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No. 9 Lions head to Panhandle to take on WT
YouTube interview with HC Colby Carthel
COMMERCE – The No. 9 Texas A&M University-Commerce Lions’ football team hits the road this weekend for a matchup with the Buffaloes of West Texas A&M University.
WHO: Texas A&M University-Commerce at West Texas A&M University
WHERE: Canyon | Kimbrough Memorial Stadium
WHEN: 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 28
RECORDS: A&M-Commerce is 6-1 overall and 4-1 in the Lone Star Conference schedule. West Texas A&M is 3-5 overall and 1-4 in the LSC.
RANKINGS: Texas A&M-Commerce is ranked No. 9 in the AFCA Coaches’ Poll and the D2Football.com Media Poll. West Texas A&M is unranked.
LIVE AUDIO: Lion Sports Network — KETR 88.9 FM, Commerce (http://www.ketr.org)
LIVE VIDEO: http://portal.stretchinternet.com/wtamu/
LIVE STATS: StatBroadcast
LIONS HEAD TO CANYON TO TAKE ON BUFFS
• The Lions hit the road after two consecutive home games, looking for their third straight win.
• A&M-Commerce will attempt to end the regular season on a hot streak, as the Lions are on the outside looking into the Super Region Four playoff picture with three games remaining in the regular season.
• The Lions play two of their final three games on the road starting with Saturday’s contest.
• Discipline will be critical in the game, as the Buffs are one of the least penalized teams in the nation (3rd nationally, 3.63/game).
• The Lions have the top scoring defense in the LSC, allowing 16.0 points per game (14th nationally). It could present problems for the Buffs, who have scored 20 or more points just twice this season. However, one of those was the 24-21 upset win over then-No. 7 Colorado State-Pueblo.
• The Lions are the third Top 10 and fourth Top 15 team the Buffs have faced in nine games this season.
ALL-TIME AGAINST THE BUFFS
• The Lions and Buffaloes are meeting for the 32nd time in the history of the two programs.
• A&M-Commerce leads the all-time series, 17-14.
• The Lions have won three straight in the series after WT had won six straight.
• The Buffs have a 7-6 lead at Kimbrough. The Lions have won in Canyon in 1988, 1990, 1996, 2002, 2004, and 2015.
• Last year’s 36-0 victory was the first time the Buffs had been shut out in 14 seasons.
STILL PUSHING #ToTheTop
• The Lions have risen one spot, now up to No. 9 in the nation in both the AFCA and D2Football.com polls.
• A&M-Commerce has been ranked in 35 straight AFCA polls, dating back to the 2015 preseason poll.
• It is A&M-Commerce’s 41st all-time appearance in the AFCA poll since its inception in 2000.
SHOOTING FOR LSC LEAD IN ALL-TIME WINS
• The Lion victory over Angelo State was their 301st Lone Star Conference victory in football action.
• It puts A&M-Commerce at second all-time in LSC football wins.
• Based on available records in the LSC media guide, A&M-Kingsville has won the most conference games in LSC history at 302.
• A win over WT would put, and an A&M-Kingsville loss at ENMU would tie the Lions and Javelinas for the all-time lead in LSC wins.
LOOKING FOR NUMBER FOUR
• The Lions are five 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 consecutive titles.
• The last time an LSC team won four straight titles was Texas A&M-Kingsville from 2001-04. They shared the 2001 title.
• 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.
• The Lions are half a game behind Eastern New Mexico, who is out of conference next week. They are a full game behind Midwestern State due to the head-to-head loss.
CARTHEL 5TH IN SCHOOL HISTORY IN WINS
• Head coach Colby Carthel now ranks fifth in A&M-Commerce history in coaching wins with 40 wins.
• However, he will be in fifth for a while, as his 40 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. | 40-15 |
| 6 | M.A. Smith | 1951-53 | 30-2-1 |
THREE-HEADED MONSTER
• In the win over Angelo State, the Lions had their first 100-yard rusher of the season, as Carandal Hale carried the ball for 104 yards.
• The Lions also had multiple 100-yard receivers for the first time this season, as Marquis Wimberly had 113 yards and Darrion Landry had 105 yards.
• It was Landry’s second 100-plus yard game, and the first for both Hale and Wimberly.
• It was the first time A&M-Commerce had a 100-plus yard rusher and multiple 100-plus yard receivers since the semifinal round of the 2015 Lone Star Conference Playoffs in a one-point home win over Angelo State. Richard Cooper had 116 yards rushing. Lance Evans had 126 yards receiving, and Darby Smith had 138 yards receiving.
• It has happened eight times in five seasons under Colby Carthel.
• In the record-breaking offensive outburst against East Texas Baptist in 2014, the Lions had three 100-yard rushers and three 100-yard receivers.
TIED AT THE TOP
• Lion quarterbacks have completed passes to 15 different receivers over the course of the season.
• At the top of the list, regarding receiving touchdowns, are Darrion Landry and Buck Wilson.
• That duo is tied for the Lone Star Conference lead in receiving touchdowns with seven scores apiece.
• Five different receivers have multiple touchdown receptions this season.
