Final Regional Rankings
1. Central Washington
2. Northwest Missouri
3. Midwestern State
4. Texas A&M-Kingsville
5. Tarleton State
6. Abilene Christian
7. Missouri Western
8. Washburn
9. Central Missouri
10. Nebraska-Omaha
WT to play in inaugural Kanza Bowl
The teams for the inaugural Lower Kanza Bowl are set as West Texas A&M will represent the Lone Star Conference and face Nebraska-Omaha from the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association on December 5thin Topeka, Kan., bowl officials announced on Monday. The game kicks off at 1 p.m. at Hummer Sports Park.
The Kanza (pronounced CANS-uh) Bowl, one of only two NCAA Division II bowl games, matches the best non-playoff team from the LSC against a counterpart from the MIAA.
“This couldn’t have worked out any better. The Lone Star Conference has enjoyed a great football season, and while we’re sending four teams to the NCAA playoffs, there’s no doubt that one of our hottest teams is heading to the Lower Kanza Bowl,” said Stan Wagnon, LSC Commissioner. “West Texas A&M has won five straight, and they’ll represent our conference well. This is a great example of why we agreed to participate in the Kanza Bowl, because it gives WT a chance to celebrate the turnaround they made this year and show everyone they’re deserving of a postseason opportunity.”
WTAMU, 6-5 overall, finished the season with five straight wins to earn a share of the LSC South Division title with a 4-2 league record. The Buffaloes had two wins and four losses against NCAA Division II playoff teams this season.
UNO finished the 2009 regular season with a record of 7-4, its 14th consecutive winning season. The Mavericks were 6-3 in the MIAA, finishing in a four-way tie for second.
The two teams have never played each other but WTAMU holds a perfect 4-0 mark in bowl games. The Buffs won the Junior Rose Bowl in 1967, the Sun Bowl in 1951 and 1962 and the Tangerine Bowl in 1957.
Hummer Sports Park seats 6,000 fans – 4,000 on the home side and 2,000 in the visitor bleachers – and has an AstroPlay synthetic grass field. The conferences agreed that the selected MIAA team will always be the home team, while the selected LSC team will be the visitor.
Lower (rhymes with power), Inc. is the title sponsor for the event, while the Topeka Ramada Inn and Convention Center will serve as headquarters for WTAMU contingent.
Tickets for the Lower Kanza Bowl are now on sale at Hummer Sports Park, Visit Topeka, Inc., and Lower, Inc. Ticket prices are as follows:
Adults: $8 in advance and $10 game day
Youth: $5 (12 & under)
Students: $8 (With ID)
Military: $5 (With ID game day only)
For Hummer Sports Park, call 785-295-3750
AFCA Coaches Poll
Thanks to then- No. 1 North Alabama’s upset loss to West Alabama, Central Washington takes over the top spot in the AFCA Division II Coaches’ Top 25 Poll. The Wildcats finished the regular season as Division II’s only undefeated team at 11-0 after a 20-6 win over Western Oregon. Northwest Missouri State, Grand Valley State (Mich.), Minnesota-Duluth and North Alabama round out the Top 5.
Twenty teams in the AFCA’s Top 25 Poll earned a spot in the Division II playoffs, with No. 1 Central Washington, No. 2 Northwest Missouri State, No. 3 Grand Valley State (Mich.), No. 4 Minnesota-Duluth, No. 5 North Alabama, No. 9 West Liberty (W.Va.), No. 10 Carson-Newman (Tenn.) and No. 17 Shippensburg (Pa.) all earning first round byes.
Two new teams entered the final regular season poll with Arkansas Tech appearing at No. 21 and Washburn (Kan.) jumping back in at No. 24 after a two-week absence. The Wonder Boys are making their first appearance in the poll since Sept. 19, 2006.
