LSC Scoop Power Poll and Player Superlatives Week Eight

1. West Texas A&M - retained the Wagon Wheel despite several injuries
2. Midwestern State - not dominating, but winning
3. Texas A&M-Kingsville - best game since season opener
4. Angelo State - had to come back to beat Texas A&M-Commerce
5. Tarleton State - turnovers and injuries take their toll
6. Abilene Christian - gave Midwestern State all they could handle
7. Eastern New Mexico - switched things around early to try and catch Buffs off-guard
8. Incarnate Word - San Antonio teams are 0-3 vs. McMurry in past two years
9. Texas A&M-Commerce - nearly stole one on the road

Week Eight Superlatives

Offense - Brandon Kelsey, Midwestern State - passed for 121 yards and ran for 141 with four TDs to lead the Mustangs to a win over Abilene Christian.  On the Mustang's final drive, Kelsey completed an 18 yard pass to Chauncey Harris on 3rd and 16, and carried the ball 5 times for 30 yards, including an 11 yard TD run with just under a minute and a half to play.

Defense - Austin Sparks, Angelo State - had 6 tackles, 3.5 for losses, including 1.5 sack, with his biggest play possibly saving the game for the Rams.  With ASU holding a 14-13 lead,  the Lions had a second and goal on the ASU 4 yard line, when Sparks sacked TAMC QB Kevin Vye for a10 yard loss.  Commerce would settle for a FG, but that was not enough, as ASU got three of their own on the next drive and pulled out a 17-16 win.

Special Teams - Jonathan Woodson, Texas A&M-Kingsville - Tarleton State had had the momentum after pulling to within 7 points in the third quarter, but Woodson returned the ensuing kickoff 93 yards for a TD, giving the Javelinas some breathing room.

LSC Football Weekly Release: WT, MSU extend winning streaks

This week includes four Lone Star Conference games and one non-conference contest.  West Texas A&M remains atop the standings after a victory at Eastern New Mexico in the annual Wagon Wheel Game to extend its winning streak to seven games.
    

The ENMU at Midwestern State contest on Saturday will be web streamed live on FoxSportsSouthwest.com.  The Mustangs have won their last six games and sit in second place with a 5-1 league mark.
    

This week’s GSC-LSC First and Ten Challenge match-up sends WTAMU to Carrollton, Ga., to take on West Georgia.  The game is set to be aired live on ESPN GamePlan, ESPN3 and back to the Amarillo area on KAMR-NBC 4.
    

After five contests of the 10-game GSC-LSC First and Ten Challenge, the Gulf South Conference leads the series 3-2, with visiting teams prevailing in each game so far.  The average score has been 31-27.
    

LSC football teams are 33-35 overall this season.  The squads are 2-3 combined versus the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, Great Lakes Valley Conference and Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference teams, which are also in NCAA Super Regional Four.

• Click here for the complete release

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
CO-OFFENSIVE
Brandon Kelsey, Midwestern State University, SR, QB, Arlington, Texas, Arlington HS
The signal caller of the Mustangs’ Pony Express, Kelsey led No. 12 Midwestern State to a 35-31 victory at Abilene Christian by running for 141 yard and a career-high four touchdowns. The 24 points equals the most scored in the Lone Star Conference this season. The MSU quarterback also completed 12-of-16 passes for 121 yards in the contest as he directed the Mustangs attack to their sixth straight win and their third 500-yard game of the season. Kelsey jumped to seventh on the MSU career rushing charts with 1908 yards and is seventh on the MSU career scoring list with 156 points.

Khiry Robinson, West Texas A&M University, SR, RB, Temple, Texas, Temple HS/Blinn JC
Had a career-high four rushing touchdowns in the Buffs’ 44-21 win at Eastern New Mexico on Saturday, including three touchdowns in the second half alone. It was his fourth consecutive game with 100 or more yards rushing as he averaged a season-best 8.2 yards per carry on 16 carries. His four rushing touchdown performance is the first since Keithon Fleming had four versus Central Washington on Nov. 15, 2008. Robinson also had three receptions for 30 yards in the game. He leads the team averaging 111.5 yards per game and has 669 yards on 96 carries with six rushing scores. He ranks second in the league in rushing. He has seven total touchdowns for the season ranking second in points with 44.

