RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros football team won its first-ever Southland Conference home game, beating the Houston Christian University Huskies 27-7 on Saturday at Robert & Janet Vackar Stadium in front of a sellout crowd of 12,903.
At 5-1, the Vaqueros are off to one of the best 6-game starts by a brand new Division I FCS program since 2008, matching Kennesaw State (5-1 in 2015) and one game behind South Alabama (6-0 in 2009), who did not play any Division I competition that season.
Senior Sharyland Pioneer alum
Eddie Lee Marburger led the Vaqueros (5-1, 1-1 SLC) offensively by scoring a career-high two rushing touchdowns while rushing for a career-high 80 yards on a career-high 13 rushes. He also passed for 131 yards while going 11-for-22.
Defensively, freshman
Jaiden Haygood posted a career-high tying 11 tackles (three solo), including one tackle for a loss plus a broken-up pass. Junior
Ian Box recorded a career-high 1.5 sacks and a career-high four tackles (one solo), including a career-high 1.5 tackles for a loss.
After a missed Huskies (1-4, 0-1 SLC) field goal late in the first quarter, Marburger opened the ensuring drive with a 46-yard pass to freshman
Xayvion Noland. Two plays later, Marburger scrambled left and ran 30 yards into the end zone to put the Vaqueros up 7-0.
The Huskies responded with a 17-play, 75-yard drive over the next 7:51, capped by a
Xai'Shaun Edwards 1-yard rush up the middle for a touchdown, to tie the game at 7.
The Vaqueros opened the third quarter with a 9-play, 75-yard drive that included six Marburger rushes over the final seven plays, the last of which was a 1-yard rush for a touchdown to make the score 14-7. In the middle of Marburger's rushes, freshman San Benito alum
Fabian Garcia recorded a career-long 33-yard rush to advance the Vaqueros to the 11-yard line.
Garcia finished with a career-high 53 rushing yards on six carries.
Sophomore
Brysen Gardner kicked a 25-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter to put the Vaqueros up 17-7.
Marburger found sophomore
Ismael Smith Flores for a 4-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter to put the Vaqueros up 24-7.
Gardner split the uprights on a 43-yard field goal to extend the lead to 27-7.
Redshirt freshman
Jaiden Haygood led with 11 tackles. Redshirt freshman
Abdon Mata had a game-high two sacks and redshirt junior
Ian Box recorded 1.5 sacks as the Vaqueros totaled six sacks and 11 tackles for loss. Redshirt senior
Logic Hudgens had an interception and six tackles. Redshirt freshman
Alijah Prosser and redshirt sophomore
Nicholas Fernandez forced fumbles, with one recovered by graduate student
Spencer Rich, who finished with eight tackles.
Now midway through the season, UTRGV has a bye during week 7 before resuming action on Saturday, Oct. 18 at 3 p.m. at No. 25 Lamar. Fans can watch online domestically on
ESPN+ and internationally on
Southland International. Fans can also listen locally on Ultra 90.1 FM, in Laredo on Pure Country 95.7 FM, and online via the
Radio Para Mi app.
Week 6 Southland Conference Scoreboard
Nicholls 17 @
#25 Lamar 24
(RV) Southeastern 38 @ McNeese 0
East Texas A&M 40 @ Northwestern State 10
(RV) Stephen F. Austin 31 @ #20 Incarnate Word 17
Houston Christian University 7 @
UTRGV 27
Southland Conference Standings
Team SLC Record Overall Record
(RV) Southeastern 2-0 4-2
(RV) Stephen F. Austin 2-0 4-2
East Texas A&M 1-0 1-4
#25 Lamar 1-0 4-1
Nicholls 1-1 1-5
UTRGV 1-1 5-1
Houston Christian University 0-1 1-4
Northwestern State 0-1 1-4
#20 Incarnate Word 0-2 2-4
McNeese 0-2 1-5
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