1. Central Washington (2) 11-0
2. Northwest Missouri (3) 10-1
3. Grand Valley (5) 10-1
4. Minnesota-Duluth (6) 10-1
5. North Alabama (1) 10-1
6. Nebraska-Kearney (8) 10-1
7. Midwestern State (9) 9-2
8. Minnesota-State (4) 10-1
9. West Liberty (11) 10-1
10. Carson-Newman (14) 9-2
11. UNC-Pembroke (10) 9-1
12. Tarleton State (7) 9-2
13. Texas A&M-Kingsville (17) 9-2
14. Tuskegee (15) 8-2
15. Hillsdale (20) 9-2
16. Saginaw Valley (22) 9-2
17. Shippensburg (23) 9-2
18. Abilene Christian (12) 8-3
19. Charleston (25) 9-2
20. Albany State (13) 8-2
21. Arkansas Tech (NR) 8-2
22. California (18) 8-3
23. Central Missouri (16) 8-3
24. Washburn (NR) 8-3
25. Bloomsburg (19) 8-3
Receiving Votes - Missouri Western, West Texas A&M, Nebraska-Omaha
Lone Star Conference Football weekly release (11/09/09)
LSC Champions times three
The Lone Star Conference titles were decided on the final Saturday as Midwestern State, Tarleton State and Texas A&M-Kingsville each clinched a share of the league championship with identical 7-2 marks. It was the first-ever conference title for the Mustangs, the second for the Texans and 27th for the Javelinas.
The South Division title was shared by MSU, Tarleton, TAMUK and West Texas A&M with matching 4-2 records. For the Mustangs it was their third divisional championship, while the Texans earned their fifth, the Javelinas their seventh, and the Buffaloes their fourth.
Texas A&M-Commerce went a perfect 5-0 in the North Division to earn its second divisional title.
Four LSC teams chosen for NCAA Division II football playoffs
The Lone Star Conference co-champions - Midwestern State, Texas A&M-Kingsville and Tarleton State - plus Abilene Christian were all chosen to continue their season next Saturday, November 14. It is the first time in league history that four teams have advanced to the playoffs.
The Mustangs (9-2) are the third seed in Super Region Four and will host the No. 6 Wildcats (8-3) in Wichita Falls on Nov. 14 at 12 p.m. The Javelinas (9-2) will also host a first-round game as the fourth seed, with the No. 5 Texans (9-2) traveling to Kingsville next Saturday for a 1 p.m. kickoff.
MSU defeated ACU, 15-13, on Nov. 7, while TAMUK topped Tarleton, 34-20, on Oct. 3.
The rest of the region includes No. 1 Central Washington and No. 2 Northwest Missouri State, with both teams receiving byes in the first-round and the right to host second-round contests. CWU will host the TAMUK/Tarleton winner, while NWMSU welcomes the MSU/ACU winner on Nov. 21.
WTAMU to play in inaugural Kanza Bowl
The teams for the inaugural Lower Kanza Bowl are set as West Texas A&M will represent the Lone Star Conference and face Nebraska-Omaha from the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association on December 5th in Topeka, Kan., bowl officials announced. The game kicks off at 1 p.m. at Hummer Sports Park.
The Kanza (pronounced CANS-uh) Bowl, one of only two NCAA Division II bowl games, matches the best non-playoff team from the LSC against a counterpart from the MIAA.
WTAMU, 6-5 overall, finished the season with five straight wins to earn a share of the LSC South Division title with a 4-2 league record. The Buffaloes had two wins and four losses against NCAA Division II playoff teams this season.
UNO finished the 2009 regular season with a record of 7-4, its 14th consecutive winning season. The Mavericks were 6-3 in the MIAA, finishing in a four-way tie for second.
The two teams have never played each other but WTAMU holds a perfect 4-0 mark in bowl games. The Buffs won the Junior Rose Bowl in 1967, the Sun Bowl in 1951 and 1962 and the Tangerine Bowl in 1957.
LSC Football Blitz
Four Lone Star Conference teams are in action this week in the first round of the NCAA Division II Playoffs.
Divisional play concluded last week with A&M-C, Central Oklahoma and Southeastern Oklahoma recording wins in the North Division, while MSU, WTAMU and TAMUK prevailed in the South.
