ASC Golfer And Football

Cooper and Salazer Named ASC Golfers of the Week
Brice Cooper of UT Dallas and Jessica Salazar of UC Santa Cruz named ASC Golfers of the Week
AMERICAN SOUTHWEST CONFERENCE GOLFER OF THE WEEK
Competitions: October 7-8, 2017

MEN’S GOLFER OF THE WEEK: Brice Cooper, Jr., UT Dallas
The University of Texas at Dallas junior Brice Cooper (Conroe, Texas / Oak Ridge HS) drained a hole-in-one in the opening round and finished in a tie for 23rd as the Comets competed at the Royal Lakes/Oglethorpe Fall Invitational. Cooper carded a 76 (+4) in the opening round but rallied for a 71 (-1) on the final 18 to finish at +3. His hole-in-one was a 148-yard shot on the 16th hole.

WOMEN’S GOLFER OF THE WEEK: Jessica Salazar, Jr., UC Santa Cruz
The University of California, Santa Cruz junior Jessica Salazar (Orange, Calif. / Villa Park HS) led the Banana Slugs with an 86-89=175, tying for 24th, at the Culturame Classic in Canby, Ore. Over the weekend.

FOOTBALL

RICHARDSON, Texas – The hunt for the 2017 American Southwest Conference football title is starting to shape up heading into week seven.

Top-ranked University of Mary Hardin-Baylor (5-0, 4-0 ASC) sits on top of the standings after their 17-7 win at #5 Hardin-Simmons University (4-1, 3-1 ASC). East Texas Baptist University (4-1, 3-1 ASC), Texas Lutheran University (3-2, 3-1 ASC) and HSU are all tied for second with Southwestern University (3-3, 3-2 ASC) standing in fifth.
This week’s schedule features Howard Payne University (1-4, 1-3 ASC) at #1 UMHB in Belton, Texas at 1 p.m. TLU and ETBU will play in Marshall, Texas at 2:00 p.m.

Three games at night will see Southwestern travel to Jackson, Miss. for a 6 p.m. kickoff at Belhaven University (1-4, 0-4 ASC). Fifth-ranked Hardin-Simmons will take on Sul Ross State (3-2, 2-2 ASC) in Alpine, Texas at 6. In Pineville, La., McMurry University (2-4, 2-3 ASC) will face Louisiana College (1-4, 0-4 ASC) at 6:00 p.m.

WEEK 6 PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Kevin Hurley Jr., QB, So., McMurry
McMurry University sophomore quarterback Kevin Hurley Jr. (Diboll, Texas / Diboll HS) took over at quarterback in the second half and engineered a 42-30 win over Belhaven while erasing a 23-7 halftime deficit. Hurley went 11-of-14 for 245 yards and four touchdowns. His TD passes were of 63, 10, 22 and 51 yards. Hurley also ran ten times for 36 yards.

CO-DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Kris Brown, CB, Sr., Mary Hardin-Baylor
University of Mary Hardin-Baylor senior cornerback Kris Brown (Sealy, Texas / Sealy HS) returned a 64-yard touchdown on the game’s opening series in the top-ranked Cru’s 17-7 victory at #5 Hardin-Simmons. He also added eight tackles and broke up two passes, limiting the Cowboys – the nation’s top offense coming into the game – to 191 yards of total offense. This effort is the second Defensive Player of the Week award in Brown’s career.

CO-DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Ty Parsons, LB, Sr., East Texas Baptist
East Texas Baptist University senior linebacker Ty Parsons (Rowlett, Texas / Dallas Christian) led the Tigers with 11 tackles and a 49-yard interception return in the Tigers’ 57-7 victory at Howard Payne to earn his second Defensive Player of the Week award this season.

SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Luke Fierst, K, So., Southwestern
Southwestern University sophomore kicker Luke Fierst (Kerrville, Texas / Tivy HS) kicked a game-winning field goal for the second time this season, giving the Pirates a 29-27 win over Sul Ross State. He kicked 18-yarder as time expired for the victory. He also made a 36-yard field goal to earn his second Special Teams Player of the Week award of the year.

ASC IN THE POLLS
Mary Hardin-Baylor remained at #1 in the D3football.com and AFCA Top 25 Polls after their 17-7 win at #5 Hardin-Simmons. The Cowboys stayed at #5 in the D3football poll but dropped to #8 in the AFCA. East Texas Baptist received one vote in the AFCA Top 25 after their 57-7 victory at Howard Payne.

