RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The "Valley Voodoo" head coach
Travis Bush referenced three weeks ago was at its strongest Saturday at Robert & Janet Vackar Stadium as The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros football team earned the first ranked win in program history, knocking off RP/#25 Southeastern Lions, 13-3, in a Southland Conference (SLC) contest.
Junior linebacker
Jaiden Haygood snagged what became a game-sealing interception in the end zone in the fourth quarter with UTRGV leading 6-3. His second interception of the season sent the crowd and sideline into a frenzy and created the momentum needed to put the game away. On the ensuing drive, junior quarterback
Aidan Jakobsohn found junior receiver
Jaydon Smith for a 16-yard touchdown to put the game on ice. To cap the incredible night, fifth-year defensive back
TJ Neal snagged his second interception of the game on Southeastern's final drive and returned it 51 yards, the longest return of his career.
Neal finished with two interceptions and 10 tackles while Haygood had one interception and another 10 tackles. Sixth-year linebacker
Spencer Rich, the SLC's leading tackler, tabbed a game-high 12 tackles. Junior linebacker
Jackson Waid recorded one sack and had eight tackles to aid a UTRGV (3-3, 2-2 SLC) defensive effort that stymied a team averaging 32.4 points per game coming into Saturday's contest.
Jakobsohn finished 23-of-37 with a career-high 244 passing yards, one touchdown and one interception. Smith hauled in six catches for 70 yards and the lone touchdown of the night. Senior receiver
Braden Baize had five catches for 52 yards, both career highs.
Southeastern (3-3, 1-2 SLC) totaled 325 yards of offense but didn't find the end zone. Quarterback
Kyle Lowe went 26-of-35 with 198 passing yards and three interceptions.
D Jackson had a team-high 40 receiving yards and
D Joseph rushed for 58 yards.
C Hanberry led the Lions defense with nine tackles.
In the first half, it seemed that every time the Lions had momentum and a look at taking the lead, things went UTRGV's way. Southeastern kicker
Drew Talley missed field goals of 48 and 50-yards in the first quarter, sending both wide right on nearly identical attempts on the first two possessions. The third Lions possess saw the Lions driving well and get inside the UTRGV 30. A fourth-down pass that hit hands and could have been a touchdown was dropped, resulting in a turnover on downs.
Junior defensive end
DC Thompson and fifth-year defensive back
Jordan Ford were disruptive on SLU's opening drive to force the field goal attempt. Graduate defensive end
Josh Cashiola recorded a key sack and Haygood had a solo tackle on a third-down pass to force the second field goal miss. Junior linebacker
Landen Gaskamp and fifth-year defensive back
Marcus Heard Jr. were in on a clutch third-down stop that resulted in the fourth-down attempt which was dropped.
Though UTRGV's offense was slow rolling early, special teams backed up the defensive effort to keep the energy high in Vackar Stadium. Fifth-year punter
Nathaniel Wallace-Dilling executed a stellar 38-yard punt to pin the Lions on their own two-yard line. Neal tabbed his first interception in the second quarter to stymie another Southeastern drive.
After Neal's interception fired up the Vaqueros sideline, UTRGV drove down the field with gusto. Jakobsohn delivered a first-down pass to junior running back
TJ Dement mid-tackle after rolling away from heavy pressure. The drive set up a program-long 51-yard field goal which senior kicker
Brysen Gardner roped right over the upright for a 3-0 on the final play of the first half.
Following a missed field goal by UTRGV early in the first half, Talley tied the game with a 36-yard field goal with 3:30 remaining in the third quarter. The Vaqueros answered right back, setting up the go-ahead score with a 28-yard pass-and-catch from Jakobsohn to Smith. Gardner made a 36-yard field goal to get back on top, 6-3, early in the fourth.
Southeastern had possession for the next seven minutes of the quarter and drove efficiently to UTRGV's five-yard line. Lowe fired for the end zone but found Haygood instead of a Lions receiver, flipping the game in UTRGV's favor for good.
The Vaqueros will be back in action Oct. 17 at 6 p.m. at UIW for another SLC game.
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