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No. 2 Lions head to Wichita Falls for marquee showdown with No. 10 Midwestern State.
YOUTUBE interview with HC Colby Carthel
COMMERCE – The second-ranked Texas A&M University-Commerce Lions’ football team heads to Wichita Falls this weekend to take on 10th-ranked Midwestern State University in what has become one of the premier matchups in all of Division II football.
WHO: Texas A&M University-Commerce at Midwestern State University
WHERE: Wichita Falls | Memorial Stadium
WHEN: 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 7
RECORDS: A&M-Commerce is 4-0 overall and 2-0 in the Lone Star Conference schedule. Midwestern State is 3-0 overall and 2-0 in the LSC.
RANKINGS: Texas A&M-Commerce is ranked No. 2 in the AFCA Coaches’ Poll and the D2Football.com Media Poll. Midwestern State is ranked No. 10 in the AFCA Poll and No. 11 in the D2Football.com Media Poll.
LIVE AUDIO: Lion Sports Network — KETR 88.9 FM, Commerce (http://www.ketr.org)
LIVE VIDEO: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/msu/
LIVE STATS: http://statb.us/b/181300
#24STRONG
– The A&M-Commerce football program is wearing helmet decals to honor the memory of MSU’s Robert Grays.
– Grays, a sophomore general business major and football player at Midwestern State died Sept. 19 afternoon at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center in his hometown of Houston. He was 19.
– Grays suffered a severe neck injury while making a tackle with 3:24 remaining in the fourth quarter of MSU’s 35-13 win over Texas A&M-Kingsville.
– After discussion with the Lion Football Leadership Council, A&M-Commerce safety and captain Chris Smith will wear No. 29 instead of regular No. 24.
ALL-TIME AGAINST THE MUSTANGS
– The Lions and Mustangs are meeting for the 23rd time in a series that dates back to 1947.
– The Lions have a 12-10 lead in the series.
– A Lion win would be the first in Wichita Falls since 1998.
– These two teams have only met in Wichita Falls once in the last 13 years despite playing eight times in that span.
– MSU has a 4-3 lead in the series on its home turf.
CLOSER #ToTheTop
– For the second consecutive week, the Lions are tabbed as the No. 2 team in the nation in both the AFCA and D2Football.com polls.
– The Lions have now reached their highest AFCA ranking since the poll was introduced in 2000.
– The Lions’ previous high ranking in the AFCA poll was third earlier this season.
– A&M-Commerce has been ranked in 31 straight AFCA polls, dating back to the 2015 preseason poll.
– This is A&M-Commerce’s 37th all-time appearance in the AFCA poll since its inception in 2000.
LSC LANDMARK ON HORIZON
– The next conference victory for the Lions will be their 300th Lone Star Conference victory in football action.
– Based on available records in the LSC media guide, A&M-Kingsville has won the most conference games in LSC history at exactly 300.
LOOKING FOR NUMBER FOUR
– The Lions are two league games into the hunt for their fourth straight LSC title, which would be the first such streak for the school since the 1951-55 run of five straight titles.
– The last time an LSC team won four straight titles was Texas A&M-Kingsville from 2001-04. The 2001 title was shared.
– Texas A&M-Kingsville’s run of five outright titles from 1993-97 is the only time an LSC team has won four straight outright titles in the league’s history.
CARTHEL 5TH IN SCHOOL HISTORY IN WINS
– Head coach Colby Carthel now ranks fifth in A&M-Commerce history in coaching wins with 38 wins.
– However, he will be in fifth for a while, as his 38 wins are just over half of J.V. Sikes’ 63 wins in fourth place.
| 1 | Ernest Hawkins | 1964-85 | 132-92-6 |
| 2 | Eddie Vowell | 1986-98 | 74-71-1 |
| 3 | Bob Berry | 1935-41, 46-50 | 72-34-8 |
| 4 | J.V. Sikes | 1954-63 | 63-34-4 |
| 5 | Colby Carthel | 2013-pres. | 37-14 |
| 6 | M.A. Smith | 1951-53 | 30-2-1 |
PEREZ KEEPS CLIMBING THE PASSING CHARTS
– Preseason All-American quarterback Luis Perez has broken into the top 10 in school history in career passing yardage at A&M-Commerce.
– The Lone Star Conference Preseason Offensive Player of the Year is also in the top 10 for completions and passing touchdowns.
– Perez was also named the LSC Offensive Player of the Week for the first time this season, as he completed his first 15 consecutive passes, threw for over 350 yards, and accounted for six total touchdowns in the win over ENMU.
– He is second in the conference in passing TDs with 13 which ranks 10th nationally.In the LSC he is only behind WNMU’s Javia Hall (15).
– His 84 points responsible for ranks 18th in the nation, and 21.0 points responsible for per game is 9th in the nation.
– He ranks second in Division II and ninth in all of the NCAA in career passing efficiency.
