By Joel Weckerly, Sports Editor
The ACU football team has four wins in a row. No, this isn’t news from 1986, though that was the last time the Wildcats accomplished such a feat. Instead, after Saturday’s 21-20 victory over Midwestern State, this is reality.
“It’s almost like a big dream to me,” said senior running back Eric Polk, who led the Cats with 60 yards rushing against Midwestern. “I never really thought we’d be where we are. We’ve come a long way from last year.”
In fact, they have already bettered last year. ACU finished 3-8 overall and 2-4 in the Lone Star Conference South in 2001, and never even reached .500. Now, the team under Coach Gary Gaines is 4-3 overall and 3-0 in the LSC South, good for a first place tie with Texas A&M-Kingsville. The Wildcats have not been over the .500 mark this late in the season since 1997.
“It feels good,” Gaines said. “I hope we keep the streak going, and I would hope this gets people even more excited about ACU football.”
The team displayed some of its excitement Saturday by gaining its fourth straight come-from-behind victory. Trailing 20-7 midway through the third quarter, ACU junior defensive back Kendrick Walker fielded a bouncing punt and returned it 67 yards for the score. That touchdown gave ACU’s offense the momentum to score 14 unanswered points, while the defense held MSU to just 19 total yards in the last quarter.
“I thought we picked it up a lot in the second half,” Gaines said. “We had a little bit of a lull, but Kendrick was able to give us the big momentum-turner. (MSU is) a very talented team, and it was a good win for us.”
Going into the game, Midwestern was ranked No. 25 in the American Football Coaches’ Association poll, but now drops out of the Top 25 with a 5-4 overall record and a 2-2 mark in the LSC South.
“I think we played fairly well,” senior defensive back Steven Riddley said. “As a team, we came together and knew what we had to do. We did whatever it took.”
Junior quarterback Colby Freeman had another big game for ACU, completing 11 of 21 passes with no interceptions for 209 yards. Polk also led the Cats in receiving, with three catches for 83 yards. Freshman receiver Don Hooks caught three passes for 61 yards and one TD in the victory.
Polk said that although the team played well, it still has the potential to improve.
“We’re playing good in all aspects of the game,” Polk said, “but we need to work on being consistent in all four quarters of the game.”
Gaines added that his team shouldn’t only dwell on the week before.
“There’s a big mental aspect to this game,” Gaines said. “You can’t sit back and think about the last one or you’ll get your feathers plucked this week.”
Which the Wildcats hope won’t happen against LSC South opponent Texas A&M-Commerce, which comes into Abilene with a 2-5 record overall and a 1-2 mark in the division.
“This is my last season, and I’m trying to go out with a bang,” Polk said. “And the way we’re going right now, I just feel like we can’t be stopped.”
