Bouncing Back: UTRGV offense finds groove at home, picks up homecoming win
EDINBURG — After an explosive start to the season, UTRGV’s offense found itself in a bit of a rut when Southland Conference play began.
Last week proved to be its biggest struggle yet, totaling a season-low 183 yards and 21 points during a loss to Lamar.
The Vaqueros bounced back in a big way Saturday, erupting for 558 total yards and seven offensive scores as UTRGV routed defending Southland Conference champion UIW 56-28 during its first-ever homecoming game at Robert and Janet Vackar Stadium in Edinburg.
“You work so hard in this game for so few opportunities,” UTRGV head coach Travis Bush said. “So when you don’t win it is hard. Bottom line, win or lose, it is over and tomorrow we got to wake up and we got to be the best we can be every day. The guys learned from it. We talked about it and put it to rest the next day. Guys had Monday off. We came in Tuesday and they were fired up and hungry and they showed it.”
Leading the offensive surge was former Sharyland Pioneer quarterback Eddie Lee Marburger, who accounted for seven total touchdowns (six passing, one rushing) during the win.
He opened his day with a pair of touchdown passes to tight end Ismael Smith Flores (25 and 43 yards) to give the Vaqueros an early 14-0 lead.
A 42-yard touchdown pass to running back Nathan Denney extended UTRGV’s lead to 21-0 early in the second, with Marburger following it up with a 12-yard touchdown run to make it 28-0.
The senior quarterback put the finishing touches on an explosive first half with a 22-yard touchdown pass to wideout Xayvion Noland, sending the Vaqueros into halftime leading 35-0.
“We got a tremendous team honestly,” Marburger said. “Last week’s game, that’s done. That was all on the offense. We didn’t do our job last week and that hurt a lot honestly. You work so hard for this so to have an outcome like that it was hard. I think all that happened for a reason now because the focus we had this week was second to none. We have the best defense in the conference, so we’re blessed to have those guys. But tonight the receivers, the tight ends and the O-line, they all did their job tonight. I think you saw the potential we have for this offense.”
Three straight UIW touchdowns during the third quarter made it a two-score game before Marburger threw touchdown pass No. 5 to extend the lead back to 21, this time hitting Tony Diaz, who made an acrobatic one-handed grab for the score.
Diaz finished the night with a game-high 17 receptions for 172 yards and one touchdown. The 17 receptions rank No. 3 all-time in Southland Conference history.
“Like what Eddie said, last week happened for a reason,” Diaz said. “It got our heads back on straight. I feel like I couldn’t do all that without Eddie or the O-line. It is great to have them and have them do what they got to do. I just catch the ball whenever it’s thrown to me.”
UIW pulled back within two scores early in the fourth, but Marburger and the defense shut the door on any comeback hopes.
Marburger connected with Noland for a 75-yard touchdown, his sixth of the night, followed by a 35-yard fumble return for a touchdown by Jayden House to seal the homecoming win.
The victory improves UTRGV to 6-2 overall and 2-2 in conference, guaranteeing the Vaqueros finish at least .500 during their inaugural season.
UTRGV hits the road for its next conference matchup, traveling to Nacogdoches to take on No. 24 Stephen F. Austin. Kickoff against the Lumberjacks is set for 6 p.m.
“How ’bout those Vaqueros tonight,” Bush said. “Just proud of our group. The big thing this week was we talked about responsibility. We talked about taking responsibility for last week and then our responsibilities moving forward. We talked about how we respond and how do we come back when good or bad things happen. So just proud of the group. We’re still growing every week. From the wins or the losses, we’re still growing.”
