Recaps courtesy of LSC SID's

#2 Abilene Christian 44, Eastern New Mexico 33

ABILENE -- Reggie Brown rushed for 235 yards and three touchdowns and Daryl Richardson added another 143 yards Saturday to lead the second-ranked Abilene Christian Wildcats to a 44-33 win over Eastern New Mexico in the Lone Star Conference South Division opener at Shotwell Stadium.

The Wildcats' victory extended their program-record regular-season winning streak to 15 games as they improve to 5-0 overall and 1-0 in the LSC South.  ENMU, meanwhile, falls to 2-3 and 0-1.  ACU will play its final LSC crossover game next Saturday at winless East Central.

ENMU brought the nation's No. 1 passing offense (593.2 yards per game) and No. 1 total offense (668.8 yards per game) into the contest, but the ACU defense was ready, holding the Greyhounds to just 303 total yards, including minus-1 rushing yard.

Quarterback J.J. Harp was picked off three times and was held to only 304 yards through the air, just a little more than half his per-game total entering the contest.  ACU's defense harassed Harp and his receivers all night, finishing with four sacks, seven tackles for loss and 14 pass breakups.

Senior safety Tony Harp led a slew of outstanding efforts on the defensive side of the ball with seven tackles, one interception and two pass breakups.  Kevin Washington was a force all night, finishing with three tackles, one sack, two tackles for loss, one force fumble and four quarterback hurries.

The Greyhounds, though, held a 13-9 halftime lead and extended it to 20-9 early in the third quarter when Mark Patterson returned an interception 61 yards for a score.  On the ensuing kickoff, Justin Johnson returned the kick 100 yards for a score, joining Steve Parker and John Hooper as the only Wildcats to return a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown.

The Greyhounds responded, though, marching 66 yards on five plays and using just 53 seconds to score on a Harp-to-JT Thompson 10-yard touchdown pass.  The extra point gave the Greyhounds a 27-16 lead with 7:05 left in the third quarter.

After ACU scored on a 38-yard pass from Zach Stewart to Edmund Gates to make it 27-23 with 5:10 to play, the Greyhounds pushed the lead back to 30-23 with 38 seconds left in the quarter on a Taylor Cannon 39-yard field goal.

But the Wildcats turned the game over to the running backs in the fourth quarter, running the ball 17 times for 145 yards while only attempting two passes.  Brown had 87 yards and three scores in the fourth, while Richardson had 57 yards in the final 15 minutes.

Brown scored on a 6-yard run with 14:55 left in the game to knot it at 30-30, but the Greyhounds answered with a 62-yard drive that ended with a 35-yard field goal from Cannon to make it a 33-30 game with 12:27 to play.

But Brown scored twice in a 24-second span of the fourth quarter to give the Wildcats a 44-30 lead.  After a 15-yard touchdown run made it 37-33 with 5:58 to play, Major Culbert picked off a Harp pass and returned it to the ENMU 22-yard line.  Brown did the rest, scoring from 22 yards out on the drive's first play to make it 44-30 with 5:34 left in the game.

The Greyhounds drove to ACU's 25 in the game's final minutes, but turned it over on downs with 3:25 to play after Craig Harris broke up a fourth-down pass intended for JT Thompson.  The Wildcats -- behind a 52-yard run by Richardson to the ENMU 3-yard line were able to run the clock out to secure their fourth straight win over the Greyhounds.

#10 Texas A&M-Kingsville 23, West Texas A&M 17 (OT)

Canyon, Texas - The West Texas A&M Buffaloes scored 10 points in the final 2:53 of regulation to send Saturday night's contest against 10^th-ranked Texas A&M-Kingsville into overtime, but the Javelina's prevailed, 23-17, Saturday night at Kimbrough Memorial Stadium in Canyon, Texas.

The loss drops WTAMU to 1-4 overall, 0-2 LSC South, while TAMU-K improves to 5-0, 2-0 LSC South.

The game was a defensive battle through the first half, with WT holding a 7-0 lead at the intermission.

The Javelinas ran off 17 unanswered points in the second half, with Fred Winborn's five-yard run putting the Javs ahead, 17-7, with 7:04 remaining.

WT quarterback Taylor Harris found Brittan Golden on a short 1-yard slant to pull the Buffs to within three at 17-14 with 2:53 remaining.

Buff cornerback Tae Evans then separated TAMU-K receiver Connell Davis from the ball, with WT's Aaron Wampler recovering at the TAMU-K 45, to put the Buffs in position for James Chandler to tie the score with a 35-yard field goal.