CO-DEFENSIVE
Ethan Westbrooks, West Texas A&M University, JR, DE, San Leandro, Calif., Franklin HS/Sacramento City CC
Westbrooks had another outstanding game recording three more sacks for six in the last two weeks. In the 44-21 win at Eastern New Mexico on Saturday, he had a game-high three sacks for 11 yards against a team that runs the triple option, which makes sacks hard to get. Westbrooks had two quarterback hurries with three solo stops and two assisted tackles for five total stops. He has really come into his own as of late with 12.5 tackles for loss for 49 yards in the last five games and nine sacks for 40 yards during that span. Westbrooks has 31 total tackles with 13.5 tackles for loss (58 yards) and 10 sacks for 49 yards on the year. He ranks first in the conference in tackles for loss and sacks. He has nine quarterback hurries on the year which leads the team.

Mark Savere, Texas A&M University - Kingsville, FR, LB, San Antonio, Texas, Warren HS
Savere had a pair of interceptions and one pass break-up in the Javelinas win over Tarleton State.  He now shares the team lead with two picks. Savere also had six total tackles with three solo and three assists.

SPECIAL TEAMS
Jonathan Woodson, Texas A&M University - Kingsville, SR, PR/KR, Missouri City, Texas, Marshall HS
Woodson, who entered the game with over 2,000 yards in career kickoff returns, returned a kick 93 yards for a touchdown in the Javelinas victory over Tarleton State on Saturday. It was his first kickoff return for a score and the longest in the LSC this season.  He finished with 134 all-purpose yards and two scores including a 26-yard TD run in the first quarter.

Top Six Unchanged in Division II Coaches' Poll

A second straight loss from Pittsburg State (Kan.) caused a shakeup in the AFCA Division II Coaches’ Top 25 Poll from No. 7 on down, but the top six teams remained unchanged. Colorado State-Pueblo held onto the No. 1 spot with 24 first-place votes, followed by Winston-Salem State (N.C.) at No. 2 with six first-place votes. New Haven (Conn.), Bloomsburg (Pa.), Northwest Missouri State and Ashland (Ohio) round out the top six.

Missouri Western State rebounded from its first loss of the season to upset then-No. 7t Pittsburg State, 63-14, moving the Griffons up four spots to No. 12. The Gorillas dropped 15 places to No. 22 with the loss. Hillsdale (Mich.) beat then-No. 15 Saginaw Valley State (Mich.), 34-17, and jumped back into the poll at No. 24. Also entering the poll for the first time since 2009 is Charleston (W.Va.). The Golden Eagles, ranked No. 25, recorded a 27-14 victory over West Liberty (W.Va.) to move its record to 7-1.

There are four Top 25 matchups this week, with the first being a Top 10 battle as No. 4 Bloomsburg travels to No. 10 Shippensburg (Pa.) for a pivotal Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference contest. The other matchups feature No. 5 Northwest Missouri State traveling to No. 16t Washburn (Kan.), No. 15 Emporia State (Kan.) hosting No. 12 Missouri Western State and No. 23 Grand Valley State (Mich.) traveling to No. 24 Hillsdale.

