Three New Teams Enter Division II Coaches' Top 25
Poll
Losses by three Top 25 teams last week caused a shakeup in the bottom 15 of
the AFCA Division II Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, allowing three new teams to enter the
poll this week. Pittsburg State (Kan.) still sits No. 1 after a 52-9 win over
Southwest Baptist (Mo.). Minnesota-Duluth, Colorado State-Pueblo, Grand Valley
State (Mich.) and Winston-Salem State (N.C.) round out the Top 5.Texas A&M-Kingsville, Kutztown (Pa.) and Delta State (Miss.) dropped out of the poll this week, allowing Minnesota State-Mankato, Henderson State (Ark.) and West Texas A&M to be ranked this week. Minnesota State-Mankato is No. 22 and 3-0 after a 25-21 victory over St. Cloud State (Minn.). No. 24 Henderson State (Ark.) is also 3-0 after its 73-34 win over Arkansas Tech, while West Texas A&M re-enters the poll at No. 25 after beating then-No. 14 Texas A&M-Kingsville, 40-10. There are two Top 25 matchups this week as No. 6 California (Pa.) plays host to No. 14 Indiana (Pa.), and No. 23 West Alabama travels to No. 16 Valdosta State (Ga.).
2012 American Football Coaches Association Division II Coaches’ Poll – September 17, 2012
| Rank | School (1st votes) | Rec. | Pts. | Prev. | Week Three | Next Game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Pittsburg St. (Kan.) (29) | 3-0 | 749 | 1 | D. Southwest Baptist (Mo.), 52-9 | Sept. 22 vs. Lincoln (Mo.) |
| 2. | Minnesota-Duluth | 3-0 | 717 | 2 | D. Concordia-St. Paul (Minn.), 70-24 | Sept. 22 vs. Augustana (S.D.) |
| 3. | Colorado St.-Pueblo | 3-0 | 673 | 3 | D. Western New Mexico, 35-27 | Sept. 22 vs. Adams St. (Colo.) |
| 4. | Grand Valley St. (Mich.) | 3-0 | 657 | 4 | D. Tiffin (Ohio), 28-0 | Sept. 22 vs. Ohio Dominican |
| 5. | Winston-Salem St. (N.C.) (1) | 3-0 | 621 | 5 | D. Morehouse (Ga.), 55-21 | Sept. 22 vs. Virginia Union |
| 6. | California (Pa.) | 3-0 | 578 | 6 | D. Edinboro (Pa.), 24-14 | Sept. 22 vs. No. 14 Indiana (Pa.) |
| 7. | Missouri Western St. | 3-0 | 550 | 8 | D. Nebraska-Kearney, 38-14 | Sept. 22 at Fort Hays St. (Kan.) |
| 8. | New Haven (Conn.) | 3-0 | 545 | 7 | D. Pace (N.Y.), 44-10 | Sept. 22 vs. St. Anselm (N.H.) |
| 9. | Washburn (Kan.) | 3-0 | 490 | 9 | D. Northeastern St. (Okla.), 24-20 | Sept. 22 at Central Oklahoma |
| 10. | Humboldt St. (Calif.) | 3-0 | 458 | 11 | D. Simon Fraser (B.C.), 41-21 | Sept. 22 at Dixie St. (Utah) |
| 11. | Bloomsburg (Pa.) | 3-0 | 454 | 12 | D. No. 21 Kutztown (Pa.), 44-37 | Sept. 22 at LIU Post (N.Y.) |
| 12. | Northwest Missouri St. | 2-1 | 391 | 13 | D. Fort Hays St. (Kan.), 48-10 | Sept. 22 at Nebraska-Kearney |
| 13. | Ouachita Baptist (Ark.) | 2-0 | 350 | 15 | Idle | Sept. 22 vs. Arkansas Tech |
| 14. | Indiana (Pa.) | 3-0 | 331 | 17 | D. Lock Haven (Pa.), 42-0 | Sept. 22 at No. 6 California (Pa.) |
| 15. | Midwestern St. (Texas) | 1-1 | 307 | 16 | D. Texas A&M-Commerce, 65-14 | Sept. 22 at Texas A&M-Kingsville |
| 16. | Valdosta St. (Ga.) | 2-1 | 264 | 18 | D. Angelo St. (Texas), 43-10 | Sept. 22 vs. No. 23 West Alabama |
| 17. | Ashland (Ohio) | 3-0 | 248 | 22 | D. Ferris St. (Mich.), 47-32 | Sept. 22 at Northern Michigan |
| 18. | Colorado School of Mines | 3-0 | 176 | 23 | D. Black Hills St. (S.D.), 42-19 | Sept. 22 at New Mexico Highlands |
| 19. | Abilene Christian (Texas) | 2-1 | 170 | 20 | D. Tarleton St. (Texas), 34-31 | Sept. 22 at Angelo St. (Texas) |