D3FOOTBALL.COM TEAM OF THE WEEK
The D3football.com Team of the Week on Tuesday selected University of Mary Hardin-Baylor senior defensive tackle Brazos Fuller (Alvarado, Texas / Alvarado HS) and the Texas Lutheran University offensive line.

Fuller led the #1 Cru with 11 total tackles and added 3.5 tackles for loss against the Cowboys. Both of those totals represent new career highs for Fuller. He also added a sack, forced fumble and fumble recovery with Hardin-Simmons threatening to score in the fourth quarter. Fuller led a UMHB defense that held the nation’s top-ranked offense entering the contest to seven points, 31 rushing yards and 191 yards of total offense. The Cru also recorded eight sacks and forced four turnovers.

The Bulldogs line of Travis York (Seguin, Texas / Seguin HS), Alejandro Briseno (Brownsville, Texas/ Rivera HS), Christopher Bennett (The Colony, Texas / The Colony HS), Johnny Garcia (San Antonio, Texas / Brandeis) and Andy Day (Austin, Texas / Austin HS) propelled the Bulldog’s offense. They came up with six rushing touchdowns, 358 net rushing yards and to just 40 minutes of time of possession in a 47-30 win over Louisiana College. The group included a new starter and two other starters at new positions. The Bulldogs tallied 538 yards of total offense and ran 94 plays in the win.

FREDENBURG REACHES 200 WINS
Mary Hardin-Baylor head coach Pete Fredenburg picked up his 200th career win on Sept. 30. He is now 201-38 and is the only head coach in Cru history. For Fredenburg, 131 of those wins have come in ASC play, and 32 more have come in NCAA postseason competition.

HAWKINS AND PARSONS SELECTED AS CAMPBELL TROPHY SEMIFINALISTS
Selected as semifinalists for the National Football Foundation William V. Campbell Trophy which recognizes the best football scholar-athlete in the nation are Hardin-Simmons senior safety Matthew Hawkins (Aledo, Texas / Aledo) and East Texas Baptist senior linebacker Ty Parsons (Rowlett, Texas / Dallas Christian). They are among 181 nominees across all divisions of college football. The nominees must be a senior or graduate student with at least a 3.2-grade point average, outstanding football ability, and demonstration of leadership and citizenship. They announce the finalists Nov. 1.

ASC FOOTBALL IN THE NFL
The American Southwest Conference is responsible for two of the seven former NCAA Division III student-athletes that made initial 53-man rosters in the National Football League. Jerrell Freeman from UMHB is an ASC Hall of Honor inductee and has been in the NFL since 2012. He is beginning his second season with the Chicago Bears and recorded ten tackles in their opening game against the Atlanta Falcons and is now on the reserve/injured list. Louisiana College offensive tackle Jeremy Vujnovich has started five games for the Indianapolis Colts this season.

ASC EXPANDS TO 10 TEAMS
Southwestern and Texas Lutheran begin their first year with the ASC as football affiliate members after competing in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference. The additions signal a return to a 10-team football alignment for the first time since 2005 and make the ASC the 10th NCAA Division III conference with at least ten football teams.

MARY HARDIN-BAYLOR PRESEASON FAVORITE TO WIN ASC
Mary Hardin-Baylor has been picked to win the 2017 American Southwest Conference football title after a vote of the league’s head coaches, sports information directors, and media members, the ASC office announced August 18. Cru junior quarterback/wide receiver T.J. Josey was selected as the Preseason Offensive Player of the Year. UMHB senior defensive tackle Haston Adams was the Defensive Player of the Year, and Hardin-Simmons senior return specialist Alex Bell was the Special Teams selection.

ASC PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS
Four student-athletes from two ASC member institutions were named D3football.com Preseason All-Americans. Mary Hardin-Baylor’s Haston Adams made the First Team at defensive tackle. Hardin-Simmons tallied three selections – return specialist Alex Bell on the First Team, junior wide receiver Reese Childress on the Second Team and sophomore offensive tackle Jonathan Castaneda on the Second Team.