2012 American Football Coaches Association Division II Coaches’ Poll – October 22, 2012

Rank	School (1st votes)	Rec.	Pts.	Prev.	Week Eight	Next Game
1.	Colorado St.-Pueblo (24)	8-0	743	1	D. Black Hills St. (S.D.), 45-13	Oct. 27 at Colorado Mesa
2.	Winston-Salem St. (N.C.) (6)	8-0	720	2	D. Livingstone (N.C.), 58-0	Oct. 27 at Shaw (N.C.)
3.	New Haven (Conn.)	7-0	679	3	D. Stonehill (Mass.), 45-41	Oct. 27 vs. Southern Connecticut St.
4.	Bloomsburg (Pa.)	8-0	629	4	D. Cheyney (Pa.), 27-13	Oct. 27 at No. 10 Shippensburg (Pa.)
5.	Northwest Missouri St.	7-1	623	5	D. Missouri Southern St., 38-14	Oct. 27 at No. 16t Washburn (Kan.)
6.	Ashland (Ohio)	8-0	589	6	D. Malone (Ohio), 31-7	Oct. 27 vs. Findlay (Ohio)
7.	Minnesota St.-Mankato	8-0	544	9	D. Winona St. (Minn.), 30-20	Oct. 27 at Wayne St. (Neb.)
8.	Minnesota-Duluth	7-1	537	7t	D. Bemidji St. (Minn.), 30-0	Oct. 27 at Minnesota-Crookston
9.	Henderson St. (Ark.)	8-0	484	11	D. East Central (Okla.), 49-14	Oct. 27 at Southern Arkansas
10.	Shippensburg (Pa.)	8-0	457	13	D. West Chester (Pa.), 42-24	Oct. 27 vs. No. 4 Bloomsburg (Pa.)
11.	Midwestern St. (Texas)	6-1	453	12	D. Abilene Christian (Texas), 35-31	Oct. 27 vs. Eastern New Mexico
12.	Missouri Western St.	7-1	421	16	D. No. 7t Pittsburg St. (Kan.), 63-14	Oct. 25 at No. 15 Emporia St. (Kan.)
13.	California (Pa.)	7-1	390	14	D. Gannon (Pa.), 41-0	Oct. 27 vs. Slippery Rock (Pa.)
14.	West Texas A&M	7-1	365	17	D. Eastern New Mexico, 44-21	Oct. 27 at West Georgia
15.	Emporia St. (Kan.)	8-0	354	18t	D. Truman St. (Mo.), 52-26	Oct. 25 vs. No. 12 Missouri Western St.
16t.	Indiana (Pa.)	7-1	274	20	D. Mercyhurst (Pa.), 31-13	Oct. 27 vs. Clarion (Pa.)
16t.	Washburn (Kan.)	7-1	274	18t	D. Lindenwood (Mo.), 19-16	Oct. 27 vs. No. 5 Northwest Missouri St.
18.	Miles (Ala.)	7-1	209	21	D. Lane (Tenn.), 38-20	Oct. 25 vs. Stillman (Ala.)
19.	Harding (Ark.)	6-1	164	25	D. No. 10 Ouachita Baptist (Ark.), 34-14	Oct. 27 vs. Arkansas Tech
20.	Ouachita Baptist (Ark.)	6-1	162	10	Lost to No. 25 Harding (Ark.), 34-14	Oct. 27 at East Central (Okla.)
21.	Sioux Falls (S.D.)	7-1	145	23	D. Augustana (S.D.), 32-31 2OT	Oct. 27 vs. Upper Iowa
22.	Pittsburg St. (Kan.)	5-2	119	7t	Lost to No. 16 Missouri Western St., 63-14	Oct. 27 at Truman St. (Mo.)
23.	Grand Valley St. (Mich.)	6-2	71	24	D. Northwood (Mich.), 42-28	Oct. 27 at No. 24 Hillsdale (Mich.)
24.	Hillsdale (Mich.)	6-2	62	NR	D. No. 15 Saginaw Valley St. (Mich.), 34-17	Oct. 27 vs. No. 23 Grand Valley St. (Mich.)
25.	Charleston (W.Va.)	7-1	59	NR	D. West Liberty (W.Va.), 27-14	Oct. 27 at Glenville St. (W.Va.)

Dropped Out: Saginaw Valley St. (Mich.) (15), Michigan Tech (22)

Others Receiving Votes: West Alabama, 52; Wayne St. (Mich.), 36; Valdosta St. (Ga.), 28; Tuskegee (Ala.), 26; Indianapolis (Ind.), 24; Saginaw Valley St. (Mich.), 20; Southern Arkansas, 14; American International (Mass.), 13; Chadron St. (Neb.), 6; Carson-Newman (Tenn.), 2; Missouri S&T, 2.