Tarleton State remains atop the Lone Star Conference standings at 6-0 in league play and 8-0 overall.
This week features four LSC games and one non-conference contest. The Midwestern State at Tarleton State game will air via live television broadcast as part of LSC Football on Nexstar. Also, the Texas A&M-Commerce at West Texas A&M contest will be featured as part of the 2019 Division II football showcase schedule on ESPN3.
LSC football teams are 39-32 overall this season. The squads are 6-5 combined versus the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, Northern Sun Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, and Great Northwest Athletic Conference teams, which are also in NCAA Super Regional Four.
LSC schedule and results available here:
http://www.lonestarconference.org/calendar.aspx?path=football
LSC FOOTBALL ON ESPN3
A pair of Lone Star Conference games will be featured as part of the 2019 Division II football showcase schedule on ESPN3.
The Midwestern State at Texas A&M-Commerce match-up on October 12 in Commerce, Texas, and the Texas A&M-Commerce at West Texas A&M contest on November 2 in Canyon, Texas, were selected to be streamed on ESPN3, and available on the ESPN App.
ESPN3 is ESPN’s live multiscreen sports network, a destination that delivers thousands of exclusive sports events annually. It is accessible on computers via ESPN.com/watch and on 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 also is 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.
LSC FOOTBALL ON NEXSTAR
The Lone Star Conference and Nexstar Media Group, Inc. announced a new partnership to bring college football fans exclusive coverage of multiple matchups featuring NCAA Division II teams via live television broadcast and streaming online video.
Four LSC games - Western New Mexico at Texas A&M-Commerce (Oct. 26), Midwestern State at Tarleton State (Nov. 2), West Texas A&M at Texas A&M-Kingsville (Nov. 9), and Texas A&M-Commerce at Angelo State (Nov. 16) - will air via live television broadcast and/or streaming online video exclusively on network-affiliated stations and/or websites owned by Nexstar and select broadcast partners including: KTAB (Abilene), KASY (Albuquerque), KCPN (Amarillo), KBVO (Austin), KVEO (Brownsville), KTSM (El Paso), KLBK (Lubbock), KMID (Midland/Odessa), KSAN (San Angelo), KTPN (Tyler), KWKT (Waco) and KJBO (Wichita Falls).
LSC TO HOST 2019 DIVISION II FOOTBALL NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Following a tremendous experience in 2018, the NCAA Division II Football Committee has chosen McKinney Independent School District Stadium in McKinney, Texas, as the host site of the 2019-21 Division II football national championship games.
The 2019 title game is set for 2 p.m. CST on Saturday, Dec. 21 and will be televised live by ESPNU.
The Lone Star Conference in conjunction with McKinney ISD hosted the 2018 championship game.
McKinney ISD Stadium and Community Event Center, a 12,000-seat facility built primarily for football, will host the Division II Football Championship games on Dec. 21, 2019, Dec. 19, 2020 and Dec. 18, 2021.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
OFFENSIVE
Daniel McCants, Tarleton State, SR, Kinesiology, RB, Killeen, Texas, Killeen HS
McCants was on fire Saturday night as he led the No. 4 Texans to their eighth straight win. McCants, a senior running back from Killeen, became the seventh player (13th time) in program history to rush for over 200 yards in a single game and just the third player (fourth time) in program history to reach the 250-yard plateau in a single game. He joins only Derrick Ross (269; 260) and Jerome Regal (251) with performances of at least 250 yards, in which he had only 15 carries for the game. He also found the end zone four times, which is also a career high for him. He became the eighth player in school history to have four non-passing scores in a single contest and the first since Xavier Turner did it against Kingsville on Oct. 20, 2018. His 250 yards rushing, four rushing touchdowns, and 24 points scored are all highs by any Lone Star Conference player this season.
DEFENSIVE
Mike Jones, West Texas A&M, SR, Communication Studies, S, San Diego, Calif., Mount Miguel HS
Jones had a big game for the Buffs as they brought the Wagon Wheel back to Canyon with a 35-14 win over Eastern New Mexico on Saturday evening. The senior was part of a WT defense that forced six turnovers and held the Greyhounds to their second-lowest rushing total of the season (239). Jones recorded a career-high 10 tackles including 1.5 tackles for loss while forcing a fumble. He forced his first fumble in Maroon & White in the fourth quarter with a hit on Paul Terry in the red zone sealing the victory for WT.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Dominique Ramsey, Texas A&M-Commerce, JR, Mathematics and Electrical Engineering, PR/KR, Converse, Texas, Judson HS
Ramsey's electrifying kickoff return for a touchdown in the first quarter Saturday gave the Lions the lead for good in a 62-21 rout of Western New Mexico. He broke multiple tackles on the way to a 91-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. It is his first career kickoff return for a score, second return for a score this season, and sixth career return touchdown. He now leads the nation in kickoff return average (37.5 yards) and is in the top five in the nation in punt return average.
