'Cats scratch Buffs - Dave Henry, Amarillo Globe News
Maybe it was the home team jinx between West Texas A&M and Abilene Christian or the second half snake-bites that have seemed to plague the Buffs this season - take your pick.
The No. 2 Wildcats knocked off the No. 14 Buffs, 41-34, in dramatic fashion Saturday night in a Lone Star Conference South Division showdown in front of 13,827 fans at Kimbrough Memorial Stadium.
For whatever reason, the home team has not won this matchup in the regular season since 2003.
What was easier to pinpoint was the crucial fourth quarter, when the Wildcats outscored the Buffs, 21-7, to capture the division crown.
"I thought we played with more heart in the second half tonight than in any game I've seen all year long," said WT head coach Don Carthel. "I thought there was lot of fight in the Buffaloes in the third and fourth quarter. I didn't see a letdown at all."
SHARE OF LSC TITLE: Win over rival WT puts ACU at 10-0 - Joey Richards, Abilene Reporter News
Nothing like a little drama to clinch a title and keep a perfect season intact.
Daryl Richardson scored two touchdowns in the final 4:51, including the game-winner on a 23-yard run with a minute left, to lift No. 2 Abilene Christian over No. 14 West Texas A&M 41-34 on Saturday in a Lone Star Conference football game at Kimbrough Memorial Stadium.
The Wildcats (10-0, 9-0 LSC) nailed down at least a share of the LSC title with the victory. It’s their second title in three years and third overall.
Texas A&M-Kingsville beat Midwestern 27-7 to remain a game back with one game remaining. The Javelinas’ lone loss this season came against ACU.
The Wildcats can win the title outright with a victory against Southwestern Oklahoma State on Saturday at Shotwell Stadium.
ACU came into the game ranked No. 1 in NCAA Super Regional Four, and now it appears the Wildcats can clinch a first-round bye and homefield advantage through the third round of the playoffs with a victory on Saturday too.
“I’m just so proud of our guys,” ACU coach Chris Thomsen said. “They fought like crazy. Our guys just fought, man. West Texas’ guys fought, too. That was a heck of a game. That’s the way it should be for the championship, just a knockdown, drag out. Now, we’ve got to go home and clinch it outright.”
Lahnert: Hey, NCAA: WT belongs in playoffs - Lance Lahnert, Amarillo Globe News
Now, don't ever forget this folks.
We are dealing with the NCAA when it comes to the playoff future of the West Texas A&M football team.
This is the same organization believing those three letters - BCS - are the best thing since smart phones. They believe those three letters represent the best idea for running Division I football. And we all know better. We all know a D-I playoff is the answer to ending those BCS letters from our vocabulary for good.
Monday afternoon, the NCAA will release its regional rankings in the D-II football world.
These are like gold.
These rankings are the beginning and end to all discussions over the 24 D-II teams the NCAA will invite to the playoff party to determine a national champion.
Each of the four D-II regions are represented by six teams.
The Buffs entered Saturday night ranked fifth in Super Regional Four and lost, 41-34, to the No. 1 ranked team, Abilene Christian.
I say lost. But this was a wild ride of an entertaining game where the Buffs went toe-to-toe with the No. 2 team in the nation and even led the unbeaten Wildcats 27-13 with 4:37 remaining in the third period when Caleb Randolph electrified the crowd by returning an interception 76 yards.
Total domination: A&M-Kingsville beats Midwestern State - George Vondracek, Corpus Christi Caller Times
Much has been made of the way Texas A&M-Kingsville’s football team has been starting ballgames this season.
But the way the Javelinas have finished is more than making up for any lethargic starts.
Saturday night was another illustration by the fourth-ranked Javelinas, who turned in a dominating performance. A&M-Kingsville’s defense posted its seventh second-half shutout of the season, defeating 19th-ranked Midwestern State 27-7 in front of 9,283 at Javelina Stadium in a Lone Star Conference South Division game.
The Javelinas (9-1, 8-1 LSC overall and 5-1 South) snapped a five-game losing streak to the Mustangs. Midwestern’s postseason hopes took a hit with the loss. Entering the game ranked sixth in the Super Region 4, the Mustangs fell to 7-3, 6-3 and 3-3.
