LSC Roundup 10-8

No. 2 Wildcats pose tough test for Rams
When the No. 2 Abilene Christian University football team takes the field at San Angelo Stadium on Saturday, the Wildcats will be looking for their fourth straight win over No. 23 ASU. ACU has won six of the last seven meetings between the two teams and the last three haven’t even been close. ACU won 35-7 in 2005, 52-18 in 2006 and 51-7 last season. The last win by the Rams in the series came in 2005 when ASU won 27-24.

The Rams made the NCAA Division II playoffs that season. The Wildcats began a string of three straight playoff appearances the next season. And they are well on their way to their fourth, with a 6-0 record and a No. 2 national and No. 1 regional ranking.

“They have very talented skill players,” ASU head coach Dale Carr said. “Their offensive line’s run-blocking is excellent. Their quarterback didn’t play like a reshirt freshman last week. He played like an upperclassman. Defensively, I think they are leading the conference in a lot of statistics. They may be the fastest defense in the Lone Star Conference. They play hard. They play smart. So we have a big challenge this weekend.”

Mr. Everywhere: Jackson has a nose for the ball
If it looked like Midwestern State safety Danny Jackson was all over the field making plays last Saturday night, there’s a good reason for that — he pretty much was. The 6-0, 193-pound senior from Beaumont Central, led the Mustangs in tackles with a career-high 11 stops and also made a couple of touchdown-saving plays in the end zone in MSU’s 31-19 win over West Texas A&M.

Not bad for a player who was a question mark when the Mustangs opened practice in August.

“I’m supposed to play like that,” Jackson explained. “That’s the way my teammates expect me to play and that’s the way I’m planning on playing the rest of the year. I was being more focused and more comfortable in my athletic ability. I also focused more on making tackles and it paid off. The loss from Angelo really had us hungry. I came out still upset about last year’s game, so losing the game was not an option.”

Unbeaten Javs head to Commerce
By no means will Guy Morriss say that his Texas A&M-Commerce football team has turned a corner, or is even close to an intersection in his first season guiding the Lions. But the longtime coach is content to follow the course to get the Lions righted, and the signs of late have at least been encouraging.

A&M-Commerce takes a two-game winning steak into Saturday’s homecoming and Lone Star Conference crossover ballgame against ninth-ranked Texas A&M-Kingsville at Memorial Stadium. The Lions’ losses have come on the road against better-than-expected Angelo State (21-7), NCAA Division I-AA Southeastern Louisiana (41-7) and revitalized Eastern New Mexico (76-56) and a grueling, neutral site setback to second-ranked Abilene Christian (20-14) in overtime at the Cotton Bowl.

Significant air time
Eastern New Mexico head football coach Mark Ribaudo says things changed dramatically in the Lone Star Conference about five years ago.

"There was an overhaul in coaches. There were a lot of new coaches coming in, and the offenses changed," said Ribaudo, who has been at ENMU since 1997 and is in his fifth season as head coach. "The spread offense kind of took over."

Nowhere is this change more apparent than at ENMU, where Ribaudo and his staff went from a 3-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust triple-option run offense to a wide-open spread attack that peppers defensive secondaries with more than 70 passes a game.

"They are throwing it about as often as they are getting it from the center," WT head coach Don Carthel said.

Bronchos To Visit Southeastern
Central Oklahoma resumes its Lone Star Conference North Division schedule Saturday when the Bronchos travel to Durant to take on long-time rival Southeastern Oklahoma. Game-time is 2:30 p.m.

LSC rankings from the Abilene Reporter News
1. ACU (6-0) — Wildcats had no trouble with the Kitty Kats. Then again, a ball of yarn would get the best of the winless Kittens. The Wildcats will get a tough test this week in San Angelo. It’s a big road game for the defending LSC champs.

2. Texas A&M-Kingsville (6-0) — The Hoggies turn away Tarleton State in a LSC South Division showdown last week. Can the Porkers keep rolling with three of next four games on the road, including games at Midwestern State and ACU?

3. Angelo State (5-1) — Who would have thought the Rams would be playing a big game with ACU this late in the season after struggling mightily the past three years? Can the Rams pull off the upset?

Rambelles remember players lost in '79 crash
SAN ANGELO, Texas — On Oct. 23, 1979, a single-plane crash a mile south of Sutton County Airport killed three people, including Angelo State University volleyball players Jennifer Cooke and Beverly Borron. Saturday, the ASU volleyball team will honor the memory of those two players who were lost when their plane crashed shortly after takeoff around 9:30 p.m. that day.