| 20. | Saginaw Valley St. (Mich.) | 2-1 | 146 | 10 | Lost to Findlay (Ohio), 29-27 | Sept. 22 at Lake Erie (Ohio) |
| 21. | Wayne St. (Mich.) | 1-1 | 145 | 19 | D. Lake Erie (Ohio), 35-31 | Sept. 22 at Malone (Ohio) |
| 22. | Minnesota St.-Mankato | 3-0 | 129 | NR | D. St. Cloud State (Minn.), 25-21 | Sept. 22 vs. Minnesota St.-Moorhead |
| 23. | West Alabama | 2-1 | 110 | 24 | D. Mississippi College, 41-3 | Sept. 22 at No. 16 Valdosta St. (Ga.) |
| 24. | Henderson St. (Ark.) | 3-0 | 97 | NR | D. Arkansas Tech, 73-34 | Sept. 22 vs. Southeastern Oklahoma St. |
| 25. | West Texas A&M | 2-1 | 63 | NR | D. No. 14 Texas A&M-Kingsville, 40-10 | Sept. 22 at Incarnate Word (Texas) |
Others Receiving Votes: Delta St. (Miss.), 57; Texas A&M-Kingsville, 37; Shippensburg (Pa.), 34; Central Missouri, 32; Sioux Falls (S.D.), 31; Hillsdale (Mich.), 24; Carson-Newman (Tenn.), 23; Harding (Ark.), 18; Michigan Tech, 14; Wayne St. (Neb.), 14; Newberry (S.C.), 13; Bowie St. (Md.), 7; Charleston (W.Va.), 5; North Carolina-Pembroke, 5; Findlay (Ohio), 4; Adams St. (Colo.), 3; Central Washington, 2; Missouri S&T, 2; Tarleton St. (Texas), 2; Emporia St. (Kan.), 1; Miles (Ala.), 1; St. Augustine’s (N.C.), 1; Shepherd (W.Va.), 1.
LSC Football Weekly Release: Four pick up weekly awards - LSC Office
This week features four Lone Star
Conference games including the first of five games to be web streamed live on
FoxSportsSouthwest.com. The league will show Midwestern State at Texas
A&M-Kingsville (Sept. 22) live on the FSW website. Upcoming broadcasts
include: Texas A&M-Commerce at Incarnate Word (Oct. 6); Abilene Christian at
West Texas A&M (Oct. 13); Eastern New Mexico at Midwestern State (Oct. 27);
and Angelo State at Tarleton State (Nov. 10).
The 2012 Lone Star Football
Festival presented by Firestone had 33,180 fans at the three-day, six-game event
at Cowboys Stadium. On Thursday, a crowd of 3,426 saw Midwestern State top
Texas A&M-Commerce, 65-14, in the Harvey Martin Classic, which was televised
live on the CBS Sports Network as the NCAA Division II Football Game of the
Week. Eastern New Mexico escaped Incarnate Word 34-24 and Southlake Carroll
blanked Temple 34-0 in Friday’s action in front of 10,620 fans. The event
wrapped up Saturday with a tripleheader of games attended by 19,134, which
included Valdosta State over Angelo State 43-10, Abilene Christian edging
Tarleton State 34-31 and West Texas A&M defeating Texas A&M-Kingsville
40-10.
WTAMU and ENMU top the LSC standings after victories over TAMUK
and UIW, respectively, last week.
LSC football teams are 12-13 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.
FIRST DOWN
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
OFFENSIVE
Taylor Gabriel, Abilene Christian University, JR, WR, Mesquite, Texas, Horn HS
Gabriel’s day spurred the Wildcats to a 34-31 come-from-behind win over Tarleton State at Cowboys Stadium on Saturday in what could be the final meeting between the two long-time rivals. Gabriel had just five catches for 50 yards, but he had three catches for 27 yards and two touchdowns in the second half, including a 16-yard TD catch on third-and-goal in the fourth quarter that gave the Wildcats the lead for good. His first big play of the second half came when he returned the Texans’ second punt of the half 54 yards, setting the Wildcats for the go-ahead score. Gabriel capped the go-ahead scoring drive with a 4-yard TD reception with 4:03 left in the third quarter to give the Wildcats a 24-20 lead.