The Buffs had first possession during the overtime period and were unable to score.  It took the Javs just three plays for Winborn to rush up the middle for three yards and the game-winning score.

The Buffs travel to Wichita Falls, Texas, next Saturday, Oct. 3, where they will face LSC South-member Midwestern State.  Kickoff at Wichita Falls' Memorial Stadium is set for 7:05 p.m. CDT.  Texas A&M-Kingsville hosts Tarleton State in a 7 p.m. contest.

No. 14 Tarleton State 66, Southwestern Oklahoma 3

STEPHENVILLE - The No. 14 Tarleton Texans set a new school record for margin of victory Saturday with a 66-3 win over Southwestern Oklahoma in Stephenville.

Tarleton (5-0) scored in all three phases of the game with the offense recording five touchdowns, the defense added two touchdowns and the special team scored on a field goal, a touchdown and nine point after attempts.

Senior running back Roderick Smith put the Texans ahead with 6:48 left in the first quarter to set a new Tarleton record for career touchdowns with 34.  His five yard score was the first of 21 straight points scored by the Texans.

SWOSU (0-5) scored on a 22-yard field goal from Chad McIntosh in the second quarter to record its only points of the game.

Garrett Lindholm, who scored 10 points for the purple and white special teams, gave the Texans a 24-3 lead with 4:42 left in the first half on a 32-yard field goal.  On the next Bulldog series, Vance Ibewuike intercepted a pass and returned it 32 yards for a touchdown.  Tarleton ended the game with scoring the final 45 points.

The Texans tallied 453 yards of offense on 61 plays, including 235 yards on the ground and 218 yards through the air.  The Bulldogs had just 59 yards rushing and 125 yards passing for a total of 184 yards of total offense on 73 plays.

Tarleton will return to action at Texas A&M-Kingsville on Saturday, Oct. 3 at 7 p.m. while SWOSU will host Southeastern Oklahoma at 2 p.m.

Angelo State 20, #17 Midwestern State 17

SAN ANGELO - Junior kicker Ryan Smith hit a 36-yard field goal with 2.9 seconds left in the game to lift Angelo State (4-1, 1-0 LSC) to a 20-17 win over No. 17-ranked Midwestern State at San Angelo Stadium Saturday night.

The Rams will visit Eastern New Mexico next Saturday while Midwestern State will host West Texas A&M

ASU would force a three-and-out by the Mustangs and took over the ball with 1:02 left in the game. Ram junior quarterback Josh Neiswander would start the game-winning drive with four straight completions, including a 27-yarder to freshman Dakarai Pecikonis, to put the ASU in the red zone for a chance to win the game in regulation.

However, an incompletion on first-and-goal from the eight-yard line and a costly chop block penalty on second down put the Rams back to the 19-yard line, forcing the Rams to take their final time of the game. Midwestern State would call its first time out of the game to ice Smith, but to no avail.

Neiswander ended the night with 211 yards on 19-of-31 passing. He would connect with ten different receivers on the night with sophomore Zach McCormick the only Ram with three receptions, ending the night with 18 yards.  Pecikonis had a team-best 59 yards on two catches. Sophomore Michael Simpers rushed for a career-best 99 yards on 13 carries with two touchdowns.

ASU's four senior starting linebackers, sparked a Ram defense that recorded a season-best six sacks.  Edward Cantrell ended the night with a game-high 11 tackles, four solo, while Ian Ritchey and Pete Parker each had nine tackles and D'Angelo Waites added seven stops.

Eskridge completed 20-of-32 passes for the Mustangs for 345 yards with one touchdown. He connected with Tanner for six receptions for a game-high 109 yards and the two-point conversion.  Marcus Mathis led MSU on the ground with 74 yards on 19 carries. 

Texas A&M-Commerce 27, Central Oklahoma 23

Commerce, Texas -- A 15-yard touchdown reception by redshirt junior Taylor Fore from Adam Farkes in the back of the endzone led host Texas A&M University-Commerce to a 27-23 win over Central Oklahoma on Saturday night at Memorial Stadium.

A&M-Commerce (1-4, 1-0 LSC North) rallied from a late 17-7 deficit early in the fourth quarter for the come-from-behind win. The Lions found themselves clinging to a 20-17 lead until visiting Central Oklahoma answered with an 80-yard pass play by Brandon Noohi to Dolphin Davis for a 23-20 advantage. The Bronchos missed the ensuing point-after attempt, as the Lions only needed a field goal to send the contest into overtime.

