one interception, throwing for one touchdown and an interception.
Jaden Proctor (Mexia) had 49 receiving yards on four catches and Shankle ran for 56 on 12 carries.
Defensively,
Sean-Krystoff King (Humble – Summer Creek) was the leading tackler for the Lions with 15, while
Brandon Tucker (DeSoto) totaled 11.
With the 11 tackles in the game, Tucker has now broken the single season record for most tackles in a game, with 141 this year.
Both
Kyree Anderson (Cy-Lakes) and Epps had 10 tackles each for the Lions. Epps and Robinson had a forced fumble as well.
McGarry had eight punts for an average of 40.6 yards per game.
POST GAME INTERVIEW
-ETAMU-
