LSC Roundup 10-20

Russell: Method, not outcome, only surprise in A&M-Kingsville's win over WT - J. Scott Russell, Times Record News
The third round of Top 10 Lone Star Conference matchups is done and the results were a little surprising.

One surprise was not so much that No. 9 Texas A&M-Kingsville beat No. 7 West Texas A&M 28-24, but how the Javelinas picked up the win.

For starters, the Javs shut out the Buffs in the second half, outscoring them 15-0 in the final 30 minutes with three field goals and a late touchdown.

A&M-Kingsville also held WT to 47 plays and 340 yards of offense — just 67 yards in the second half. The Buffs came into the contest averaging more than 77 plays and 567.2 yards of offense a contest.

And the Javelinas managed to pick up 503 yards of offense, which accounted for a fourth of their yardage this season and was a great deal more than the 347 they had been averaging.

Of course, the game was played in Kingsville — all three of their games against the ranked conference teams are at home — and both teams had to put up with a 28-minute power outage before the game started.

If the Midwestern State Mustangs were disappointed that they dropped seven spots in the AFCA poll after losing to Abilene Christian, the 10-place drop the Buffs suffered to fall to 17 must be killing them.

And even the Javs have to be a little bummed despite replacing WT at No. 7.

That’s because the Northwest Missouri team they dominated on the road in the season opener is two spots ahead of them at No. 5.


Williams leads WTA&M in loss - Ultimate Aldine
Tyson Williams, a 2008 graduate of Aldine High School, had a strong performance in West Texas A&Ms close 28-24 loss to Texas A&M Kingsville on Saturday.

Williams had 5 catches for 96 yards with 1 touchdown. That includes a 67-yard bomb from QB Taylor Harris. Williams, a junior tight end, led the Buffs in catches last year with 66.

Spring Westfield grad anchors A&M Kingsville - Ultimate Spring
Spring Westfield 2007 HS grad Marcus Sanders anchored the Texas A&M Kingsville defense in their close 31-24 loss to Abilene Christian on Saturday.

Sanders had seven tackles on the day, giving him a team leading 34 tackles for the season.

Lincoln setting records for Javelinas - The Monitor
Texas A&M-Kingsville wide receiver Ryan Lincoln had a memorable night in the team’s win over No. 7 West Texas A&M. Needing only two receptions to become the school’s career receptions leader, he showed some nerves dropping a few passes in the early going. He was able to make amends by playing a big role in the team’s comeback win.

Lincoln broke the school record on the next to last play of the first quarter. He finished the game with seven catches for 114 yards. It was his seventh career 100-yard game and first of the season. Late in the game it was his running abilities that came into play as he had a 31-yard run that put the team in the red zone on its game-winning drive. He finished the game with three carries for 50 yards and had a dramatic impact despite not scoring a touchdown.

Lincoln now has 183 catches for 2,492 yards in his career.


LSC Soccer: MSU men and women continue to lead league
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
MEN’S OFFENSIVE
Jehmaine Brooks, Eastern New Mexico University, SO, M, Willaston, England, Neston High School
Brooks scored his second goal of the season early in the second half, against regionally-ranked Texas A&M-International. The goal proved to be critical as the Greyhounds went on to a double-overtime tie against the Dustdevils.

MEN’S DEFENSIVE
Raul Herrera, Midwestern State University, Sr., GK, Dallas, Texas, Berkner HS Herrera notched his 18th career shutout while helping No. 2 Midwestern State improve to 12-0 with wins last weekend at Northeastern State and Newman (Kan.). The senior from Dallas was credited with six saves in a 2-1 win Friday against the RiverHawks before facing two shots in a 3-0 shutout against Newman. Herrera ranks fourth in NCAA Division II with a 0.438 goals against average.

WOMEN’S OFFENSIVE
Lindsay Pritchard, Midwestern State University, Jr., F, Whitehouse, Texas, Whitehouse HS Pritchard tallied three goals and added an assist to No. 18 Midwestern State to a pair of Lone Star Conference wins last week over Southwestern Oklahoma and Central Oklahoma. The junior from Whitehouse pounded in a one-timer to the near post off of a corner kick in the 16th minute to give the Mustangs a 2-0 lead over the Bulldogs on Friday night the converted a pair of one-on-one chances in a 3-0 whipping of UCO on Sunday. It was her third multiple-goal performance of her career but first of the season. Pritchard leads the Mustangs with nine goals, five assists and 23 points.