PEREZ KEEPS CLIMBING THE PASSING CHARTS
• Preseason All-American quarterback Luis Perez earned Lone Star Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors with the WNMU win – taking the A&M-Commerce lead in all-time completions and touchdown passes. He followed that up with another LSC Player of the Week award vs. Angelo State.
• Perez has won the LSC Player of the Week award three times in four home games this season.
• He has moved up to third in school history in passing yards at 5,585. Perez needs 215 yards to move up to second. He needs 370 yards in the next three guaranteed games to take the all-time lead.
• Perez leads the conference this season in completion percentage, passing efficiency, and touchdown passes.
• He ranks second in the nation in completion percentage (73.0), second in the nation in completions per game (26.71), seventh in passing efficiency (175.8), third in passing touchdowns (26), 11th in passing yards (2,254), fifth in passing yards per game (322.0), fourth in point responsibility (164, 23.4/gm), and 14th in total offense (313.4).
• Perez ranks second in Division II and ninth in all of the NCAA in career passing efficiency.
MARTINEZ IS NEW PAT LEADER
• Kicker Kristov Martinez ranks 14th among career leaders in Division II in scoring with his 249 career points.
• Martinez is currently the leader in scoring amongst kickers in the Lone Star Conference with 58 total points and 8.3 points per game.
• Martinez is 6-for-7 on field goal attempts, and 30-for-31 on PAT attempts through five 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 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 he racked up ranks as the fourth-most in a season in A&M-Commerce history.
• He has scored 259 points in his career, which ranks in A&M-Commerce history.
• 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.
FIREWORKS AFTER A SCORE
• The Lions have excelled on kickoffs, both when kicking the ball away, and when receiving the opening kick.
• A&M-Commerce is 8th in the nation in kickoff return average at 26.27 yards per return.
• The Lions are also 2nd in the league and 7th nationally in kickoff return defense, allowing 14.86 yards per return.
• Opponents have averaged starting at the 27.4-yard line on kickoffs, while the Lions average is beginning on the 38.3-yard line after kickoffs.
• Martinez has had touchbacks on 26 of 48 kickoffs.
ON THE SCOREBOARD
• The Lions rank in the top 25 nationally in both scoring offense and scoring defense.
• At 40.6 points scored per game, the Lions are 2nd in the LSC and 17th in the nation.
• At 16.0 points allowed per game, the Lions rank 1st in the LSC and 14th in the country.
HOOKS ATOP PUNT RETURN LEADERBOARD
• Preseason All-American return man Shawn Hooks ranks first in the Lone Star Conference with an average of 13.6 yards per punt return this year.
• The only LSC player who has returned a punt for a touchdown this year was Jay Bias’ five-yard punt block return for a score in the fourth quarter against Western N.M.
MULTI-FACETED ALL-AMERICAN ALONG WITH ACTUAL PUNTING INFO
• All-American tackle Jared Machorro has been fantastic on the left side of the offensive line, which is not unusual.
• Likely unexpected? He ranks 10th in the LSC in average punt yardage at 35.5 yards per punt.
• That’s just awesome.
• Tristan Perry ranks fourth in the conference with a 40.0-yard punting average.
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 |
| at Midwestern State | OL Nic Smith, DL Ty Reed |
| WESTERN NEW MEXICO | RB Antonio Lealiiee, LB Kendric Ford |
| ANGELO STATE | QB Gunnar Palacios, DL Nick Petitti |
On This Day in Texas A&M-Commerce/East Texas State Football (3-4) :
• 1950 – The Lions picked up a 12-0 victory over Sam Houston State on Homecoming. Miss Rita Jennings was crowned the Homecoming queen in front of a crowd of 7,000.
• 1961 – ET trekked across the state to Alpine and scored the last three touchdowns of the game to take a 20-6 win at Sul Ross.
• 1972 – The Lions head to Alpine and are tripped up by Sul Ross, 15-14. It was the last loss the Lions would take on the way to the NAIA National Championship.
• 1978 – ET takes a 25-10 loss at home to Southwest Texas State.
• 1989 – A crowd of 5,500 is on hand at home, as the Lions are narrowly defeated by Abilene Christian, 24-21.
• 1995 – One of the largest crowds of the season is on hand at Memorial as the Lions take a 31-24 home win over Abilene Christian.
• 2006 – The Lions limit East Central to 157 yards of offense. Unfortunately, they are limited to 128 yards in a 10-3 home loss.
SOCCER
Lion soccer holds at sixth in South Central Region rankings.
INDIANAPOLIS – The Texas A&M University-Commerce soccer team is ranked sixth in the second NCAA Division II South Central Region rankings of the 2017 season, as announced Wednesday.
These rankings are the official rankings used to determine the NCAA Division II Tournament field, which they announce November 6. The tournament champions of the Lone Star, Rocky Mountain Athletic, and Heartland Conferences will advance to the tournament, along with three at-large teams from the region.
The Lions have a Division II record of 10-3-3, with a 10-3-3 in-region record. Colorado School of Mines is now the top seed in the region, followed by Angelo State in second and Midwestern State in third. St. Edward’s is fourth, and Dallas Baptist is fifth, just ahead of A&M-Commerce. Behind the Lions is Regis in seventh and Rogers State in the eighth.
