LSC Roundup 11-3

Showdowns among top conference teams to shake up rankings - J. Scott Russell, Times Record News
There were no real surprises in the initial Super Region Four rankings that came out Monday.

In fact, the only difference in the actual top 10 and the top 10 I proposed last week was the subtraction of Northeastern State — which lost — and the addition of Washburn — which won. But don’t expect the teams to be in the same order after this week’s games.

That’s because the top six teams — which qualify for the Division II playoffs — all play against another top six team on Saturday.

No. 1 Abilene Christian is at No. 5 West Texas A&M; No. 2 Central Missouri is playing host to No. 4 Northwest Missouri; and No. 3 Texas A&M-Kingsville is hosting No. 6 Midwestern State.

ACU-WT should again be the shootout we have come to expect from the high-scoring offenses.


Tigers could complete big turnaround this week - Bob Forrest, Ada Evening News
Dontae Smith and Armonty Bryant will never be mistaken for twins.

Smith is a wirey, cat-quick, 6-1, 180-pound cornerbacks with long dreadlocks that make him easy to distinguish on a football field — except, it seems, to opposing quarterbacks; Bryant, meanwhile, is a 6-6, 245-pound defensive end with a haircut that a little more conventional.

Their personalities are also polar opposites. Smith is an obvious extrovert with a ready smile that shrouds an assassin’s approach to a game he obviously loves. Bryant also seems to be having a lot of fun these days, but he seems a little less comfortable with his newfound — but steadily growing — celebrity.

Despite their obvious differences, though, Smith and Bryant share some common ground — that little patch at the top of the heap that is called home by the best defensive players in the Lone Star Conference.


Slow starters - Ben Johnson, Tahlequah Daily Press
If ever there was a team that was living, breathing proof of the theory, “it’s not how you start, but rather how you finish,” Northeastern State would be the perfect prototype.

The RiverHawks have stuttered and sputtered in the opening quarter of most games during the current campaign.

NSU has owned the ball 32 times in the first period this season, resulting most times in favor of the RiverHawks’ opponents.

For instance, the Green and White has mustered only two first-quarter touchdowns in those 30-plus possessions. That’s right in the neighborhood of six percent — definitely not a nice area to be in if you’re a fan of early momentum.

NSU has booted five field goals on 32 of those drives, meaning they’ve scored points on only 22 percent of their opening-quarter possessions.

The other 25 drives?

Two have been missed field goals, three have been turnovers and 20 — yes, 20 — have been punts. So more than half, actually 63 percent, of the RiverHawks’ possessions in the first 15 minutes of play have been halted or stalled by defensive stands.

Northeastern State head coach Kenny Evans. Your thoughts?

“That’s been one of our concerns all year — coming out of the gate and playing well,” said Evans, whose team has been outscored 76-27 in the first frame. “And that’s a part that we work on constantly in practice.”


Bear Selected ESPN Academic All-District - ENMU Sports Information
Dean and Brown Earn CoSIDA Academic All-District Honors - Angelo State Sports Information
JOHNSON ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT VI - Incarnate Word Sports Information
Cromeens Named to COSIDA/ESPN The Magazine District 6 All-Academic Second Team - West Texas A&M Sports Information

Men's Selections
FIRST TEAM Pos. Name School Dist. Yr. Hometown GPA Major
GK Mark Miller MARY HARDIN-BAYLOR VI Sr. Wichita Falls, Texas 3.89 Christian studies
D Craig Bartlett INCARNATE WORD VI Gr. Coppell, Texas 3.89 Accounting
D Tyler Czinege TRINITY (TEXAS) VI Gr. Kansas City, Kansas 3.99 Business admin. (marketing)
D Nicki Nielsen WEST TEXAS A&M VI Jr. Oelholm, Denmark 3.89 Marketing
D Jeff Weatherspoon LETOURNEAU VI Sr. Longview, Texas 3.91 Mechanical engineering
M Edgar Bear EASTERN NEW MEXICO VI Sr. Houston, Texas 3.93 Finance
M Joseph Diaz ST. MARY’S (TX) VI Sr. San Antonio, Texas 3.88 Biology
M Stefan Fernandez BELHAVEN VI Sr. Melbourne, Flor. 3.90 Computer science
F Allen Cain TEXAS LUTHERAN VI So. San Antonio, Texas 3.90 Mathematics
F Alex Gang OKLAHOMA CITY VI Sr. Seoul, South Korea 3.99 Political science
F Isaiah Hicks HARDIN-SIMMONS VI Jr. Waco, Texas 3.94 Business