“Real nice, wasn’t it? I was extremely proud of them. There was a little lull there in the middle of game with the penalties and just no rhythm on either side of the ball with them or us,” A&M-Kingsville coach Bo Atterberry said. “But at the half we came out and got the ball and, wow, what can you say about the offense. We put a lot of first downs together, controlled the ball with the time of possession. It’s a nice way to finish, I’ll say that.”
Painful loss: Mustangs lose Eskridge, game - J. Scott Russell, Times Record News
A second-quarter facemask penalty helped the Midwestern State Mustangs pick up a first down and keep a drive going.
It also cost them their starting quarterback.
No. 4 Texas A&M-Kingsville held the ball for almost the entire second half — scoring four times — and limited the Mustangs to just 12 plays from scrimmage to take a 27-7 win in front of 9,283 fans at Javelina Stadium.
The loss drops the 19th-ranked Mustangs to 7-3 for the season and 3-3 in the Lone Star Conference South, severely damaging their playoff hopes. All three MSU losses have come against ranked teams, with two of them top-5 teams. MSU will close the regular season against Northeastern State in a 1 p.m. game Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
The Javelinas improve to 9-1 and 5-1, and thanks to Northwest Missouri’s 17-16 win over Central Missouri, they should move up to second in the Super Region Four rankings and a first-round bye.
Eskridge rushed for 12 yards late in the second period and the facemask penalty put the ball on the 39 and he landed on his right shoulder. He stayed in and threw three more passes, but when he went to the sideline he never returned to the game.
“We don’t really know that much yet, but he’s in a lot of pain,” MSU head coach Bill Maskill said. “We’ll let the doctors look at it tomorrow, see how he feels, and go on from there.”
“They’re a good defense. Shoot, they’re not the No. 1 defense in the nation for nothing,” MSU coach Bill Maskill said. “We thought we could move the ball on them. I felt like if we had had Zack the second half it would’ve been a different ballgame, but we didn’t have him.
“Our kids played hard. They gave everything they had. We just didn’t make enough plays when we had to make them and we couldn’t get them off the field when we needed to get them off the field,” Maskill said.
ASU FOOTBALL: Rams score in final minute for win - San Angelo Standard Times
At times it wasn’t pretty, but Angelo State got the job done.
Josh Neiswander passed for 355 yards, four touchdowns, set a new single-game completions mark for the second consecutive week and orchestrated a game-winning drive in the final minutes to lift the Rams over Southeastern Oklahoma State, 40-33, at Paul Laird Field Saturday.
Neiswander completed 37-of-60 passes to surpass 300 yards for the fourth consecutive game and moved into a tie with Ned Cox for Angelo State’s all-time touchdowns mark. It was Neiswander’s 54th career touchdown pass, a three-yard strike to Tristan Carter with 44 seconds left in the game, which provided the difference.
Trailing 33-32 with 3:18 to play, the Rams (4-5, 4-5 LSC) marched 77 yards in 11 plays and reached the end zone when Neiswander found Carter for the third time in the game. ASU was successful on a two-point conversion and held the Savage Storm (3-7, 3-6 LSC) on the ensuing drive before taking a knee in the red zone to end the game.
“It really shows the character of our football team,” Neiswander said. “We didn’t necessarily play the way we wanted to early in the game, but when it meant the most, we put a drive together and scored a touchdown. You have to give credit to all the guys on our football team he offensive line did a great job, our backs did a great job blocking and pass catching, and our receivers did a great job, as well as the tight ends, making plays and making catches.”
LSC Football Recap: Nov. 6, 2010 - LSC Website
No. 2 Abilene Christian 41, No. 14 West Texas A&M 34
CANYON, Texas – The second-ranked Abilene Christian Wildcats overcame a 14 point, fourth-quarter deficit to defeat 14th-ranked West Texas A&M, 41-34, and clinch the Lone Star Conference South Division championship Saturday night in front of 13,827 at Kimbrough Memorial Stadium in Canyon, Texas.
The Buffaloes fall to 7-3 overall, 7-2 LSC, 4-2 LSC South, while ACU improves to 9-1, 8-1 LSC, 6-0 LSC South.
