UTPB head coach Kris McCullough finally got a win against a Colorado school.
It took a couple of attempts but the Falcons helped him get one back on the Rocky Mountain State in UTPB’s 67-14 win against Adams State this past Saturday at Astound Broadband Stadium in Midland.
Last year, the Falcons were dealt a 35-27 loss to Western Colorado.
Then, over a week ago, UTPB fell to Colorado State-Pueblo 40-23.
It was not only a chance to get one back on a school from the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference but also a redemption for the Falcons who were coming off their first loss of the season and moved to 2-1 overall, 1-0 in the Lone Star Conference.
“That state’s had my number, but we played a really good game in all phases,” McCullough said at Monday’s press conference at the D. Kirk Edwards Human Performance Center. “There were a few plays that I wish we had back, but overall, it was a good performance by our guys. I thought we really answered the call. The biggest thing I told our guys was that I thought our preparation last week was the best that we’ve ever had.”
>>INTERNAL BATTLE: McCullough says his players’ internal battle has been to simply be better than themselves.
That ended up being the key as the team focused on getting back on track after the loss at Colorado State-Pueblo.
“We have to go 1-0 every day,” McCullough said. “If we give anyone a glimmer a hope, they can take advantage of us. We don’t care what color jersey the other team has or what the other team’s name is. Our battle is with ourselves to be the best person we can be.”
>> TRENCHES: There wasn’t a whole lot for the Falcons to be upset about in Saturday’s blowout.
The team set the tone early with a 22-0 first quarter lead and kept its foot on the gas pedal.
The Falcons’ offense finished with 306 yards of rushing from 51 carries and 306 yards passing.
McCullough credited that success to his team’s offensive line.
“Offensively, we went in and tried to run the ball the entire first drive. we went in with the mindset that we were going to dominate in the trenches,” McCullough said. “Our offensive line played great and did a good job of moving them backwards. I wanted to dominate in the trenches on both sides of the ball. We played a great defensive and offensive front game. That was our message all week, to get back to who we are. That’s why we ran for 300 yards and throw for 300 yards and see our defense really dominate the game.”
>> DON’T FORGET SPECIAL TEAMS: UTPB also dominated in the special teams phase of the game as kick returner Traylen Suel had a 96-yard return for a touchdown and finished with 140 yards on three returns.
Suel was named the Lone Star Conference Special Teams Player of the Week.
Punter Rafael Vargas was only needed twice, but had 81 yards total yards from his punts.
Kicker Angel Diaz was a perfect 8-for-8 on PATs, but had a field goal in the fourth quarter that was blocked.
“It starts with our special teams coordinator Blake Crandall, who’s also our co-offensive coordinator,” McCullough said. “He’s done a great job of getting those guys prepared. We’re the number one kickoff return team in the conference, the number-two punt return team in the conference, number-two kickoff return team in the conference. We just were dominating all levels of special teams. We have to get a little better on field goal attempts … but our special teams players have continued to thrive.”
>> TEXAS A&M-KINGSVILLE: UTPB will return to conference play this week when the Falcons face Texas A&M-Kingsville at 6 p.m. Saturday at Astound Broadband Stadium.
It’ll be the second consecutive home game for the Falcons before returning on the road next week to face Midwestern State at Wichita Falls on Sept. 28.
“This crowd continues to show up,” McCullough said. “We gave them something to watch last year with winning the conference. Being undefeated at home, I hope we can do that with Kingsville.”
While the Javelinas have a rich history — winning seven national championships back in the school’s NAIA playing days as well 33 conference titles — they haven’t made as much noise in the last 15 years with the team’s last Lone Star Conference title coming in 2009.
Still, McCullough aims for UTPB to have the same history that A&M-Kingsville has.
“Kingsville has a rich tradition,” McCullough said. “They’re everything that UTPB is not. We’re still new. They’ve had all the tradition that we don’t have. I hope in 50 years we can have those similar numbers, too, but it’s going to be a good football game.”
