The UTPB football learned two very important lessons during its game against Division I Abilene Christian University last week.
First, the Falcons got a strong reminder that the focus has to be for 60 minutes.
UTPB surrendered 24 points in a four-minute span at the end of the second quarter that turned a one-score game into a blowout.
Secondly, UTPB proved that it can play with anyone when locked in.
That’s the mentality that the Falcons need to take on the bus with them as they travel to face Western New Mexico in Lone Star Conference action at 7 p.m. Saturday in Silver City, N.M.
They’ll also have to erase the memories of last week’s 34-9 loss at the hands of the Wildcats.
“Obviously Saturday was tough,” UTPB head coach Justin Carrigan said. “The 3:52 was the worst, ever.
“Other than that, I liked the way we played. I thought we matched up really well and it says a lot about our guys, they came out in the second half and I’m proud of the way they kept battling.”
The loss snapped an eight-game winning streak for the Falcons (2-1 overall, 1-0 in conference). They still have their eight-game winning streak against Division II opponents intact and will look to remain perfect in conference.
One bright spot for the Falcons in Abilene was the play of running back Jayvon Davis.
He was late arriving as he had attended the funeral for his grandmother in Houston and then flew into Abilene, arriving at the stadium about 45 minutes before kickoff.
After dressing quickly, he was given a one-on-one warmup and then walked for the coin toss with his brother Sema’j.
Sema’j, a Midland Lee standout, was injured in a car accident in October, 2020, while playing for Abilene Christian.
Jayvon then proceeded to score the Falcons’ only touchdown of the night, a 13-yard scamper with 10:47 remaining to play in the game.
>> SAME LEVEL: The last time UTPB faced a Division II school, it ran away with a 42-31 victory against conference foe West Texas A&M on Sept. 11 at Ratliff Stadium.
Quarterback Clayton Roberts threw for a school-record six touchdowns in the victory and the Falcons will be looking for a similar effort against the Mustangs.
“They are a good football team,” Carrigan said of Western New Mexico. “We are going to have to be ready to go.”
>> FORCED BREAK: The Falcons will, currently, have a week off after Saturday’s game as their game against Simon Fraser of British Columbia was canceled because of border issues.
So, unless UTPB finds a game in the next five days, its next game will be against Lincoln (Calif.) on Oct. 9 at Ratliff Stadium.
>> Follow Lee Scheide on Twitter at @OALeeScheide