After being held to just nine first half points, the first time this season that ACU has not scored a first-half touchdown, the Wildcats erupted for 35 second-half points to overcome a 28-14 WT lead.
The game, which saw WT record an interception return for a touchdown for a fifth-consecutive game, also saw ACU defensive back James Williams register three interceptions.
With the game tied, 34-34, ACU began their game-winning drive with 3:53 showing on the clock. Starting from the WT 36, thanks to Kevin Johnson’s 32 yard punt return, The Wildcats used a strong ground game to march towards the goal line. After runs by Mitchell Gale and Daryl Richardson accounted for 10 yards, Richardson broke free for a 23-yard touchdown run around right end, giving the Wildcats their first lead of the game at 41-34.
WT mounted one final drive, but saw their hopes vanish at the ACU 30, when Harris’ Hail Mary was batted away.
The Wildcats outgained the Buffaloes, 527 yards to 484, with Gale passing for 296 yards and one TD, while Richardson rushed 19 times for 98 yards and three TDs. WT’s Taylor Harris passed for 446 yards and four TDs, completing 39-of-60 passes, while Tyson Williams was on the receiving end of 13 passes for 171 yards and two TDs. Brittan Golden had 126 receiving yards and two TDs, as well.
The Buffaloes close out their regular-season next Saturday when they host East Central, while ACU hosts Southwestern Oklahoma State.
No. 4 Texas A&M-Kingsville 27, No. 19 Midwestern State 7
KINGSVILLE, TEXAS – The Texas A&M-Kingsville football team used a dominating defensive and ball control performance to defeat Lone Star Conference South Division rival Midwestern State on Saturday night, 27-7 at Javelina Stadium.
The fourth-ranked Javelinas (9-1, 8-1, 5-1) held possession of the ball for 40:46 and limited the No. 19 Mustangs (7-3, 6-3, 3-3) to only two second half first downs. The Hoggies tallied 26 first downs and ran 86 plays compared to only 48 by the visitors.
Javelina wide receiver Ryan Lincoln (Bastrop/Bastrop HS) scored on a pair of runs out of the Wildcat formation and running back Jonathon Woodson (Missouri City/Marshall HS) added a third rushing score. Woodson finished the game with 96 yards rushing and nine catches for 61 yards. He tallied 199 all-purpose yards.
The Mustangs lost star quarterback Zack Eskridge to an injury late in the first half and had to go to backup Brandon Kelsey. Eskridge was 9-for-15 for 72 yards and a touchdown before getting injured. Midwestern State gained a total of 161 yards on the night.
The Javelinas outscored the Mustangs 20-0 in the second half and held the ball for 24:06. The win ended a five game losing streak to MSU.
Angelo State 40, Southeastern Oklahoma 33
DURANT, Okla. – Angelo State’s Josh Neiswander hit Tristan Carter for a three-yard touchdown with 44 second to play to put the Rams in front for good en route to handing Southeastern Oklahoma State a 40-33 loss in its final home contest of the season on Saturday afternoon.
Southeastern took its first lead of the afternoon 2:37 earlier when fullback Darrin Reeves scored his first touchdown of the year on a two-yard plunge, putting the Savage Storm up 33-32.
With the win, ASU moves to 4-5 on the year, while the Storm slip to 3-7. The Rams will be back in action on Nov. 13 when they host Central Oklahoma while SE will finish the season with a road contest at Texas A&M-Kingsville the same day.
Neiswander was effective through the air, completing 37-of-60 for 355 yards and four touchdowns, three of which went to Carter who had 55 receiving yards on five catches.
SE was led by Baylen Laury who finished the contest with 138 yards rushing and a touchdown, turning in SE’s first 1,000-yard season since 2002 and currently has 1,137 yards on the season which is the second best single season rushing mark in school history with one game to play.
ASU won the yardage battle with 423, doing 355 of that through the air, while SE was more balanced, but finished with 382, getting 164 on the ground and 218 through the air.
Northeastern State 43, Eastern New Mexico 40
TAHLEQUAH, Okla. - Trey McVay's 30-yard touchdown reception on Northeastern State's first play in overtime proved to be the difference in a wild 43-40 win over Eastern New Mexico at Doc Wadley Stadium Saturday afternoon.
