LSC Roundup 9-29

D2Football.com Poll

1 Grand Valley (1 LW) 5-0
2 Abilene Christian (2) 5-0
3 North Alabama (3) 5-0
4 Central Washington (4) 5-0
5 Bloomsburg (5) 5-0
6 Northwest Missouri (6) 4-1
7 Texas A&M-Kingsville (7) 5-0
8 Minnesota State (8) 5-0
9 Minnesota-Duluth (9) 4-1
10 Missouri Western (15) 5-0
11 Tarleton State (14) 5-0
12 Albany State (17) 4-0
13 Saginaw Valley (18) 4-1
14 Ouachita Baptist (NR) 4-0
15 Wayne State (Ne) (20) 4-1
16 Charleston (25) 5-0
17 Tuskegee (22) 4-1
18 Nebraska-Kearney (24) 4-1
19 Washburn (NR) 4-1
20 Delta State (10) 2-2
21 Central Missouri (13) 4-1
22 Edinboro (NR) 4-1
23 Catawba (11) 3-1
24 Hillsdale (NR) 4-1
25 Midwestern State (21) 4-1

'Tagalong' becomes star with Wildcats
Edmund Gates figured his days as a collegiate athlete were over. Branded a troublemaker after two seasons on the Tyler Junior College basketball team, the Vernon graduate found himself out of sports, out of school and out of hope. Georgia Tech and Hawaii Pacific offfered to give Gates tryouts, but neither would pay for his airfare. Unable to afford the travel costs, Gates went back to Vernon apparently out of options.

“I was back in Vernon doing some bad things,” Gates said. “I thought it was over.”

Then in 2007, when Gates’ cousin, Bernard Scott, transferred from Blinn College to play for the Abilene Christian footballl team, Gates decided he would tag along and try out for a spot on the Wildcats’ basketball roster.

“I had never even heard of Abilene Christian,” Gates said.

Javelinas move up to 9th in Div. II coaches' poll
KINGSVILLE — Despite being pushed to overtime by unranked West Texas A&M, Texas A&M-Kingsville moved up on spot to No. 9 in the latest American Football Coaches Association Division II Coaches’ Top 25 Poll released Monday.

The undefeated Javelinas moved up thanks to former ninth-ranked Delta State’s loss to Ouachita Baptist (Ark.). The bad news for Texas A&M-Kingsville is that their most impressive win to date has been the season-opening victory over Delta State, which is now 2-2 and holding onto the 25th spot in the Top 25 poll.

The good news for the Javelinas is that they can put another impressive victory on the board this Saturday night when they host the new 11th-ranked team in the poll, Tarleton State. Both teams are 5-0, as is Abilene Christian, which is the highest ranked team in the Lone Star Conference at No. 2.

Mustangs slip, but maintain D-II ranking at No. 23
Midwestern State slipped six spots in the American Football Coaches’ Association Division II poll released, but will spend a third week nationally ranked at No. 23. Angelo State hit a late field goal on Saturday to beat MSU, 20-17.

The Mustangs (4-1) play host to West Texas A&M on Saturday at Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7:05 p.m. and the game will be televised on KFDX-3.

Tigers foiled
TAHLEQUAH — East Central University had a nice defensive effort, including a school-record tying four interceptions from Alex Woodley, but it wasn’t enough as Northeastern State knocked off the youthful Tigers 17-7 Saturday in the Lone Star Conference North football opener for both teams at Doc Wadley Stadium.

La’Ron Elmer rushed for 105 yards on 15 carries and scored both RiverHawk touchdowns as NSU improved to 1-4 overall and 0-1 in the LSC North, while ECU, which committed four turnovers on the day (two interceptions and two lost fumbles), dropped to 0-5 and 0-1.

LSC Weekly Football Release
All 13 Lone Star Conference teams are in action during week 6 with five divisional, one crossover and one non-conference game scheduled. Tarleton State plays at Texas A&M-Kingsville in a battle of unbeaten teams.