Reigning LSC North Division Offensive Player of the Week Adam Farkes overcame five interceptions to engineer an eight plays, 74-yard drive for the game-winning touchdown. In the drive, Farkes completed seven of eight passes as well as the Lions capitalized on a crucial pass interference penalty on the Bronchos. Farkes connected with Reid Herchenbach, who took some reps at wide receiver earlier in the week after starting the season at quarterback, three times as well as four other receivers during the drive.

Central Oklahoma (1-4, 0-1 LSC North) quarterback Brandon Noohi completed 36 of 51 passes for two touchdowns, an interception and 332 yards in the contest. He had nine-different targets including Davis, who finished the game with five receptions and 122 yards. Defensive back Caleb Prince had three interceptions in the loss for UCO

The Bronchos looked to take an early lead until Anthony DeGrate blocked a 20-yard field goal attempt by Ross Weaver. Senior teammate Shea Rodriguez picked up the blocked field goal and ran it back 96 yards for a touchdown.

For the second time on the season, the Lions went into the halftime break with a 7-0 lead. UCO scored two touchdowns and added a field goal on its first three drives of the second half to take a 17-7 advantage.Finding themselves behind by 10, 17-7, the two teams exchanged interceptions until Farkes connected with Fore on a 19-yard touchdown reception midway through the fourth quarter to trim the deficit to three, 17-14, with 11:13 left in the contest.

After forcing a UCO punt, the Lions took its first lead since 7-0 when A&M-Commerce took a short field and moved 56 yards on eight plays in 3:14 to regain the lead. A botched snap on the point-after attempt gave the Lions a 20-17 advantage with a little less than five minutes to go.

Following the ensuing kickoff, UCO loss a yard on first down and came right back to take the lead on the touchdown by Noohi to Davis. The two teams exchanged punts until it set the stage for the heroics by Fore and Farkes for the game-winning touchdown.

A&M-Commerce will return to action on 6 pm on Saturday against Northeastern State.

Northeastern State 17, East Central 7

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. --- La'Ron Elmer rushed for 105 yards and two touchdowns to lead Northeastern State to a 17-7 victory over East Central in the Lone Star Conference opener for both schools Saturday.  

It marked the first league victory for second-year coach Kenny Evans as the RiverHawks improved to 1-4 on the year. ECU remained winless at 0-5.   Elmer had 15 carries on the day before leaving the game in the fourth quarter. He had TD runs of 20- and 27-yards.  

The Northeastern State victory overshadowed a stellar defensive performance from Tiger cornerback, Alex Woodley, whose four interceptions was just one shy of an LSC single game mark. Woodley's final interception set up the lone East Central touchdown, a one-yard plunge by Gene Norris, with 9:54 to play in the third quarter that brought the Tigers to within, 10-7.  

Northeastern State had 293 total yards, 206 of those coming on the ground. Starting quarterback Woody Wilson left the game with an injury in the second quarter and was 6-8 passing for 38 yards and had two carries for 34 yards.  

The end of the contest was tempered when LSC North Preseason Offensive Player of the Year Marcus Johnson had to be taken from the ECU sideline by ambulance after being injured late in the contest. The severity of his injury is unknown, although he was immobilized by paramedics before being transported to a local hospital. Johnson left the field under his own power before collapsing on the sideline near the end of regulation.

Southeastern Oklahoma 29, Northwestern Oklahoma 9

DURANT, Okla. - Southeastern Oklahoma State and Northwestern Oklahoma State posted matching offensive days with 384 yards each, however, the Savage Storm was able to win the most important stat category with a 29-9 win over the visiting Rangers.

SE moves to 3-2 on the year and will be in action at 2 p.m. Oct. 3 when it travels to Southwestern Oklahoma State, while NWOSU will have a week off before hosting Langston (Okla.) at 2 p.m. in Alva, Okla.

Jerome Hewitt provided a spark for the Storm with his first punt return touchdown of the season, a 76 yard scamper, en route to 125 yards on four returns.

Offensively, SE was nearly even in the running and passing game as Baylen Laury and Josh Johnson combined for 174 of the Storm's 193 yards rushing, while Justin Pitrucha and Dallas McCutcheon combined to go 15-of-24 through the air for 214 yards and a touchdown.

The Rangers Kyle Jech racked up 282 yards on 31-of-58 passing with a score and a pair of interceptions, while Nate Guillory led all rushers on the afternoon with 22 carries for 121 yards.