UT Permian Basin looks to close its 2018 season on a strong note Saturday night when the Falcons travel south for a 7 p.m. kickoff at Texas A&M Kingsville.

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LAST TIME OUT
Despite leading at halftime, UT Permian Basin fell just short in their upset attempt of #16 Texas A&M - Commerce, losing 20-17.

The Lions were able to get on the scoreboard first after a 26-yard field goal by Kristov Martinez.  The Falcons would get to work on the ensuing drive.  Taylor Null would find Kristian Brown for 47-yards.  On the next play, Null would find Michael Myers from 11 yards out and take the 7-3 lead.  The Lions answered with a touchdown of their own.  Capping off a drive with a 15-yard run by Carandal Hale to make it 10-7 Lions.

The second quarter the defenses would settle in.  In the final two minutes of the quarter, the Falcons scored the first points of the quarter.  Myers would keep the drive alive tiptoeing the sideline on a third-and-ten.  Null finished the drive with an 11-yard strike in the corner to take the 14-10 lead.  After a long kick return, Martinez would add his second field goal of the game for the Lions.  

Martinez would have an opportunity from 48-yards just before the half, but Jaques Tyler would get a hand on it and Jack Lacy returned the loose ball down to the 16.  From there Sergio Landeros would knock it through the uprights to send the game to the half, Falcons up 17-13.

The Lions controlled the ball for most of the second half, but the Falcon defense would keep them in the game.  With the Lions driving deep into Falcon territory, Chris Hoad would fly in to force a fumble where Lacy would recover.  After a Falcon punt, the Lions would drive again and set-up a field goal attempt by Martinez.  This time a bad snap derailed their scoring chance giving the Falcons back the football. 

After trading punts, the Lion offense was able to breakthrough and retake the lead.  Kane Wilson ran it in from just a yard out to take the 20-17 lead, seconds into the fourth quarter.  Both defenses refused to budge with the Falcons hold the Lions four times to force a punt in the fourth quarter.  On their final drive of the game, the Falcons would pull a trick play out and Brown's pass was caught by Baylon Ware at midfield.  A penalty and two sacks ended the final Falcon attempt before the Lions just ran out the clock.


SCOUTING THE JAVELINAS
Texas A&M Kingsville enters the final week of the season coming off of a 35-31 loss on the road at West Texas A&M. The Javelinas scored early in the fourth quatrer to go ahead of the Buffs on a 25 yard pass from Koy Detmer Jr. to Aaron Dilworth for a 31-28 advantage. West Texas A&M took the lead for the final time on the night when Brandon Blair scored his third touchdown of the game on a 78-yard run with 1:28 remaining in regulation to give the Buffs the 35-31 win.

Detmer Jr. threw for 314 yards on 28-47 passing with three touchdowns and an interception on the night. Dilworth was the recipient of two of the scores, catching 11 passes for 119 yards. Tyler Wilson led the Javelinas with 154 yards on nine catches and Jeff Carr added a TD on four receptions for 23 yards. Nick Pelrean led TAMUK with 74 yards on 13 rushes on the night. Tre Turr led the Javelina defense with nine tackles and had a pair of TFL for two yards.

MATCHUP BREAKDOWN
Both teams come into this match-up fairly equal in yards per game with the Falcons averaging 346.2 and the Javelinas with 358.7.  The Falcons do the majority of their damage through the air.  Taylor Null is second in the conference with 2,139 yards while throwing 16 touchdowns to lead the aerial attack.  Kyle McBride has emerged as Null's leading receiver, leading the team with 47 catches for 635 yards and three scores.  Kristian Brown and Ben Galaviz have each gone over 400 yards receiving while snagging five touchdowns each.  
Javelina quarterback Koy Detmer Jr. is third in the conference with 2,098 yards while throwing for 18 touchdowns.   His top receiver is Aaron Dilworth who leads the team with six touchdowns on 38 receptions and 467 yards.  Coming into this game, the Falcons are third in the conference in passing yards per game with 260.6 while the Javelinas boast the league's top passing defense only allowing 166.2 yards through the air.

On the ground the Falcons are led by Marquis Simmons with 457 yards and two scores, while the Javelinas are led by Nick Pelrean's 690 yards and five touchdowns.  The Falcon defense has stifled the run with Chris Hoad, who's 121 tackles are second in Division II.  Keegan Gray adds in 80 tackles with 12 for loss and a pair of interceptions.  Tre'Michael Tutt leads the Javelina defense with 75 tackles and 10 for loss.  

A key to the game could be penalty yards.  The Falcons are the third least penalized team in the conference with just 63.2 penalty yards per game, while the Javelinas have been flagged 102 times for 863 total yards which is the most in the conference.  The Javelinas are also second in the conference in time of possession holding the ball for 32:29 per game.  


HOAD RANKS SECOND IN NCAA IN TACKLES
Junior Falcon linebacker Chris Hoad is second in Division II football with 121 tackles.  He trails only Cody Leonard of Quincy who has 144.  Hoad has been a one-man force the last three weeks registering 53 tackles, including 19 against Eastern New Mexico to tie a career-high.  The junior just needs one more tackle to tie his career-high of 122 which he set last season.  This season Hoad has five games of at least 15 tackles.

Hoad is now up to 357 career tackles, which has him tied for fourth in Division II and tied for thirteenth among active players.  Among juniors, Hoad leads the country for career tackles ahead of Maurice Wright's 317 of Northwestern Oklahoma.  The Division II career record is 633 set by Connor Harris who played at Lindenwood from 2012-16.  B.J. Russell holds the single season tackle record with 169 which he set while playing for Mesa State in 2004.