Wildcats vs. Buffs for LSC title once again - Joey Richards, Abilene Reporter News
Whenever Abilene Christian and West Texas A&M get together on the football field, there’s usually a lot on the line. In fact, the two teams have battled for the Lone Star Conference title three of the past four years.
This year is no exception.
ACU, ranked No. 2 nationally, puts its unbeaten record against the No. 14 Buffs at 6 tonight at Kimbrough Stadium in a game that will again will determine the LSC championship
The Wildcats (9-0 overall, 8-0 LSC) can clinch at least a share of the LSC title with a victory, while the Buffs (7-2, 7-1) can pull even with ACU in the standings with one game remaining in the regular season. An ACU victory coupled with a Midwestern State victory over Texas A&M-Kingsville would give the Wildcats the outright LSC title. If WT and Kingsville both win, then the Buffs, Javelinas and Wildcats would be tied for the LSC lead.
ACU would love to nail down its second LSC title in three years on the Buffs home fieldt.
“We’re going to give it our best effort,” ACU senior linebacker Eric Edwards said. “That’s one of our goals, besides winning a national championship, winning the conference championship. It doesn’t matter who is in our way — Incarnate Word or WT.”
ACU football preview: No. 2 'Cats faces big hurdle at No. 14 WT - Abilene Reporter News
What’s riding on this game: ACU can clinch at least a share of the Lone Star Conference title with a victory. If the Wildcats win and Midwestern State beats Texas A&M-Kingsville tonight, then ACU wins the title outright. If WT and Kingsville win, then there would a three-way tie between the Javelinas, Buffs and ACU with one week remaining in the regular season. ACU’s also ranked No. 1 in Super Regional Four. So if the Wildcats win their last two games, they would get a first-round bye in the playoffs and homefield advantage through the third round. WT, No. 4 in the region, is trying to solidify its playoff hopes. The Wildcats lead the series 26-17. WT leads the series 4-3 since Chris Thomsen took over as ACU’s coach. ACU is 2-1 at Canyon in Thomsen era — the lone loss came in the playoffs.
Maroon and White Zone: Championship Rivalry - Amarillo Globe News
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Javelinas face Midwestern State in big game - George Vondracek, Corpus Christi Caller Times
Regardless of the postseason ramifications, Saturday’s football game at Javelina Stadium promises to be one of those classic matchups.
Midwestern State runs the ball like no other team in the Lone Star Conference and better than all but 13 other ballclubs do at the NCAA Division II level. Texas A&M-Kingsville stops the run better than any Division II ballclub in the country.
It is with that scenario, as well as the playoff chase, that the Javelinas host the Mustangs in an LSC South Division confrontation.
Though there is one crossover game in the regular season remaining next week — the fourth-ranked Javelinas host Southeastern (Okla.) State and the No. 19 Mustangs entertain Northeastern (Okla.) State — this week’s outcome will be a big selling point in the winner’s bid for a postseason spot.
“Everything’s on the line this week. That’s how we feel. It’s our Super Bowl this week,” A&M-Kingsville quarterback Nate Poppell said. “We’ve got to come and put up a show in front of this home crowd.
“We can’t really say it’s our last big hurdle because it’s not our last game and we know how the LSC is. Anybody can sneak up at anytime and take a shot at those top teams,” Poppell said. “We know we’ve just got to put together a full game and really compete with these guys.”
Stakes high for MSU against A&M-Kingsville - J. Scott Russell
The Midwestern State Mustangs got a monkey off their backs last week as they ended a seven-game skid to the Tarleton State Texans.
Tonight they hope to be the proverbial monkey as they try to continue their recent dominance over the Texas A&M-Kingsville Javelinas.
The No. 19 Mustangs will try to extend their five-game winning streak over TAMUK when they take on the No. 4 Javelinas at 7 p.m. at Kingsville’s Javelina Stadium.
MSU comes into the contest with a 7-2 mark and a 3-2 record in Lone Star Conference South action, while the Javs are 8-1 overall and 4-2 in conference.
Another reason the Mustangs would like the dominance to continue — they have outscored A&M-Kingsville 234-60 in the streak including a 73-6 win in 2007 — is the Super Region Four rankings. The top six teams make the NCAA Division II playoffs, and the Mustangs are No. 6, while the Javelinas are No. 3.
But wanting to beat a team and actually accomplishing that goal are two different things.
