Aiden McCown throws for 3 TDs and Lamar defeats Abilene Christian 21-14 in opener

BEAUMONT, Texas (AP) — Aiden McCown threw three touchdown passes, two of them to Davin Driskill, and Lamar defeated Abilene Christian 21-14 in the season opener for both teams on Saturday night.

McCown's 5-yard scoring pass to Driskill gave the Cardinals a 7-0 lead in the first quarter. He then hit Blake Thomas for a 33-yard score and a 14-7 lead in the final minute of the second quarter. McCown hit Driskill on another 5-yard score to give the Cardinals a 21-7 lead in the first minute of the fourth quarter.

Lamar's 14-point lead stood until John David Black's 4-yard touchdown pass to Cristian Driver got Abilene Christian within 21-14 with 3:12 left in the game.

Black drove the Wildcats inside the Lamar 10-yard line on their final possession but, on fourth down, was tackled one yard short of a first down with 14 seconds remaining.

McCown completed 17 of 32 passes for 183 yards for the Cardinals, ranked No. 20 in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25.

Black, a redshirt sophomore who had not played in a game since high school, completed his first 11 passes and finished 15-for-25 for 142 yards with two touchdowns for the Wildcats, ranked No. 15 by Stats Perform. He entered the game in the second quarter after starter Tucker Parks was intercepted on back-to-back possessions.

The game was a rematch of last year’s first-round FCS playoff matchup when Abilene Christian defeated Lamar 38-20.

Abilene Christian: at Texas Tech on Saturday.

Lamar: at Louisiana-Lafayette on Saturday.

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