The RiverHawks earned at least a share of the Lone Star Conference North Division championship with the victory as they improved to 5-1 in league play, 6-4 overall and 6-3 in LSC action. East Central can tie for the division title with a win at Texas A&M-Commerce on Saturday night. The Greyhounds fell to 4-6 overall, 3-5 and 3-3.
McVay caught 12 passes for 175 yards and three TDs, all of which were career-highs. The sophomore wide receiver's other scores came from 22-yards and 3-yards. Quarterback Kenny Davis tied a school record with five touchdown passes, matching Roy Burk's effort against Northwestern Oklahoma State on Oct. 31, 1970. Davis was 20-of-38 on the day for 279 yards and also ran for 56 yards and another score to help propel the RiverHawks to their first LSC North crown since 2007.
ENMU forced overtime on the final play of regulation when Taylor Cannon kicked a 23-yard field goal that capped an 80-yard drive over the last 3:39. The controversial kick extended the game after it appeared the RiverHawks had made a huge defensive stand. On fourth down with no timeouts remaining and the ball on the Northeastern State 3-yard line, ENMU got a snap off just before time expired and Wesley Wood hit Chase Kyser in the endzone. However, the Greyhounds were flagged for illegal formation, negating the go-ahead score and allowing for an untimed down where Cannon's kick forced OT with the score knotted at 37-all.
Cannon kicked a 19-yard field goal on the first overtime series for a 40-37 ENMU advantage. Northeastern State was penalized for a false start and faced a 1st-and-15 from the 30 to set the stage for McVay's heroics at the end.
Eastern New Mexico had 497 yards of total offense, 345 of those coming from the arm of Wood, who was 29-of-42 with two TDs Jessie Poku caught 12 passes for 180 yards and a score. The RiverHawks had 291 receiving, 155 rushing, for 446 yards.
Northeastern State spotted the Greyhounds an early 3-0 lead in the first quarter before Ben Randle hauled in a 32-yard touchdown from Davis with 7:39 left in the frame for 7-3 lead.
ENMU came back in the second quarter with a Wood touchdown run and Cannon's 30-yard field goal for a 13-7 edge. But, McVay caught his first TD with only 46 seconds left and Cale Fulps ran in the 2-point PAT to give the RiverHawks a 15-13 lead at halftime.
Each team scored twice in the third and Northeastern State's Edward Victorian caught a 14-yard pass from Davis and fullback Nick Whitlow converted the 2-point try for a 37-27 RiverHawk cushion with 14:18 remaining.
Poku brought the Greyhounds to within 37-34 with a 31-yard touchdown catch at the 10:49 mark setting the stage for the frantic finish.
Northeastern State will conclude the regular season on the road next Saturday, Nov. 13, at Midwestern State at 2 p.m. ENMU will end the year at Tarleton State in an 11 a.m. kickoff in Stephenville, Texas, on Nov. 13.
Southwestern Oklahoma 31, Central Oklahoma 24
WEATHERFORD, Okla. – Southwestern Oklahoma State University got 173 yards rushing by Dwight Pete and came up with a late defensive stand to earn a 31-24 victory over rival Central Oklahoma Saturday in Weatherford.
The win improved SWOSU to 3-7 overall and 3-3 in the Lone Star Conference North Division while UCO dropped to 2-8 and 1-5 overall. The win was SWOSU’s first over the Bronchos in the previous four games.
Pete’s 10-yard touchdown run with 10:30 to play in the third quarter gave SWOSU a 17-10 lead . The Bulldogs kept in front the remainder of the way using a ball-control offense that churned out 297 yards on the ground.
The Bronchos did rally to tie the game at 24-24 when Tucker Holland caught a 35-yard pass from Ethan Sharp with 10:44 to play in the game. Sharp ended the day completing 23-of-38 passes for 268 yards and one touchdown.
The Bulldogs put the game away as they answered with a time-consuming, seven-play 71 yard drive. The final score came when D. C. Walker took a pitch and ran 18-yard for a touchdown, putting SWOSU back in front 31-24 with 7:55 to play.
