THE OFFICIAL HOME OF McNEESE ATHLETICS

SAN ANTONIO - UIW scored three touchdowns in the final 2:05 of the second quarter to turn a close 7-0 game into a 28-6 margin while McNeese's offense couldn't find any movement until that time and the Cardinals went on to beat the Cowboys 38-6 in Southland Conference football action on Saturday.
 
The loss snapped McNeese's two-game league winning streak as it fell to 3-5 overall and 2-3 in league play. UIW evened its record to 4-4 while moving to 3-2 in the conference and beat the Cowboys for the fourth straight time.
 
UIW quarterback Emmett Brown accounted for five touchdowns (four passing, one rushing) and 355 total offensive yards. He completed 19 of 26 passes for 283 yards and four TDs while rushing for another 72 yards and a score.
 
UIW gained 513 yards in the game, 287 passing and 226 rushing, while the Cowboys finished with 283, 160 rushing and 123 passing.
 
Brady Barrier completed 10 of 17 passes for 127 yards, a touchdown and an interception while rushing for another 31 yards. Marquez Davis led the Cowboys with 63 rushing yards which came in the fourth quarter.
 
McNeese fumbled the ball away on the third play of the game when quarterback Jake Strong was strip-sacked by UIW's Jeremiah Young. On the Cardinals' first play, Emmett Brown connected with Dane Farley on a 27-yard strike to give UIW a quick 7-0 lead just 36 seconds into the game.
 
The Cowboys' offense managed just 28 yards on 12 plays in the first three possessions with Strong going 0-for-7 passing. Brady Barrier was subbed in the next possession and was intercepted at the UIW 41 after driving the Cowboys for their best drive of the game.
 
The defense continued to come up big in short field situations and held the Cardinals to a missed 40-yard field goal attempt.
 
The game remained 7-0 until 2:05 to play in the second quarter when Brown found Roy Alexander for a 29-yard touchdown strike to make it 14-0. After a McNeese punt following a three-and-out, UIW struck right away on a 56-yard Brown to Jacob Emmers score to make it 21-0 with 1:31 left in the half.
 
McNeese answered quickly itself on the ensuing possession when Barrier found Smiley Ewards 34-yards down the field on a 50/50 ball to set the Cowboys up in UIW territory for the first time in the game at the 31. On the next play, Barrier hit Reed Boyd in the seam for a touchdown strike to cut the margin to 21-6 after the failed 2-point conversion with 59 seconds to play.
 
UIW wasn't finished and marched 75 yards down the field, scoring on a Brown pass to Isaiah Champagne with five seconds to play to make it 28-6 at the half.
 
The two teams played to a scoreless third quarter marking the second straight game the Cowboys pitched a shutout in the third. McNeese's defense held the Cardinals to three punts, 38 total yards and no first downs in the quarter but offensively, McNeese couldn't manage to move the ball much either for the exception of its opening drive of the half when McNeese drove to the UIW 27 only to see the drive end on downs.
 
The Cardinals scored early in the fourth quarter on a Brown keeper for 38 yards, his fifth touchdown of the game, as the lead grew to 35-6. UIW tacked on a 25-yard Nick Rigas field goal with 7:50 to play in the fourth to make it 38-6.
 
Sentario Willis recorded a career-high 11 tackles and Landon Barrett added 10.
 
McNeese returns home next Saturday for homecoming when it hosts Nicholls at 2 p.m.