In the second ranked matchup of the season, the Wildcats defeated the Austin Peay State University Governors 45-31. 

Head Coach Keith Patterson said he knew this game would be a good test of how far the team has come, especially considering Austin Peay’s high level of skill this season.

“I thought this may be one of the best football teams that we’ve played here at Wildcat Stadium during my time here,” he said. “They’ve shown to be very physical, and I’ve just got great respect for Coach Faris and what he’s doing there at Austin Peay. They’re going to be a really good football team as the season moves on.”

The offense came out hot in the first half, scoring three touchdowns and a field goal, and took the lead in the first quarter for the first time this season. 

Stone Earle, senior quarterback from Fort Worth, led the Wildcat offense and set a new career high in passing yards for the third game in a row with 339. 

Earle contributed to all six Wildcat touchdowns, with four in the air to three different receivers and two rushing scores. 

Earle said trusting the process is what has contributed to the success and confidence of the Wildcat offense. 

“Coach talks about taking it play by play and how every play has a life of its own, and that’s what we try to do,” Earle said. “That’s just a mentality that we have to have, and ultimately, I feel like we left a lot out there that we didn’t execute on, but each week as long as we’re just getting better and better, we’re growing as an offense.”

The three touchdown receivers were Dallas Dudley, junior wide receiver from Lewisville, Jed Castles, graduate tight end from Wichita Falls, and Raydrian Baltrip, redshirt freshman from Silsbee, who had two touchdowns. 

Dudley’s touchdown reception was his first of his collegiate career. He and Earle both played at North Texas in 2023, and their connection has only strengthened in Abilene, as Dudley is the Wildcats’ leading receiver so far this season. 

On the other side of the ball, the Wildcat defense was strong in the first half with three fumble recoveries, all by Rashon Myles, Jr., junior linebacker from Brownsburg, Indiana. 

The last time the Wildcats recovered three or more fumbles in a game was Nov. 13, 2021, when they faced Tarleton State and recovered five. 

Despite the early success, Patterson said he encouraged the defense to get two more takeaways in the second half. However, the team was unable to, allowing the Governors to stay in the game.

“I told the defense, you need to take the ball away two times,” Patterson said. “They didn’t. Therefore, [Austin Peay] was hanging on. ‘Defense, we’ve got to take the ball away twice,’ and we didn’t. We had two opportunities for interceptions, and we dropped them both.”

The Wildcats will travel to San Antonio for their next game at 6 p.m. Saturday against the University of Incarnate Word.