WEEKLY AWARDS
Offensive
S-9 Daniel McCants, Tarleton State
S-16 Wyatt Strand, Eastern New Mexico
S-23 Miklo Smalls, Texas A&M-Commerce
S-30 Zimari Manning, Tarleton State
O-7 Paul Terry, Eastern New Mexico
O-14 Miklo Smalls, Texas A&M-Commerce (2)
O-21 Triston Williams, Midwestern State
O-28 Daniel McCants, Tarleton State (2)
Defensive
S-9 Melik Owens, Midwestern State
S-16 Quincy Arceneaux, Eastern New Mexico
S-23 B.J. Jefferson, Tarleton State
S-30 Josh Quinton, Angelo State
O-7 B.J. Jefferson, Tarleton State (2)
O-14 B.J. Jefferson, Tarleton State (3)
O-21 Jai Edwards, Tarleton State
O-28 Mike Jones, West Texas A&M
Special Teams
S-9 Jaron Imbriani, Midwestern State
S-16 Tobias Harris, West Texas A&M
S-23 Dominique Ramsey, Texas A&M-Commerce
S-30 Donte Ross, Texas A&M-Kingsville
O-7 Justin Manyweather, Eastern New Mexico
O-14 Josh Wilson, Texas A&M-Kingsville
O-21 Tyler Vargas, Eastern New Mexico
O-28 Dominique Ramsey, Texas A&M-Commerce (2)
SELECTED NOTABLE PERFORMANCES
Miklo Smalls, Texas A&M-Commerce, led the Lions offense to 562 yards with another efficient display in the 62-21 win over Western New Mexico. He had 282 passing yards to seven different receivers, with passing touchdowns of 21, 36, and 30 yards
Nick Gerber, West Texas A&M, had another efficient game for the Buffs as they ended a three-game losing streak to Eastern New Mexico and returned the Wagon Wheel back to Canyon. The redshirt sophomore accounted for four touchdowns (two passing, two rushing) as he completed 14-of-27 passes for 133 yards while rushing for 16 yards. He opened the scoring for WT with a 14-yard pass to Semaj Mitchell on their first drive of the game followed by his fourth rushing touchdown from 5 yards out following one of six ENMU fumbles. He would find Juwan McCall for a 6-yard touchdown in the final minute of first quarter. The redshirt sophomore seal the victory with a 5-yard rush up the middle in the fourth quarter.
Payne Sullins, Angelo State, had an impressive week to help lead the No. 22 Rams to victory over the University of Texas Permian Basin Falcons on Saturday. Sullins threw for 327 yards and three touchdowns in the 65-7 victory. Sullins helped the Rams to its first 500-yard total offense performance on the season. The offense finished with 510 yards with 124 yards on the ground and 386 yards in the air.
Koy Detmer Jr, Texas A&M-Kingsville, made history for the Javelinas on Saturday in a 45-33 loss to No. 4 Tarleton as he became the third Hog ever, first since 2012, to throw for over 400 yards in a game. He finished with 450 yards while completing 37 passes on 65 attempts and added three touchdowns to the mix. He fell seven yards shy of the program single-game record for passing yards, tied the record for pass attempts, and set a new record for pass completions in the loss while orchestrating three scoring drives over 60 yards against the fourth-ranked Texans and his 450 yards are also the most TSU has allowed by an opponent in 2019.
Chris Hoad, UT Permian Basin, shattered his individual tackles in a game record with 24 total tackles in a 65-7 loss to #22 Angelo State on Saturday. Hoad is the tackle leader in The Lone Star Conference and Division II with 115 total tackles through only eight games, averaging more than 14 tackles a game. With the senior linebacker's 24 tackles this weekend, Hoad is now number one in the LSC and number three in Division II for tackles in a single game. In fact, Hoad holds five of the six top spots for tackles in a game for the LSC this season. After this weekend performance, Hoad is only 16 tackles shy of reaching 500 career tackles and his 484 career tackles makes him the NCAA Active Leader in tackles across all divisions.
Prince Robinson, Tarleton State, led Tarleton with 10 tackles and four pass break ups in a 45-33 win over Texas A&M-Kingsville last Saturday.
Neema Behbahani, Texas A&M-Commerce, was one of a large group of Lions with five tackles apiece as A&M-Commerce routed Western New Mexico. He was also behind the line of scrimmage numerous times, coming away with 1.5 sacks.
Devin Washington, Angelo State, was a huge help on defense against the UT Permian Basin on Saturday. He forced a fumble early in the fourth quarter and recovered it and returned the fumble 22-yards to score his first collegiate touchdown and push the Rams lead to 51-7 over the Falcons. He was able to read the field well that he also grabbed one interception. Washington helped hold the Falcons to 208 yards, 93 in the air and 115 on the ground.
J.R. Fullen, Tarleton State, was superb in the kicking game in a 45-33 win over Kingsville Saturday. Fullen punted four times for an average of 32.2 yards per punt. He pinned one inside the 20-yard line. He also converted an onside kick for the Texans in the second half.