– He also ranks fifth in Division II in pass completion percentage.
MARTINEZ MOVES UP SCORING CHARTS
– Kicker Kristov Martinez ranks 12th among career leaders in Division II in scoring with his 235 career points.
– Martinez is currently the leader in scoring amongst kickers in the Lone Star Conference with 34 total points and 8.5 points per game.
– Martinez is 5-for-5 on field goal attempts and 19-for-20 on PAT attempts through four games in 2017.
– In his sophomore season, Martinez connected on 18-of-24 field goals with a long of 46 yards. He also made 55-of-58 point after touchdown attempts. He recovered his own onside kick against Tarleton and had 20 touchbacks on 80 kickoffs.
– His 109 points were the second-most in the Lone Star Conference and the most amongst kickers.
– That 109 points rank as the fourth-most in a season in A&M-Commerce history.
– He has scored 235 points in his career, which moves him up to second in A&M-Commerce history.
– He needs five PATs to become the school’s all-time leader in that category.
– The A&M-Commerce all-time leader in scoring is Billy Watkins, who scored 281 points from 1990-93 on 134 PATs and 49 field goals.
– Martinez moved up to third on the career field goal list with a pair of 30-yarders at UNA.
TWO TOP DEFENSES COLLIDE
– The Lions rank fifth nationally in scoring defense, while Midwestern State ranks 11th nationally in the same category.
| Rk | Team | G | Pts | Avg |
| 1 | Sioux Falls | 5 | 31 | 6.2 |
| 2 | Northwest Mo. St. | 5 | 34 | 6.8 |
| 3 | Grand Valley St. | 5 | 37 | 7.4 |
| 4 | Shippensburg | 5 | 46 | 9.2 |
| 5 | A&M-Commerce | 4 | 42 | 10.5 |
| 6 | Winona St. | 5 | 58 | 11.6 |
| 7 | Minnesota St. | 5 | 59 | 11.8 |
| 8 | Assumption | 5 | 63 | 12.6 |
| 9 | Ashland | 5 | 64 | 12.8 |
| 10 | Florida Tech | 5 | 71 | 14.2 |
| 11 | Midwestern St. | 3 | 43 | 14.3 |
– The Lion defense has also been stellar in terms of yardage allowed, ranking 13th nationally and leading the Lone Star Conference in that category.
| Rk | Team | G | YPG |
| 1 | Northwest Mo. St. | 5 | 194.2 |
| 2 | Sioux Falls | 5 | 204.8 |
| 3 | Bowie St. | 5 | 235.4 |
| 4 | Morehouse | 5 | 242.4 |
| 5 | Lincoln (Mo.) | 4 | 243.0 |
| 6 | Grand Valley St. | 5 | 248.6 |
| 7 | Fairmont St. | 5 | 249.0 |
| 8 | Florida Tech | 5 | 253.0 |
| 9 | Central Wash. | 5 | 258.4 |
| 10 | West Ga. | 5 | 262.8 |
| 11 | Virginia St. | 4 | 267.3 |
| 12 | Tiffin | 5 | 267.4 |
| 13 | A&M-Commerce | 4 | 269.8 |
BEHIND THE LINE
– The Lion defense has had exceptional success penetrating the line of scrimmage and tackling opponents for loss.
– A&M-Commerce ranks sixth nationally in tackles for loss per game.
| Rk | Team | G | TFLPG |
| 1 | Charleston (W. Va.) | 5 | 12.2 |
| 2 | Benedict | 5 | 12.0 |
| 3 | Morehouse | 5 | 11.0 |
| 4 | Angelo St. | 5 | 10.6 |
| Sioux Falls | 5 | 10.6 | |
| 6 | A&M-Commerce | 4 | 10.5 |
| 7 | Virginia St. | 4 | 10.3 |
| 8 | Urbana | 5 | 10.2 |
| 9 | Chowan | 5 | 10.0 |
| Southwest Baptist | 5 | 10.0 |
STRENGTH ON STRENGTH
– The Lions have allowed only 91.8 yards rushing per game, including a game against the third-ranked rushing offense in the nation.
– Midwestern State ranks 16th nationally and second in the LSC, averaging 243.7 rushing yards per game.
FIREWORKS AFTER A SCORE
– The Lions have excelled on kickoffs, both when kicking the ball away, and when receiving the kickoff.
– A&M-Commerce leads the nation in kickoff return average at 35.0 yards per return.
– The Lions also lead the conference and rank third in the nation in kickoff return coverage, allowing only 13.0 yards per return.
– Opponents have averaged starting at the 25.1-yard line on kickoffs, while the Lions average starting on the 43.1-yard line after kickoffs.
– Martinez has had touchbacks on 14 of 28 kickoffs.
