Seven games were played last Saturday including six crossover
match-ups and one non-conference game. For the third straight
week, the South Division won five of the six games as West Texas
A&M, Texas A&M-Kingsville, Tarleton State, Angelo State,
Abilene Christian and Texas A&M-Commerce each recorded
conference victories. In non-conference action, Midwestern
State defeated No. 21 Newberry (S.C.).
This week the home teams had the upper hand
with a 5-2 record.
Four Lone Star Conference teams - WTAMU, MSU,
Tarleton and ACU - remain undefeated with week five of the season
on tap.
This week's schedule includes six divisional
games and one crossover contest on Saturday.
Players of the Week
North Offensive
Willie Thornton, Texas A&M-Commerce, Jr., Wide Receiver, Belle
Glade, Fla./UCF/Belle Glade
Thornton set a single-game record with 266 yards
receiving and a 98-yard touchdown reception in the Lions' 38-14 win
over Eastern New Mexico. His 266 yards eclipsed the previous mark
of 259 yards receiving. He tied the school record of Epps with four
touchdown receptions.
North Defensive
Cory Whitfield, Texas A&M-Commerce, Jr., Defensive Back,
Palestine, Texas/Kilgore JC
Facing the spread offense of Eastern New Mexico,
Whitfield made a season-best seven tackles. Broke off a block for a
leaping interception in the first quarter that led to the first
A&M-Commerce touchdown. He also was a member of an
A&M-Commerce defense that recorded seven sacks, 13 tackles for
minus yardage, forced two fumbles and picked off three passes.
North Special Teams
Juan Velasco, Texas A&M-Commerce, Jr., Kicker, Santa Maria,
Calif./Allen Hancock College
Velasco handled all the kicking duties in the Lions'
38-14 win over Eastern New Mexico. He was 4-for-5 on PAT attempts
and had a season-high eight punts, including a season-best 59-yard
kick. Three of his eight punts landed inside-the-20.
Co-South Offensive
Marcus Mathis, Midwestern State, So., Running Back, Rockwall,
Texas/Rockwall
Mathis' huge second half keyed a 21-0 Midwestern State
surge as the Mustangs rolled past No. 21 Newberry 24-10. Mathis
rushed for 111 of his career-high 140 yards in the second half as
MSU turned a 10-0 deficit into a two-touchdown win. The sophomore
from Rockwall's 27-yard touchdown run with 2:24 to go in the third
quarter gave the Mustangs their first lead of the game at 17-10,
then his 60-yard burst in the middle of the fourth quarter keyed
Midwestern's three-play, 73-yard TD drive that put away the game
with 6:20 remaining. Mathis produced his fourth career 100-yard
rushing effort against a defense came into the weekend as NCAA
Division II's ninth best rushing defense allowing 61.5 yards per
game including contests against No. 1 Valdosta State and North
Greenville.
Billy Malone, Abilene Christian, Sr., Quarterback, Paris,
Texas/North Lamar
Malone posted the highest single-game completion percentage of his
career (89.5 percent on 17 of 19 passing) as he threw for 317 yards
and three touchdowns Saturday night to lead the fourth-ranked
Wildcats to a 59-10 blowout win at Southeastern
Oklahoma. Most of Malone's damage came in the first
half when he completed 15 of 17 passes for 303 yards and three
scores before the Wildcats turned the game over to running back
Bernard Scott in the third quarter and the reserves in the fourth
quarter. Malone - already the LSC's all-time leading passer,
now with 9,799 yards - also broke two other LSC records in the win
as he became the LSC and ACU all-time leader in touchdown passes
(87) and became the LSC's all-time leader in total offense (9,808
yards).
Co-South Defensive
Jabir Perkins, Texas A&M-Kingsville, Sr., Safety, Dallas,
Texas/Irving Nimitz
The Javelinas have forced nine turnovers this year with
Perkins having a hand in five of them. He picked off two
passes, made a team high seven tackles and picked up his first sack
of the season against Northeastern State last week. He is now
tied for first in the LSC with three interceptions on the
season.
Mike Kern, Abilene Christian, Sr., Linebacker, Leander,
Texas/Leander
Kern had five tackles, one-half tackle for loss and a 99-yard
interception return for a touchdown in fourth-ranked ACU's 59-10
win at Southeastern Oklahoma. After ACU had taken a 7-0 lead,
the Savage Storm drove right back down the field where they had
second-and-goal at the ACU 6-yard line. However, Kern stepped
in front of a Brandon McCain pass at the 1-yard line, cut to the
left sideline and went 99 yards for the score to turn a potential
tie game into a 14-0 ACU lead. The touchdown return marked
the second straight week in which Kern had scored after he scored
on a 35-yard fumble return for a TD two weeks ago against
A&M-C. That return was the longest interception for a touchdown
in school history, topping the 98-yard touchdown return for a
touchdown by Jan Brown against Howard Payne in 1973. The
return tied Stacy Brown's 99-yard return against New Mexico
Highlands for the longest return in school history. Kern was
a big part of an ACU defensive effort that limited the Savage Storm
to just 279 yards of total offense on 72 total plays, an average of
just 3.9 yards per play.
South Special Teams
Roderick Smith, Tarleton State, Jr., RB/KR, Mesquite, Texas/West
HS
Smith fielded a kickoff at the Tarleton seven and
returned it 93 yards as time expired in the first half to put the
Texans up 28-17 after UCO had just scored on a field goal to cut
the lead to 21-17. He had 212 all-purpose yards to lead all
players.