A&M-Commerce closes out the regular season with two Lone Star Conference matches this weekend. The Lions take on UT Permian Basin at 4:00 p.m. Friday in Odessa, then plays the regular season finale at 1:00 p.m. Sunday against Angelo State in San Angelo.
| Rk | School | In-Region | D-II |
| 1 | Colorado School of Mines | 12-2-1 | 12-2-1 |
| 2 | Angelo State | 11-1-1 | 11-2-1 |
| 3 | Midwestern State | 11-4-1 | 11-4-1 |
| 4 | St. Edward’s | 9-3-4 | 9-3-4 |
| 5 | Dallas Baptist | 11-3-2 | 11-3-2 |
| 6 | A&M-Commerce | 9-3-3 | 10-3-3 |
| 7 | Regis | 12-2-2 | 12-2-2 |
| 8 | Rogers State | 10-3-1 | 10-3-1 |
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Women’s basketball picked to finish fifth in LSC Preseason Poll.
RICHARDSON– The Texas A&M University-Commerce women’s basketball team has been picked to finish in fifth place in the Lone Star Conference 2017-18 Preseason Poll. The poll results were compiled from votes from LSC head coaches, media members, and conference sports information directors and were released Wednesday. The Lions received the third most first-place votes.
The Lions are coming off of a historic season, finishing with the second most wins in school history. A&M-Commerce finished in fourth place in the conference last season with a 14-6 record. The Lions defeated every team in the conference last year at least once. The team returns seven players from last year’s roster, including LSC Freshman of the Year Jenna Price, Second Team All-LSC selection Artaejah Gay and LSC Defensive Team selection Brianna Wise.
A&M-Commerce will begin its season hosting the 1525 Memorial Tournament on Nov. 10-11. The Lions play host to Colorado State-Pueblo, winner of the South Central Region tournament from a year ago, Lubbock Christian, the national championship school from the 2015-16 season, and the Metropolitan State University of Denver, who finished 18-12 last season.
The Lions will face Metro State at 3 p.m. on Nov. 10. They will then play against CSU-Pueblo on Nov. 11 at 7:30 p.m. The Lions will conclude their three-game opening homestand against Lubbock Christian at 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 13. All home games will be at the Field House.
Season tickets for this season’s men’s and women’s basketball games are available at WeAreLionsTix.com, by calling (903) 468-8756 or by visiting the Lion Sales & Service Box Office in the Field House.
2017-18 LSC Women’s Basketball Preseason Media Poll
| Rank | Team | 1st | Total |
| 1. | West Texas A&M | 11 | 301 |
| 2. | Eastern New Mexico | 7 | 280 |
| 3. | Tarleton State | 3 | 270 |
| 4. | Angelo State | 4 | 267 |
| 5. | A&M-Commerce | 6 | 260 |
| 6. | Texas Woman’s | 172 | |
| 7. | Cameron | 145 | |
| 8. | A&M-Kingsville | 121 | |
| 9. | Midwestern State | 120 | |
| 10. | UT Permian Basin | 63 | |
| 11. | Western New Mexico | 47 |
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Men’s basketball picked to finish seventh in LSC Preseason Poll.
RICHARDSON– The Texas A&M University-Commerce men’s basketball team has been picked to finish in seventh place in the Lone Star Conference 2017-18 Preseason Poll. The poll results were compiled from votes from LSC head coaches, media members, and conference sports information directors and released Wednesday by the conference office.
The Lions will begin their first season under new head coach Jaret von Rosenberg and return three players from last season. The Lions finished the 2016-17 season 19-11, finishing fourth in the LSC standings, and advancing to the conference semifinal round. The Lions advanced to the NCAA South Central Regional Tournament, falling in the first round to West Texas A&M.
The Lions will begin the 2017-18 season with a tournament played in Wichita, Kan. A&M-Commerce will face Oklahoma Christian on Nov. 10 at 5:00 p.m. and will then meet Newman University on Nov. 11 at 4:00 p.m. Those games will be at Fugate Gymnasium. The Lions will have their home opener against Oklahoma City University on Nov. 21 at 7:00 p.m. All home games will be at the Field House.
Season tickets for this season’s men’s and women’s basketball games are available at WeAreLionsTix.com, by calling (903) 468-8756 or by visiting the Lion Sales & Service Box Office in the Field House. For additional ticket information, click HERE.
2017-18 LSC Men’s Basketball Preseason Media Poll
| Rank | Team | 1st | Total |
| 1. | UT Permian Basin | 19 | 269 |
| 2. | West Texas A&M | 5 | 234 |
| 3. | Tarleton State | 3 | 231 |
| 4. | Midwestern State | 1 | 168 |
| 5. | A&M-Kingsville | 150 | |
| 6. | Angelo State | 148 | |
| 7. | A&M-Commerce | 117 | |
| 8. | Cameron | 110 | |
| 9. | Eastern New Mexico | 84 | |
| 10. | Western New Mexico | 29 |