SCOUT TEAM PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
– The Lions will announce scout team players of the week each Tuesday for the 2017 season. Winners so far this year are:
| at North Alabama | OL Richard West, DB Bryse Burris |
| WILLIAM JEWELL | QB Mason Ray, DL Nick Petitti |
| EASTERN NEW MEXICO | WR Deonta Adams, DL Lamonte Williams |
| at Texas A&M-Kingsville | DL Kolt Fullen |
ON THIS DAY in Texas A&M-Commerce/East Texas State Football (3-6) :
• 1950 – The Lions head to Fair Park and put a 40-15 beatdown on the Austin College Kangaroos in the Cotton Bowl. According to The Locust yearbook, all six Lion touchdowns came on touchdown receptions or interceptions, after ET came into the game as a two-touchdown underdog.
• 1955 – ET heads to San Antonio and is tripped by Trinity, 35-20. Jerry Lytle sparked the Lions to three touchdowns in the second half, but they were not able to make up a first-half deficit.
• 1961 – James Williams completed a touchdown pass to Tommy Waggoner for the only Lion touchdown in a 22-6 ET loss to Texas A&I in Kingsville.
• 1967 – The Lions fall to McMurry, 13-9, in the Lone Star Conference opener in Abilene.
• 1972 – Kenneth Parks carried the ball 30 times for 227 yards in the Lions’ 29-17 victory over Texas A&I.
• 1978- The Lions are handed a 22-7 loss by Sam Houston State in Huntsville.
• 1989 – ET is trounced by A&I in Kingsville, 48-7.
• 1995 – The Lions are bested by A&M-Kingsville, 37-18, on the road.
• 2006 – Southeastern Oklahoma scores in the final minute of the game, but the PAT attempt hits the left upright, allowing A&M-Commerce to hold on for a 14-13 victory. Cliff Edwards and David Wofford scored touchdowns for the Lions.
Blake Hartford named Lone Star Conference Golfer of the Week
RICHARDSON – Texas A&M University-Commerce sophomore golfer Blake Hartford has been named the Lone Star Conference Men’s Golfer of the Week, as announced Thursday.
Hartford led the Lions to the championship at the WNMU Fall Intercollegiate with an 8-under par 208 to place fourth in the event. His scores of 70-68-70 included one eagle and 16 birdies. The Schreiner transfer has been under par in five of his six rounds as a Lion. The Lions have recorded the two best 54-hole scores in school history in their two events so far this season.
He has a season stroke average of 69.83 and ranks 15th nationally in Division II and 80th amongst all collegiate golfers in that category. His three eagles this season ranks second in the nation in Division II.
The Lions are next in action on October 16-17 at the Midwestern State Invitational. A&M-Commerce hosts The Classic at Firewheel in Garland on October 30-31.
Lion basketball doubleheader at West Texas A&M picked up by ESPN as part of Division II Basketball Showcase
INDIANAPOLIS — The Lone Star Conference basketball doubleheader featuring Texas A&M University-Commerce at West Texas A&M University on January 20, 2018, will be streamed live on ESPN3 and the ESPN app as part of the NCAA Division II Basketball Showcase, as announced Thursday.
The A&M-Commerce at West Texas A&M women’s and men’s basketball games in Canyon, Texas, are two of 28 men’s and women’s basketball games that will be streamed live during the 2017-18 season on ESPN3. The women’s contest that day is set for a 2 p.m. tipoff, with the men’s game to follow.
“This is an exciting opportunity for our team to get exposure on a national level,” said A&M-Commerce head women’s basketball coach Jason Burton. “We are honored NCAA Division II chose two Lone Star Conference schools to be featured, and that A&M-Commerce is one of them. This matchup will show the work our teams have done over the years and the strong level of competition in our league.”
The currently scheduled games will feature 14 of the 24 basketball-sponsoring conferences in Division II and are selected from a pool of conference nominations. One conference has signed a separate broadcast agreement and will not be included this season.
“Every team hopes to have the chance to play on the national stage, and we have been honored that Division II selected A&M-Commerce to play in the Basketball Showcase,” A&M-Commerce head men’s basketball coach Jaret von Rosenberg said. “Our players and staff were already excited for the season to begin, and having a national showcase game adds to our enthusiasm. This is a fantastic opportunity and we look to make the most of it.”
ESPN3 is ESPN’s live multi-screen sports network, a destination that delivers thousands of exclusive sports events annually. It is accessible on computers, smartphones, tablets and streaming devices through the ESPN App. The network currently is available nationwide at no additional cost to fans who receive their high-speed internet connection or video subscription from an affiliated service provider. It is also available at no cost to U.S. college students and U.S.-based military personnel via computers, smartphones, and tablets connected to on-campus educational and on-base military broadband and Wi-Fi networks.
“Division II’s continued collaboration with ESPN provides an exciting opportunity to share the accomplishments of our student-athletes with a broad national audience,” said Terri Steeb Gronau, vice president of Division II. “We are thrilled to continue to promote the efforts of men’s and women’s basketball student-athletes on the court, in the classroom, and in their communities.”