UTPB Athletics

MIDLAND, Texas (November 14, 2026) – The 2026 University of Texas Permian Basin football season and first season under the direction of Head Coach Chris Softley came to an end on Saturday as the Falcons fell in overtime, 30-24, during their Senior Day against Texas A&M University-Kingsville. In addition to five lead changes between the two teams, TAMUK (6-5 overall, 6-3 Lone Star Conference) outscored UTPB (6-5, 5-4) 23-14 in the second half and overtime to win the battle for third place between the two teams.

UTPB got the ball first in overtime, but a holding penalty on the first play set the Falcons back, and after quarterback Nate TenBarge had to exit the field after his run on second down, Braxton Baker's pass on third-and-18 resulted in the third and final interception of the game by the Javelinas' defense, this one coming after a deflection at the line of scrimmage.

TAMUK then began its overtime possession with the plan of handing the ball off to running back Edward Chumley, who ran it on four straight plays for 19 yards to start the drive before quarterback Dawson Mills finished off the game himself with a six-yard touchdown run to end it.

UTPB led 24-16 on first downs and maintained possession for 35 minutes, but also gave up 243 rushing yards and 409 total yards of offense to TAMUK.

UTPB started the game with a 22-yard pass from Baker to George Sims on its first offensive play of the game, but the teams combined for three punts on the first three drives of the game before the Falcons put together the first scoring drive of the contest. After two third-down pickups on passes from Baker to Heston Kelly, Baker ran for seven yards on third-and-two for the Falcons' third, third-down conversion of the drive, getting the ball down to the Javelinas' eight-yard line. However, after three straight incompletions by Baker, the Falcons settled for a 25-yard field goal by Diego Chavarria to wrap up a 13-play, 47-yard drive and open the scoring with four minutes left in the first quarter, and then the Falcons made a switch at quarterback to TenBarge.

TAMUK answered in just one play on its ensuing drive as Chumley took the handoff from Mills and went 75 yards to the house for the first touchdown of the game.

The first play of the second quarter saw a sack by UTPB's Matthew Lambert, pushing TAMUK back to third-and-10 and leading to the Javelinas' third punt in their first four drives of the game. The ensuing UTPB possession began with an 11-yard run by TenBarge, setting the tone for the rest of the drive as TenBarge ran for a two-yard gain on third-and-one from the Javelinas 16-yard line. Two plays later, TenBarge tucked the ball, broke three tackles and dove for the endzone for an eight-yard score to put the Falcons back in front (10-7) five and a half minutes into the second quarter. TenBarge ran it seven times for 30 yards during what was in all a nine-play, 50-yard scoring drive for UTPB, ending with the Falcons' first touchdown of the game.

However, after an interception thrown by TenBarge in the final two minutes of the first half, the Falcons went back to Baker at quarterback for the final drive to end the half before switching back to TenBarge for the entirety of the second half.

On seven possessions for TAMUK in the first half, the UTPB defense forced five punts, four times on just three plays, and one turnover on downs in Falcons' territory.

You would not know how close of a game it was by looking at the first-half statistics as UTPB led 14-3 on first downs and ran nearly double the number of plays as TAMUK (45-24). Despite trailing on the scoreboard, UTPB held onto the ball for over 10 minutes and held TAMUK to just three passing yards in the first quarter. Then at halftime, UTPB had maintained possession for nearly 20 minutes (19:47) while converting on 6-of-11 third downs and holding the Javelinas to 0-for-6 on third down.

TenBarge opened up the second half with a nice 21-yard run to get the ball near midfield on the very first play, nearly matching his total rushing yards from the first half (22). Then a checkdown pass from TenBarge to Camden Tyler went for 23 yards down the sideline to get the ball to the TAMUK 13-yard line, but the next play ended the drive with TenBarge's second interception of the game as he came up short on his attempt to throw the ball out of play. TAMUK then came out using a quick tempo on its next drive and got another long run by Chumley, this time for 45 yards, before Chumley's second rushing touchdown of the game on first-and-goal from the one put the Javelinas back in front (14-10) seven minutes into the second half. Chumley ran the ball six times for 67 yards during what was a nine-play, 84-yard touchdown drive for TAMUK to retake the lead.