MCMURRY’S WRIGHT ON FRED MITCHELL WATCH LIST
Named to the 2017 Fred Mitchell Outstanding Place-Kicker Award Kick-Off Watch List was Sophomore kicker Tanner Wright from McMurry. He is one of 36 kickers on the list from NCAA Football Championship Subdivision, Division II, Division III, NAIA and NJCAA schools. Wright was a Second Team All-Conference and All-NCCAA First Team selection as a freshman as he went 8-for-10 on field goals and averaged 58.3 yards per kick on kickoffs.

WEEK 4 SCORES
Oct. 7 – McMurry 42, Belhaven 30 (Abilene, Texas)
Oct. 7 – #1 Mary Hardin-Baylor 17, #5 Hardin-Simmons 7 (Abilene, Texas)
Oct. 7 – Texas Lutheran 47, Louisiana College 30 (Seguin, Texas)
Oct. 7- Southwestern 29, Sul Ross State 27 (Georgetown, Texas)
Oct. 7 – East Texas Baptist 57, Howard Payne 7 (Brownwood, Texas)

Week 7 SCHEDULE/GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Oct. 14 – Howard Payne (1-4, 1-3 ASC) at #1 Mary Hardin-Baylor (5-0, 4-0 ASC) Belton, Texas 1:00 p.m.
Location: Crusader Stadium
Media: Live stats/video/radio
Series Record: Mary Hardin-Baylor leads 17-2
Last Meeting: Oct. 8, 2016 – Mary Hardin-Baylor 59, Howard Payne 10
Coaches Records:
Howard Payne – Braxton Harris – 1-4 (1-3 ASC) (1st season)
Mary Hardin-Baylor – Pete Fredenburg – 201-38 (131-16 ASC) (20th season)

Oct. 14 – Texas Lutheran (3-2, 3-1 ASC) at East Texas Baptist (4-1, 3-1 ASC) Marshall, Texas 2:00 p.m.
Location: Ornelas Stadium
Media: Live stats/video/radio
Series Record: Tied 9-9
Last Meeting: Sept. 3, 2016 – East Texas Baptist 66, Texas Lutheran 20
Coaches Records:
Texas Lutheran – Carl Gustafson – 3-2 (3-1 ASC) (1st season)
East Texas Baptist – Scott Highsmith – 4-1 (3-1 ASC) (1st season)

Oct. 14 – Southwestern (3-3, 3-2 ASC) at Belhaven (1-4, 0-4 ASC) Jackson, Miss. 6:00 p.m.
Location: Belhaven Bowl Stadium
Media: Live stats/video/radio
Series Record: First Meeting
Coaches Records:
Southwestern – Joe Austin – 13-32 (3-2 ASC) (5th season) at SU/30-54 overall (9th season)
Belhaven – Hal Mumme – 6-29 (0-4 ASC) at BU (4th season)/141-148-1 overall (26th season)

Oct. 14 – #5 Hardin-Simmons (4-1, 3-1 ASC) at Sul Ross State (3-2, 2-2 ASC) Alpine, Texas 6:00 p.m.
Location: Jackson Field
Media: Live stats/video/radio
Series Record: Hardin-Simmons leads 34-3
Last Meeting: Oct 1, 2016 – Hardin-Simmons 53, Sul Ross State 29
Coaches Records:
Hardin-Simmons – Jesse Burleson – 45-21 (27-14 ASC) (7th season)
Sul Ross State – John Pearce – 14-21 (8-12 ASC) (4th season)

Oct. 14 – McMurry (2-4, 2-3 ASC) at Louisiana College (1-4, 0-4 ASC) Pineville, La. 6:00 p.m.
Location: Wildcat Field
Media: Live stats/video/radio
Series Record: Louisiana College leads 10-6
Last Meeting: Nov. 5, 2016 – McMurry 34, Louisiana College 28
Coaches Records:
McMurry – Lance Hinson – 12-24 (6-15 ASC) (4th season) at MCM/49-77 overall (13th season)
Louisiana College – Justin Charles – 1-4 (0-4 ASC) (1st season)

Week 8 Schedule
Oct. 21 #5 Hardin-Simmons at Texas Lutheran Seguin, Texas 1:00 p.m.
Oct. 21 Belhaven at #1 Mary Hardin-Baylor Belton, Texas 1:00 p.m.
Oct. 21 Louisiana College at East Texas Baptist Marshall, Texas 2:00 p.m.
Oct. 21 Sul Ross State at Howard Payne Brownwood, Texas 4:00 p.m.

Cody Usher

Assistant Commissioner

American Southwest Conference