“We’ve spent more time watching film of them than anybody else,” MSU head coach Bill Maskill said. “They’re good, maybe the best team we’ve played. They’re solid in every phase of the game. They’re a lot better offensively than they were a year ago. And they don’t have a whole lot of weak links on defense.
“That’s obvious in that they’re only giving up 14 points, 232 yards a game and just 50 yards rushing. We have to move the ball better than we have been.”
ASU FOOTBALL: Mirror images - Nathan Wright, San Angelo Standard Times
This afternoon in its final road game of the season, the Angelo State University football team will face a team similar to itself in several ways, but also vastly different in others.
Today, the Rams play at Southeastern Oklahoma in the first step toward salvaging a .500 record this season. ASU needs to win today and win next week at home against Central Oklahoma to do so.
The Savage Storm are 3-6 overall and 2-4 in the LSC North Division. Just like ASU (3-5 overall, 1-5 in the LSC South), they are out of the running for a division title and a playoff berth.
Just like the Rams, they have suffered some close losses that have put them in the position they are in.
The Savage Storm lost by two points to Northeastern State, five points to Texas A&M-Commerce and one point to East Central. The only time in divisional play that they were beaten convincingly was last week, when they lost to Eastern New Mexico 55-20.
Angelo State has lost to West Texas A&M by 10, Tarleton State by three, Texas A&M-Kingsville by seven, Midwestern State by 14 and Abilene Christian by 13.
“They are very streaky,” ASU head coach Dale Carr said of SEO. “They can be hitting on all eight cylinders and getting after you on both sides of the ball and going up and down the field and getting three-and-outs with their defense or they can be just the opposite, self-destructing and blowing themselves up.”
Stars align for showdowns - Nathan Wright, San Angelo Standard Times
Everything went according to plan last week in the South Division of the Lone Star Conference and that set up a couple of huge games this weekend.
First, a quick look at last weekend’s results shows that, while the favorites won, it wasn’t easy for a couple of them.
ACU gains rematch with Midwestern for LSC soccer title - Abilene Reporter News
Mustangs make it to LSC championship - Times Record News
MSU extends winning streak - Times Record News
ACU men seek 20th LSC cross country title today - Abilene Reporter News
ACU, MSU win LSC Cross Country championships - LSC Office
Abilene Christian won the men’s title and Midwestern State claimed the women’s crown for the third straight year at the Lone Star Conference Cross Country Championships held Saturday in Abilene, Texas.
ACU prevailed in the men’s eight kilometer race for the 20th consecutive year, while MSU triumphed for its third straight title on the women’s 4.5 kilometer course. The women’s race was shortened because the gator leading the runners took them in the wrong direction.
Click here for men's results / women's results
The Wildcats posted a team score of 54 points with three of the top six finishers to earn their 26th LSC cross country crown. Amos Sang was the individual medalist for the second straight year with a time of 23:49 to pace the Wildcats. Cleophas Tanui finished third (24:30), while Romain Rybicki was sixth (24:54).
Eastern New Mexico was second with 68 and East Central was third with 90. Cameron was fourth with 109, followed by Texas A&M-Commerce (124), Incarnate Word (164), Tarleton State (178), West Texas A&M (190), Angelo State (216) and Texas A&M-Kingsville (241).
ENMU’s Mohamed Noor finished second (24:28), CU’s Julius Korir fourth (24:35) and Kingsville’s Kiya Dandena fifth (24:45). WTAMU’s Luke Irwin earned Freshman of the Year acclaim in 11th place (25:21).
Brissia Montalvo led the Mustangs effort, finishing second overall in 16:19. Helping the MSU score was Sydney Cole (6th, 16:40) and Ashley Flores (9th, 16:52), who earned Freshman of the Year honors.
MSU claimed the women’s championship with 46 points. ASU finished second with 79, while ACU was third (119). ENMU (132), Central Oklahoma (145), ECU (171), UIW (175), Kingsville (177), WTAMU (186), Tarleton (225), Southwestern Oklahoma (253), A&M-C (282) and Southeastern Oklahoma (408) rounded out the rest of the field.
ACU’s Anais Belledant finished first in the women’s event in 16:07, while the Wildcats Chloe Susset was third (16:29) and Alyse Goldsmith fifth (16:35). ENMU’s Nicky Reid was fourth (16:32) to lead the Zias.
The top 10 finishers in each race were honored as All-LSC runners.
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