CO-DEFENSIVE
Taylor McCuller, West Texas A&M University, JR, LB, Red Oak, Texas, Red Oak HS
Had a game-high 15 tackles including eight solo stops in a 40-10 win over No. 14 Texas A&M-Kingsville Saturday. He had a half of a sack for four yards and 1.5 tackles for loss for seven yards. He and the Buff defense had 13 tackles for loss for 40 yards and two total sacks for 13 yards. The Buffs’ D stymied TAMUK all night as it held the Javelinas to 285 yards of offense, well below their 365 yard average coming into the game.
Neiko Conway, Midwestern State University, JR, CB, Houston, Texas, Lamar
Collected three of the seven turnovers taken by the No. 16 Mustangs in the 65-14 win over Texas A&M-Commerce. Conway intercepted a pass on the first play of the second half and returned it 32-yards for a touchdown that started a 35-point third quarter for MSU. It was MSU’s first interception return for a touchdown since Oct. 23, 2010 when Zak Bracken had a 20-yard scoring return at West Texas A&M. The interception return moved him to 182 career interception return yardage to set a new MSU record. Conway moved to fifth on the MSU career interception list with his seventh career pickoff. Additionally, he recovered two fumbles that led to MSU points. His two fumble recoveries are more than anyone in the LSC this season. Conway recorded two solo tackles and added a pass breakup to the interception for a touchdown and fumble recoveries.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Marcus Wright, University of the Incarnate Word, SR, PR/KR, San Antonio, Texas, Reagan HS
Wright returned the opening kickoff 83 yards for a touchdown against Eastern New Mexico. It was the first UIW kickoff return for a touchdown in the program’s history. Wright also set the school record for longest kick return beating Jacob Love’s 66-yard return.
FIRST DOWN
- Three LSC teams are ranked in AFCA poll (Sept. 15) with No. 15 Midwestern State, No. 19 Abilene Christian and No. 25 West Texas A&M.
- WT’s Don Carthel won his 69th game as the head coach of the Buffaloes versus Texas A&M-Kingsville breaking the all-time school record for wins by a coach set by Joe Kerbel with 68.
- Week three included six 100-yard rushing performances, one 300-yard passing effort along with two 100-yard receiving performances.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
OFFENSIVE
Taylor Gabriel, Abilene Christian University, JR, WR, Mesquite, Texas, Horn HS
Gabriel’s day spurred the Wildcats to a 34-31 come-from-behind win over Tarleton State at Cowboys Stadium on Saturday in what could be the final meeting between the two long-time rivals. Gabriel had just five catches for 50 yards, but he had three catches for 27 yards and two touchdowns in the second half, including a 16-yard TD catch on third-and-goal in the fourth quarter that gave the Wildcats the lead for good. His first big play of the second half came when he returned the Texans’ second punt of the half 54 yards, setting the Wildcats for the go-ahead score. Gabriel capped the go-ahead scoring drive with a 4-yard TD reception with 4:03 left in the third quarter to give the Wildcats a 24-20 lead.
CO-DEFENSIVE
Taylor McCuller, West Texas A&M University, JR, LB, Red Oak, Texas, Red Oak HS
Had a game-high 15 tackles including eight solo stops in a 40-10 win over No. 14 Texas A&M-Kingsville Saturday. He had a half of a sack for four yards and 1.5 tackles for loss for seven yards. He and the Buff defense had 13 tackles for loss for 40 yards and two total sacks for 13 yards. The Buffs’ D stymied TAMUK all night as it held the Javelinas to 285 yards of offense, well below their 365 yard average coming into the game.
Neiko Conway, Midwestern State University, JR, CB, Houston, Texas, Lamar
Collected three of the seven turnovers taken by the No. 16 Mustangs in the 65-14 win over Texas A&M-Commerce. Conway intercepted a pass on the first play of the second half and returned it 32-yards for a touchdown that started a 35-point third quarter for MSU. It was MSU’s first interception return for a touchdown since Oct. 23, 2010 when Zak Bracken had a 20-yard scoring return at West Texas A&M. The interception return moved him to 182 career interception return yardage to set a new MSU record. Conway moved to fifth on the MSU career interception list with his seventh career pickoff. Additionally, he recovered two fumbles that led to MSU points. His two fumble recoveries are more than anyone in the LSC this season. Conway recorded two solo tackles and added a pass breakup to the interception for a touchdown and fumble recoveries.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Marcus Wright, University of the Incarnate Word, SR, PR/KR, San Antonio, Texas, Reagan HS
Wright returned the opening kickoff 83 yards for a touchdown against Eastern New Mexico. It was the first UIW kickoff return for a touchdown in the program’s history. Wright also set the school record for longest kick return beating Jacob Love’s 66-yard return.
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