In week 11 the LSC had four quarterbacks throw for 300-plus yards, eight receivers and five rushers over the century mark and 17 double-digit tacklers. Top performances included:
Passing: 536, Taylor Harris (31-37-1), WTAMU at Tarleton
Rushing: 24-187, Fred Winborn, TAMUK vs ASU
Receiving: 6-201, Brittan Golden, WTAMU at Tarleton
Tackles: 17, Nathan Uland, ENMU vs UIW
Players of the Week
NORTH OFFENSIVE
Brandon Noohi, Central Oklahoma, Sr., QB, Oklahoma City, Okla./Mount Saint Mary
Noohi had perhaps the best offensive performance in school history during UCO’s season-ending 47-38 win over Northeastern State, accounting for 446 yards and seven touchdowns in total offense. The senior quarterback completed 20-of-33 passes for 306 yards -- the 16th-best game at UCO -- and a school-record six touchdowns while adding 14 carries for a career-high 140 yards and one TD. He had TD passes of nine, 20, 21 and 35 yards as UCO took a 28-21 halftime lead, then added 28- and 32-yard scoring passes and a one-yard TD run in the second half. Noohi’s 446 yards of total offense ranks second on UCO’s single-game list and he finished the season with a school-record 3,301 yards of total offense.
NORTH DEFENSIVE
J.P. Oliver, East Central, Jr., LB, Everett, Wash./Cascade HS (Feather River CC)
Oliver posted a team-leading 13 tackles, including five solo efforts, in the Tigers’ 27-26 home loss to Southeastern Oklahoma. Oliver also had a quarterback sack for a loss of eight yards and intercepted a pass as SE went scoreless the final three quarters of the game. Oliver led the Tigers in total tackles (101) and solo stops (56) for the 2009 season. He was second on the team in tackles for loss (7.5 for 27 yards) while also breaking up three passes. He also ended up with one fumble recovery to go with his one interception on the year.
NORTH SPECIAL TEAMS
Jerome Hewitt, Southeastern Oklahoma, Sr., KR, Gainesville, Texas/Gainesville HS
Hewitt picked up his fifth return touchdown of the season in Southeastern’s 27-26 win over rival East Central. For the second-straight week he scored a return touchdown on what would have been SE’s first offensive possession of the game, this one going 54 yards after the Storm held ECU to a punt on the game’s first possession. His fifth score ties him for the national lead in both division two and in all-divisions. With his performance against ECU he became SE’s all-time leader in kick and punt return yardage for both a season and a career. He also now owns the LSC records for kick return yards and average in a career, as well as kick return yardage in a season.
SOUTH OFFENSIVE
Taylor Harris, West Texas A&M, Jr., QB, Whitesboro, Texas/Whitesboro
Harris’ performance at Tarleton State was simply unbelievable. He completed his first 17 consecutive passes for 264 yards and had just two incompletions at halftime (completing 20-of-23 with an interception). His game total of 536 passing yards were the most ever allowed by a Tarleton State team, surpassing the previous mark of 473 (also set by West Texas A&M in 1994). Included in that total was a season and career-long 92 yard TD pass to Brittan Golden which was one of four touchdowns he threw.
SOUTH DEFENSIVE
Emmanuel Bagley, Midwestern State, Sr., LB, Dallas, Texas/Kimball HS
Bagley made 10 tackles including two tackles for loss, a sack and recovered a fumble to lead a suffocating Midwestern State defense which limited the Abilene Christian to one touchdown and two long field goals as the Mustangs claimed their first Lone Star Conference championship with a 15-13 win over Abilene Christian. The Wildcats managed just two plays of 20 yards or more.
SOUTH SPECIAL TEAMS
Morgan Lineberry, Abilene Christian, Fr., PK, Dallas, Texas/Lakehill Prep Academy
ACU freshman placekicker Morgan Lineberry kicked two of the longest field goals in ACU history in Saturday’s 15-13 loss at Midwestern State. ... With 1:05 left in the first half, Lineberry kicked a 56-yard field goal to cut MSU’s lead at the half to 15-10, and then he scored the game’s only second-half points with a 51-yarder with 6:03 left in the game. ... His 56-yard field goal is the third-longest in school history (behind Ove Johansson’s world-record 69-yard field goal vs. East Texas State in 1976 and a 58-yard effort by Bob Bearden against Angelo State in 1969). ... Lineberry is also the first kicker in ACU history to have two 50-yard-plus field goals in the same game. ... Earlier this season he drilled a 52-yard field goal in a win over East Central to make him the first kicker in school history with three 50-yard-plus field goals in a season.
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