Family members of Borron will be on hand as the current ASU volleyball team — and former coach Kathleen Brasfield — pays tribute to the duo. Brasfield was just in her second year of coaching the ASU volleyball team when she received word of the crash the morning it happened.

“One of the girls’ sisters called me around 3 a.m. to let me know,” Brasfield told ASU Magazine recently. “I knew I needed to start calling the team immediately. I did not want them to hear about it on the news.”

Lady Buffs' goal: Keep play at elite level
If the West Texas A&M Lady Buffs weren't convinced they could play volleyball with the best of the South Central Region, they became true believers last weekend.

No. 6 WT (18-3 overall, 4-1 in Lone Star Conference) lived up to its national ranking by beating No. 8 Emporia State and No. 21 Truman State at the Holiday Inn Lady Blues Fall Classic in Topeka, Kan.

"Now they have actual, physical proof we're that good," WT coach Jason Skoch said. "Now it's not just a rah-rah speech from the coaches. I think they're starting to realize that now."

Bronchos Return To League Play
Central Oklahoma returns to Lone Star Conference action this week when the Bronchos go on the road for matches at Eastern New Mexico and West Texas A&M.

UCO To Host LSC Foes
Two Lone Star Conference home games are on tap for the Central Oklahoma soccer team this weekend as the Bronchos host Angelo State Friday and Abilene Christian Sunday, with both contests scheduled to be held at Tom Thompson Field.

Lone Star Conference Soccer weekly release (10/07/09)
Close games mark week six
In week six, seven women’s and three men’s games were either decided by one goal or ended in a tie, including five overtime contests.
The impressive individual performances continued, as nine women’s players notched multiple-point performances. Two players recorded hat tricks, and three others had three assists. On the men’s side, one player had two goals, and another had one goal and one assist.
Women’s conference play continues with ten games, including a match-up of the current top two (Abilene Christian at Central Oklahoma), while the men only have one conference match-up this week.

Players of the Week
MEN’S OFFENSIVE
Paulo Teixeira, Midwestern State, Jr., M, Brockton, Mass./Brockton HS
Teixeira converted a pair of penalty kicks to lead No. 19 Midwestern State to a 4-1 win over St. Edward’s Sunday afternoon at the MSU Soccer Field. The junior transfer from Massasoit Community College is second on the MSU squad with four goals, two assists and 10 points.

MEN’S DEFENSIVE
Sebastian Furness, West Texas A&M, So., GK, Middlesbrough, England/Middlesbrough College
Furness was a presence in goal for the Buffs as they improved their overall record to 10-1-1 with a 1-1 mark in the LSC. Furness tallied two saves on six shots against LSC rival Eastern New Mexico in a 3-0 win, and followed that up with five saves on eight shots against Texas A&M-International at home on Oct. 4.

WOMEN’S OFFENSIVE
Lindsay McHorse, West Texas A&M, So., F, Georgetown, Texas/Georgetown HS McHorse scored two goals and added three assists as the Lady Buffs improved their overall record to 8-1-1 with a 2-1 mark in the LSC. Against Central Oklahoma on Oct. 2, McHorse scored the game winner in double overtime to give WT the 1-0 win. McHorse followed that up with the first goal of the match against Southwestern Oklahoma on Oct. 4 and she also assisted on the next three to give the Lady Buffs the 4-0 victory.

WOMEN’S DEFENSIVE
Megan Hanlon, Midwestern State, Sr., D, Plano, Texas/Plano HS
Hanlon’s goal in the 63rd minute was the difference in No. 10 Midwestern State’s 1-0 win over Texas Woman’s Friday night at the MSU Soccer Field. The senior outside back from Plano tallied her first goal since hitting the back of the net against Southwestern Oklahoma on Nov. 2, 2008. Hanlon has started each match on a back line which has produced eight shutouts including a current school-record streak of six-straight from Sep. 17 to present. The Mustangs, who are third in NCAA Division II with a 0.16 goals against average, have not allowed a goal in over 653 minutes of clock time.

WOMEN’S GOALKEEPER
Mallory Whitworth, Midwestern State, Fr., GK, McKinney, Texas/McKinney HS Whitworth made six saves and added another 95:13 to her personal shutout stretch as No. 10 Midwestern State’s school record shutout streak reach six matches with a pair of 1-0 decisions over Texas Woman’s and Texas A&M-Commerce last weekend at the MSU Soccer Field. The true freshman from McKinney has allowed just one goal in over 561 minutes between the posts this season and is second in the nation with a 0.16 goals against average. Whitworth is also second in NCAA Division II with a 0.969 save percentage. She has not allowed a goal in her last 451:50 of playing time.