UTPB answered right back on its next drive as TenBarge found Tre Brown for a 20-yard gain on the first play, and then two plays later a 44-yard run by Cheno Navarrette got the Falcons to within the 10-yard line before Navarrette finished off the drive with a seven-yard touchdown catch and ran on the pass from TenBarge. TenBarge passed it straight out to Navarrette on his right side, and Naverrette had a big hole in front of him to take it into the endzone and make it 17-14 Falcons. It was a fast four-play, 75-yard touchdown drive for UTPB.

TAMUK proceeded to put together the third straight scoring drive between the two teams in the third quarter, but a pass breakup in the endzone by Leonard Adams on second-and-goal helped the Falcons hold the Javelinas to a 25-yard, game-tying field goal (17-17).

Just one play into TAMUK's next drive, its final drive of the third quarter, UTPB's McKyle So'oto came up with an interception and returned it 26 yards to the TAMUK 15-yard line. It was UTPB's 10th straight game with an interception on defense to end the season, and was the third pick of the season by So'oto, who became the third Falcon this season with at least three interceptions. The interception led to points for the Falcons as just two plays into the fourth quarter, Navarrette took the snap out of the wildcat on third-and-goal from the three-yard line and scored his second touchdown in a row, this time on a rush, to make it a 24-17 Falcons' lead.

After a combined sack on third-and-12 by Nicholas Elko and David Walker forced a punt on the next Javelinas' possession, UTPB started moving the ball on its next drive with a 12-yard run by TenBarge for a first down and a 16-yard run by Navarrette for another first down on the very next play. However, after the drive stalled at the UTPB 29-yard line, the Javelinas made the biggest play of the game with a blocked punt and ensuing scoop and score from 14 yards out. The recovery came courtesy of Kendon Jones, tying the game for the second time in the second half (24-24) with seven minutes left to play.

The blocked punt was the second of five consecutive drives ending in a punt between the two teams, but after taking over one last time with just 17 seconds on the clock, TAMUK tried to make a run at winning the game in regulation. A 21-yard punt return started the Javelinas' drive at their own 41-yard line, and pass completions of 17 yards and 13 yards on the first two plays of the drive, both to Christian Kretz, got the Javelins into field goal range for Daniel Gauna. However, Gauna's kick into the wind from 43 yards away was wide right as time expired.

TenBarge was 15-for-24 passing for 160 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions while also adding a team-high 24 rushing attempts for 64 yards and another touchdown.  Baker, meanwhile, was 6-for-15 for 62 yards, but had the interception in overtime.

Navarrette led the Falcons in rushing yards, accumulating 70 yards and a touchdown on just nine carries (7.8 avg.) while also scoring with a touchdown reception.

Traylen Suel led the Falcons in receptions (6) while Tyler led in receiving yards (56). Suel and Tyler were UTPB's two senior captains on the offensive side of the ball this season, and were both returners finishing their fifth and final seasons as Falcons.

With another interception today, UTPB finishes the season ranked first in all of NCAA Division II in total interceptions (21), interception return yards (466), turnovers gained (30 – 21 INT, 9 FUM REC), and interceptions returned for a touchdown (5).

Although UTPB limited the LSC's leader in receptions and receiving yards (Kretz) to six catches for 48 yards, Chumley's 236 rushing yards were the most by any player in the LSC thus far this season.

TAMUK totaled five penalties for 24 yards in the first quarter, and had four penalties for 37 more yards in the second quarter. The Javelinas finished the game with 14 penalties for 102 yards, but still found a way to earn the win.

Senior Day Recap:
Prior to the start of the game, UTPB recognized its 25-member senior class: No. 0 Camden Tyler, No. 0 David Walker, No. 1 George Sims, No. 2 Traylen Suel, No. 7 Solomon James, No. 7 Eli Leiataua, No. 9 Kendrick Jones, No. 12 Jaylin Broadus, No. 13 Trey Spann, No. 15 Samuel Olokeogun, No. 20 Layne Horak, No. 25 Khalil Eichelberger, No. 39 Matthew Sebade, No. 45 McKyle So'oto, No. 54 Jaden Edmonson, No. 70 Mason Schweinle, No. 71 Jordan McClaine, No. 74 Damien Thomas, No. 75 Torbyn Eakins, No. 83 Heston Kelly, No. 86 Diego Nunez, No. 87 Caleb Sedegan, No. 88 JT Seagreaves, No. 94 Matthew Lambert, and No. 98 Dieunerst Collin. In addition, student athletic trainers Spencer White and Malia Garcia were each recognized for their contribution to the Falcon football program.