SECOND TEAM
GK Matt Moore ST. EDWARD’S VI Gr. Arlington, Texas 3.51 Business administration
D John Gardner OKLAHOMA SCIENCE & ARTS VI Sr. Liverpool, England 3.73 Business & physical education
D John Gonsalves MID-AMERICAN CHRISTIAN VI Jr. Tulsa, Okla. 3.70 Business administration
D Kyle Harper TEXAS LUTHERAN VI Sr. San Antonio, Texas 3.46 Kinesiology / business
D Michael Langford INCARNATE WORD VI Jr. St. Louis, Miss. 3.89 Business management
D Trey Perkins ST. EDWARD’S VI Sr. Keller, Texas 3.64 Biochemistry
M Aaron McLoughlin BELHAVEN VI Jr. Sydney, Australia 3.80 Sports medicine
M Justin Odette INCARNATE WORD VI Sr. Tyler, Texas 3.78 Biology
M Eric Pekkala TEXAS-DALLAS VI So. Austin, Texas 3.82 Finance
M Tony Santoro OZARKS VI Jr. Houston, Texas 3.78 Mathematics
F Tommy Barros TRINITY (TEXAS) VI Sr. San Antonio, Texas 3.33 Business administration (marketing)
F Nikola Cakarevic OKLAHOMA SCIENCE & ARTS VI Sr. Belgrade, Serbia 3.60 Business
F Josh Ireland HARDING VI So. Searcy, Ark. 3.79 Undeclared
F Guido Salas OZARKS VI Jr. Houston, Texas 3.39 Marketing
F Sasha Viatrov JOHN BROWN VI Sr. Gomel, Belarus 3.40 Sport management

Women's Selections
College Division FIRST TEAM
GK Brittany Tibbs OKLAHOMA CITY VI Sr. Kansas City, Mo. 3.94 Kinesiology
D Cara Cecil OKLAHOMA BAPTIST VI Sr. Kansas City, Mo. 3.92 Biology
D Ashley Crawford TEXAS-TYLER VI Sr. Grand Prairie, Texas 3.97 Finance
D Becca Gault HARDIN-SIMMONS VI Sr. Rockwall, Texas 3.93 Athletic training
D Maddison Nelson OKLAHOMA BAPTIST VI Sr. Sherman, Texas 3.98 Exercise science
D Sarah Stansell HARDIN-SIMMONS VI Sr. McAllen, Texas 4.00 Finance / accounting
M Shannon Dean ANGELO STATE VI Sr. Austin, Texas 3.36 Exercise science
M Lauren Kolker OKLAHOMA CITY VI Jr. Choctaw, Okla. 3.93 Biomedical sciences
M Samantha Johnson INCARNATE WORD VI So. Austin, Texas 3.92 Biology
M Kelly Watts TRINITY (TEXAS) VI Jr. Lakewood, Wash. 3.84 Classical studies (ancient Mediterranean)
F Kaysie Boomhower TEXAS LUTHERAN VI Jr. San Antonio, Texas 3.97 Communications studies
F Amy Kuykendall HARDIN-SIMMONS VI Sr. Weatherford, Texas 3.98 Accounting
F Kelly Servage ST. EDWARD’S VI Jr. N. Richland, Texas 3.90 Chemistry

SECOND TEAM
GK Kaitlin Elledge AUSTIN VI Sr. Fort Worth, Texas 3.94 Business administration / Spanish
D Kelly Boyd ST. EDWARD’S VI Sr. Round Rock, Texas 3.41 Forensic science
D Olivia Collado ST. EDWARD’S VI So. Houston, Texas 3.80 Chemistry
D Taylor Cromeens WEST TEXAS A&M VI Sr. El Paso, Texas 3.37 Science-EDS
D Keri Dawson INCARNATE WORD VI Sr. Las Cruces, N.M. 3.83 Athletic training
D Danika Wright TRINITY (TEXAS) VI Sr. Alpine, Utah 3.87 Business administration (accounting)
M Jordan Azar TRINITY (TEXAS) VI Sr. Albuquerque, N.M. 3.60 Business administration (finance)
M Nicole Breckling AUSTIN VI Jr. Richardson, Texas 3.98 German / math
M Marinne Burnham OKLAHOMA BAPTIST VI Sr. Longmont, Colo. 3.74 Exercise physiology & wellness
M Katie Kuykendall HARDIN-SIMMONS VI So. Weatherford, Texas 3.46 Athletic training
M Gabrielle Martinez OKLAHOMA SCIENCE & ARTS VI Jr. Oklahoma City, Okla. 4.00 Elementary education
M Julia Nimal MID-AMERICAN CHRISTIAN VI So. Owasso, Okla. 3.50 Behavioral science
M Andrea Schneider AUSTIN VI Jr. Austin, Texas 4.00 English
F Ashley Brown ANGELO STATE VI Sr. Harlan, Iowa 3.66 Kinesiology
F Kendall Kramer TEXAS-TYLER VI Sr. Houston, Texas 3.80 Psychology
F Alex Miley OKLAHOMA CITY VI Sr. Edmond, Okla. 3.90 Biology

THIRD TEAM
GK Samantha Rusk CENTRAL OKLAHOMA VI Jr. Bixby, Okla. 3.83 Humanities
D Abby Lloyd OKLAHOMA CITY VI Jr. Jefferson City, Mo. 3.95 Instrumental performance
D Christina Nunez NW OKLAHOMA STATE VI Sr. San Antonio, Texas 3.74 Health & sports science education
F Leah Bowyer TEXAS-DALLAS VI Jr. Lubbock, Texas 3.68 Geography
F Lauren Hager ROGERS STATE VI So. Belgrade, Mont. 3.80 Medical / molecular biology
F Amber Sumpter MID-AMERICAN CHRISTIAN VI So. Stillwater, Okla. 3.70 Business administration
F Beth Wendl OUACHITA BAPTIST VI Jr. Plano, Texas 3.47 Biology / secondary education


MSU roundup: Mustangs holds on for spot in volleyball tournament - Times Record News
Carpenter, ACU win Queens Invitational golf tourney - Abilene Reporter News