UCO had one final opportunity moving to the SWOSU 17-yard-line. UCO had first-and-10 at the SWOSU 22 with just over four minutes. UCO’s Josh Birmingham picked up five yards on two runs and Sharp’s final two passes.
Tarleton State 41, Incarnate Word 27
STEPHENVILLE , Texas - The Tarleton Texans 27 second half points Saturday to defeat the Incarnate Word Cardinals in Lone Star Conference South Division action in Stephenville, 41-27.
The Texans trailed 17-14 at halftime, but Tarleton held the Cardinals to 10 points in the second half, all of them in the fourth quarter, including a touchdown with two seconds left in the contest.
Tarleton improved to 3-7 overall and 2-4 in the South Division while the Cardinals fell to 2-8 and 0-6.
Evan Robertson and Jerome Regal each had two rushing touchdowns for the Texans as Tarleton pushed five scores across the goal line on the ground. Robertson ran 17 times for 110 yards while Regal had nine carries for 47 yards.
Nick Stephens was 15-of-21 for 174 yards and a touchdown with one interception.
Devon Gray had four catches for 66 yards to lead the purple and white.
Trent Rios had 18 carries for 85 yards and a touchdown while Paden Lynch was 16-of-32 for 175 yards. He threw one interception.
Dominic Hamilton had seven catches for 77 yards to lead the receivers at UIW.
The Texans gained 357 yards in the victory, including 201 yards rushing and 174 yards passing. The Cardinals recorded 317 yards of offense, including 175 yards through the air and 142 yards on the ground.
The Texans will return to action on Saturday, Nov. 13 at home against Eastern New Mexico at noon while the Cardinals will host Texas A&M-Commerce at 2 p.m.
East Central 36, Texas A&M-Commerce 33
COMMERCE, Texas - East Central kicker Matt Berrey made his second 37-yard field goal of the night with five seconds to lead the visiting Tigers to a 36-33 win over Texas A&M University-Commerce. The win by the Tigers clinched a share of the Lone Star Conference North Division title for ECU with Northeastern State, who defeated Eastern New Mexico earlier in the day 43-40.
After A&M-Commerce had tied the game at 33 with 44 seconds to go, the Tigers marched down the field on a four play, 31-yard drive to set the stage for the game-winning field goal by Berrey.
The Tigers took the ensuing kickoff back 28 yards to the ECU 48. With all three time outs, quarterback, Tyler Vanderzee completed three-straight passes to move the Tigers into field goal position before the game-winning kick.
Vanderzee ended the game with a career-best effort, completing 28 of 45 passes for two touchdowns and 435 yards to lead the Tigers offense. ECU outgained the Lions by a 530 to 311 margin in the win.
With the win, East Central raises it’s to record to 5-5 on the season and 5-1 in the LSC North. The loss drops A&M-Commerce to 3-7 overall and 2-4 in the LSC North. Next up for the Tigers is a trip to Canyon, Texas, where they will face West Texas A&M and the Lions will travel to San Antonio, Texas and face LSC newcomer Incarnate Word in its inaugural meeting.
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LSC cross country: ACU sweeps men's, women's titles - Abilene Reporter News
It was a mix of surprises and the same old, same old for Abilene Christian at Saturday’s Lone Star Conference Cross Country Championships.
The ACU men won the meet for the 20th straight year and the individual championship for that same length when Amos Sang covered the 8-kilometer course near the campus in 23 minutes, 49 seconds. Teammate Cleophas Tanui was third (24:30).
It was ACU’s 26th cross country title overall.
ACU totaled 54 points to beat Eastern New Mexico and East Central.
But on the women’s side, ACU, which finished eighth last year, jumped to third on the strength of a first-place finish by Anais Belledant. She ran the 4.5-kilometer race — there was a mixup on the course and the athletes did not run the entire route — in 16:07.0. Teammate Chloe Susset was third (16:29.0).
Midwestern State totaled 46 points to win its third straight women’s championship, with Angelo State second.
MSU claims third straight LSC title - Times Record News
The lead cart veered off the slated course Saturday morning at the Lone Star Conference Championship at Sherrod Residential Park.
