Game Stats
TAHLEQUAH, Okla. -- Abilene Christian University blocked three punts, scoring on two of them, and returned another punt for a touchdown Saturday night as the No. 5 Wildcats posted their second straight victory with a 43-13 Lone Star Conference win over Northeastern State at Doc Wadley Stadium.
The win pushes the Wildcats to 2-0 on the season and 1-0 in the LSC, while the RiverHawks fall to 1-1 and 1-1. ACU will play its first home game of the season next Saturday at 6 p.m. when it hosts East Central in another LSC contest at Shotwell Stadium.
After ACU settled for a pair of field goals on its first two drives of the game,
Kendrick Johnson got the special teams parade started when he returned a punt 80 yards for a score to give the Wildcats a 13-0 lead with 5:33 left in the game. After ACU's defense forced a punt on Northeastern's ensuing possession,
Chris Jones blocked a punt that
Nate Bailey picked out of the air and returned 20 yards for a touchdown to make it a 20-0 with 2:51 left in the first quarter.
Late in the first half with the Wildcats leading 20-6, Jones blocked another punt that
Caleb Withrow recovered in the end zone to give the Wildcats a 26-6 lead with 3:48 left in the first half. Northeastern creeped to within two scores on the final play of the first half when Davis found Kendall McKellum for a 37-yard Hail Mary touchdown pass to cut ACU's lead at the break to 26-13.
The special teams fireworks continued in the third quarter for the Wildcats as redshirt freshman
Thor Woerner blocked another Cody Lenz punt and Bailey recovered again and returned it to the Northeastern 12-yard line. Two plays later,
Mitchell Gale found
Emery Dudensing from three yards out to give the Wildcats a 33-13 advantage.
Darrell Cantu-Harkless had an 82-yard touchdown run with 4:05 left in the third quarter to make it 40-13 and
Morgan Lineberry capped the scoring with a 40-yard field goal with 12:48 left in the contest.
Gale finished the night 18 for 25 for 161 yards and one score, while Cantu-Harkless led the Wildcats with 95 yards on four carries and one score. ACU's defense, meanwhile, limited the RiverHawks to a meager 35 yards of offense in the second half.