Divisional play began last week with Northeastern State and Texas A&M-Commerce posting wins in the North Division, while Abilene Christian, TAMUK and Angelo State prevailed in the South. Tarleton State won the only crossover game to improve the South's record to 17-2 in crossover contests.

Three teams - ACU, Tarleton and TAMUK - remain perfect with 5-0 records in 2009.

Players of the Week
NORTH OFFENSIVE
Taylor Fore, Texas A&M-Commerce, So., WR, Fort Worth, Texas/Keller Central HS
Caught a career-high two touchdowns including a game winning, 24-yard reception with two seconds remaining to give the Lions' a 27-23 win over UCO. His 19 yard touchdown reception early in the fourth quarter cut the UCO lead to 17-14. Fore is the second receiver to have two touchdowns in a game in 2009.

NORTH DEFENSIVE
Alex Woodley, East Central, Jr., CB, Mesquite, Texas/Mesquite HS
Woodley tied a school-record with four interceptions to go along with four solo tackles, one of those which led to a yard loss, and a pass breakup in the Tigers' 17-7 loss at Northeastern State on Saturday. Woodley's four pickoffs led to 32 yards in returns. His third interception of the game, led to a 14-yard return to the RiverHawk 1-yard line in which ECU scored its only touchdown of the game on the next play. With Woodley's four interceptions, the Tigers have pilfered just five aerials this season.

NORTH SPECIAL TEAMS
Jerome Hewitt, Southeastern Oklahoma, Sr., KR, Gainesville, Texas/Gainesville HS
Hewitt continued to be a force in the return game, helping Southeastern to a 29-9 win over Northwestern Oklahoma State. He put the Savage Storm on the board with a 76 yard punt return for a touchdown. He returned four punts on the day and amassed 125 yards total, averaging 31.2 yards per return.

SOUTH OFFENSIVE
Reggie Brown, Abilene Christian, Jr., RB, Houston, Texas/Humble HS
Brown ran for 235 yards and three touchdowns Saturday night in ACU's 44-33 win over Eastern New Mexico, becoming only the 12th running back in ACU history to rush for more than 200 yards in a game. ... Brown's 235-yard effort is the sixth-best rushing game in school history. ... Brown and Daryl Richardson combined to rush 17 times for 145 in the fourth quarter alone as ACU rallied for a 44-33 win over the Greyhounds. ... Brown scored all three of his touchdowns in the fourth quarter as the Wildcats wore out the ENMU defense in the second half, finishing with 362 rushing yards, the 12th-best single-game performance in ACU history.

SOUTH DEFENSIVE
Pete Parker, Angelo State, Sr., LB, Los Alamos, N.M./Los Alamos HS
Parker anchored a Ram defense that collected a season-high six sacks and limited Midwestern State, the fifth-best rushing team in the LSC going into the weekend, to just 47 rushing yards (1.3 yards per carry) as Angelo State upset the No. 17-ranked Mustangs, 20-17. Parker had nine tackles with 2.5 tackles for a loss. He had two solo sacks for 14 yards as ASU limited Midwestern State, one of the top scoring offenses in the league, just three field goals until the fourth quarter. The Rams currently lead the LSC with 20 sacks through five games.

SOUTH SPECIAL TEAMS
Justin Johnson, Abilene Christian, So., RB, Gilmer, Texas/Gilmer HS
Johnson returned three kickoffs for 270 yards in ACU's 44-33 win over Eastern New Mexico, including a 100-yard kickoff return for touchdown in the third quarter that cut the Greyhounds' lead to 20-16. ... Johnson's 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the third quarter made him the third player in ACU football to return a kickoff 100 yard for a score, joining Steve Parker (vs. Angelo State, 1982) and John Hooper (vs. then-East Texas State, 1994). ... Johnson's return is the Wildcats' first kickoff return for a touchdown since Danieal Manning returned a kickoff 78 yards for a score against Central Oklahoma on Sept. 3, 2005.