The cart cut a shorter course, which could have impacted the individual order of finish, but fortunately it didn’t short circuit 17th-ranked Midwestern State’s push for its third consecutive championship.
The Mustangs placed three runners in the Top 10 and had five of the first 16 runners cross the finish line to amass 46 points, easily outdistancing second-place Angelo State, which finished with 79 points.
“It’s what we wanted, but it’s a lot different than we anticipated,” MSU coach Koby Styles said. “The lead cart went out the wrong way and cut the whole course off a mile short. That did not play in our favor because the way our training is, we definitely excel at a longer distance.”
The Mustangs were in position to make their signature late push in the scheduled 6-kilometer race, which was shortened to 4.5 kilometers.
“It did catch me off guard,” MSU junior Brissia Montalvo said. “I thought it felt like we were finishing early so we might as well finish it. (Abilene Christian’s Anais Belledant) was in front of me, so I tried to get as close as I could to her.”
ASU CROSS COUNTRY: ASU women take second at conference meet - San Angelo Standard Times
Emeline Crutcher earned All-Lone Star Conference honors with a seventh-place finish and was one of five Angelo State women’s runners to finish in the top 20 to help the Rambelles place second at the 2010 LSC Championship Meet at Sherrod Park in Abilene Saturday morning.
Robert Hummingbird led the men’s team, which finished ninth.
Crutcher finished the 4.5K course — which was shortened when the guide vehicle made an errant turn — in 16:48.72, just 13 seconds from finishing in the top five. Andria Nussey finished next for the Rambelles in 15th, before Jessica Boudreau, Sofia Ramos and Alyssa Priest crossed the line consecutively in the No. 18-20 positions.
Angelo State tallied 79 points to finish behind three-time LSC Champion Midwestern State (46) and ahead of Abilene Christian (119).
“We’re excited about having our five in the top 20,” Angelo State head coach Tom Dibbern said. “Most years that gets the job done. I’m really proud of how we finished up. Our top five runners ran to the top of their capabilities for right now and we’re really fired up Emeline was all-conference.”
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Mustangs, Wildcats to face off for LSC crown - Times Record News
Midwestern State will try for its first Lone Star Conference women’s tournament championship since 1998 this afternoon against Abilene Christian.
Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at MSU Soccer Field.
The Mustangs (16-2) own a 2-1 win over the 14-3 Wildcats this season.
MSU is led offensively by a pair of 10-goal scorers in Lindsay Pritchard and Kelsey Hill. Hill has five game-winning goals.
Abilene Christian is led by freshman Andrea Carpenter with 18 goals. Last time she was in Wichita Falls for a tournament was last spring, when the then-Canyon Randall senior dominated the Region I-4A tournament and took her team to state.
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ACU women hoops preview: How to replace some all-time greats? - Joey Richards, Abilene Reporter News
Shawna Lavender has big shoes to fill this season.
The ninth-year Abilene Christian women’s basketball coach lost three of the program’s all-time greatest players in twin sisters Jamie and Jody Meyer and point guard Kat Kundmueller.
Jamie Meyer, a 6-foot forward, finished her career with 1,368 points — good for 14th on the school’s all-time list. She also has several other school and LSC records, and she’s just the ninth player in ACU women’s basketball history to finish her career with at least 1,300 points and 600 rebounds.
Jody Meyer, a 6-0 post, ended her career with 822 rebounds — ninth best in program history.
And Kundmueller is the Wildcats’ all-time leader in assists in a season (213) and career (584).
How do you replace players like that?
ACU men hoops preview: Proving they're not last-place team - Joey Richards, Abilene Reporter News
Since winning 20 games three seasons ago, the Abilene Christian men’s basketball team has struggled just to win half of that each season. But although the Wildcats are picked to finish last again in the Lone Star Conference South Division, ACU coach Jason Copeland believes his team can surprise a few people.
“Injuries just killed us the last two years,” he said. “That’s why the biggest key is keeping these guys healthy. But I’m excited about what we’ve got. I think we’ve got good chemistry. I’m just ready to get started.”
ACU returns seven players, including three starters, from an 8-19 team, including 1-11 in the LSC South.
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