WOMEN’S DEFENSIVE
Megan Barnhart, Midwestern State University, So., D, Wichita Falls, Texas, Rider HS
Barnhart played a key role in helping No. 18 Midwestern State to a pair of Lone Star Conference wins Southwestern Oklahoma and Central Oklahoma last weekend at the MSU Soccer Field. The sophomore from Wichita Falls led a back line effort to help the Mustangs to their fifth and sixth shutouts of the season as MSU limited the opposition to just three total shots on goal in 26 total shots. Midwestern hasn’t allowed a goal in the run of play over its last five matches.

WOMEN’S GOALKEEPER
Melanie Peterson, Angelo State University, Sr., GK, Fort Worth, Texas, Fossil Ridge HS
Peterson collected two shutouts to lead Angelo State to a perfect 2-0 during the week. Peterson has registered six shutouts this season and now has 14 clean sheets for her career. The Fort Worth native collected seven saves in her 180 minutes between the pipes for the ‘Belles. Peterson steered away four shots against West Texas A&M and then gobbled up three saves versus Eastern New Mexico.


LSC Volleyball: Conference play continues
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
OFFENSIVE
Alex Richardson, University of Central Oklahoma, JR, Edmond, OK, Santa Fe
Richardson led UCO to a pair of league wins, hitting .314 with 30 kills (4.29/set) and just eight errors in 70 attacks. She added three assisted blocks and three digs in scoring 31.5 points. The junior outside hitter hit .273 with 13 kills in a four-set win over Texas A&M-Commerce, then had a season-high 17 kills while hitting a sizzling .351 in a three-set sweep of Texas Woman’s.

Chelsea Gibson, Angelo State University, SO, Spring Branch, Texas, Smithson Valley High School
Gibson helped the Rambelles to a pair of conference wins on the road last week. She recorded a season-high 17 kills at Midwestern State. The sophomore middle blocker tallied a total of 29 kills (4.14 kills per set), four total blocks and hit .382 for the ‘Belles. Gibson led the Angelo State offense to a .301 hitting percentage at Cameron. Gibson now has a team-leading 12 double-digit kill performances this season.

DEFENSIVE
Tate Hardaker, University of Central Oklahoma, FR, Edmond, OK, Santa Fe
Hardaker got her first two starts of the season at libero and came through with 41 digs in back-to-back league wins over Texas A&M-Commerce and Texas Woman’s. The freshman had a career-high 21 digs in a four-set win over the Lions, then came through with 20 the next night in a three-set sweep of TWU.

Shea McBrearty, Tarleton State University, SR, Dripping Springs, Dripping Springs
McBrearty has led the TexAnns defensively all season, and continued that role in both wins last week where she contributed 45 digs, four aces, and five assists. Averaging 5.62 digs per game, McBrearty had 27 digs against A&M-Kingsville, adding four assists offensively. She responded Saturday against the Cardinals of Incarnate Word with an 18 dig performance in the TexAnns 3-1 victory.

SETTER
Alex Woolsey, Angelo State University, SO, Plano, Texas, Plano East High School
Woolsey paced the Angelo State offense once more, helping the ‘Belles to victories over Cameron (3-1) and Midwestern State (3-0) last week. The sophomore setter tallied 84 assists (12.00 assists per set) and smacked 10 kills, three service aces, 17 digs, two total blocks and hit .364 for the ‘Belles. Woolsey set a balanced offense at Cameron as the Rambelles hit .301 with 54 kills in the match.

IJ Moronu, Abilene Christian University, SR, Fort Worth, Texas, Paschall High
Moronu helped the Wildcats stay perfect in league play and continued to make her case for player of the year honors. Moronu started the week recording her first triple-double of her career with 51 assists, 24 digs, and 10 blocks in a win over Midwestern State. She followed up her outstanding performance with another double-double on Saturday in a three set win over Cameron. Moronu had 36 assists and 10 digs helping the Wildcats hit .252. For the first time this season Moronu joined Shawna Hines as the second Wildcat to average over a block per set on the weekend with 1.62 per set and 13 blocks total.