Incarnate Word - 2010 Recruiting Class

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DL - Diego McClain, Randy Enriquez, Alan Ford and Zach Zellars led the way, combining for 149 tackles, 35.5 TFL, and 11.5 sacks. Not much to talk about after that. To compete in the LSC, the Cardinals need to bring in some quality depth.

LB - Similar to the DL, there was good production from the top 3 (Dakota Mawyer, Tyler Fields, and Rashaad Patterson), who combined for 126 tackles, 17 TFL, and 3.5 sacks.

Need Depth:

OL - Can you ever have enough depth on the offensive line? All five starters (Charles Segura, Jake Roby, Michael Palacios, Jayson Hierholzer and Patrick Martinez each started 7 games) return with four of them just sophomores. The unit performed well, giving up just 12 sacks on the season, while helping the running game average 3.9 yards per carry.

DB - Seven players return with 25 or more tackles, including Chaz Pavliska (team leading 71 tackles), Aaron Hernandez (team leading 5 Ints) and Todd Lyons (team leading 5 passes broken up). The Cardinals will need all of these plus some reinforcements for the LSC. In three games against LSC teams last fall, the Cardinals gave up 312 yds per game through the air, with 11 TD passes.

Good Quality/Depth:

QB - Thomas Specia and Eric Massoni split duties at QB last year, and combined to throw for 1,856 yards and 21 TDs. Specia will be a senior this fall. Paden Lynch and Shane Knight are the other two QBs on the roster, with Lynch getting limited playing time last year.

RB - Trent Rios, J.J. Johnson and Alex Torres combined for 706 yards, 5 TDs and a 3.7 yard per carry average. There are no seniors in this bunch.

WR - Todd Walker (24-370- 6 TD) was a senior last year, but everyon else returns. Dominic Hamilton had back-to-back great games last year against East Central and Texas Lutheran, catching 13 passes for 311 yards and 4 TDs in those two wins.

2010 Class Overview - As expected, Incarnate Word got some good talent from the San Antonio area, but also ventured over to Houston and even picked up a couple from the DFW area. Devin Haywood (Ath) and Glenn Hill were both outstanding QBs in high school, but were recruited as athletes. Haywood was selected as the QB for the San Antonio Express All Area team, while Hill was chosen as one of the top 22 athletes by Dave Campbell's Texas Football magazine. Fullback Brett Bippert was another first team selections to the San Antonio Express All Area team, while Devin Judkins (TE) was picked for the second team. The only junior college transfer, Manuel Tijerina (OL- Trinity Valley CC) is expected to compete for a starting job. Freshman Dominique Johnson (OL-Mart HS) received honorable mention All-State recognition at the 1A level. Coach Santiago picked up several Houston area recruits as well, with Matt Bass (LB - Alvin), Evan Newland (DL-Cy Springs) and Michael Tate (DL-Alief Elsik) leading the way. In the secondary, Juan Ascencio (LB/S- Pflugerville Hendrickson) was named honorable mention All-State 4A.

LSC Ranking - 14

Overall Grade- C

There are several interesting players in this group, but they may not be LSC-ready for a year or two. It was a bit surprising that no QBs or tailbacks were brought in, and the overall size of the class (just 17 signees) is puzzling for such a young program.

LSC Roundup 7-28

Taylor Fore Selected as Nominee for 2009 Allstate American Football Coaches Association Good Works Team
Texas A&M University-Commerce redshirt sophomore wide receiver Taylor Fore on Thursday was one of 106 nominees for the 2009 Allstate American Football Coaches Association Good Works Team. The award is given to “hard-working and committed college football players” and has nothing to do with touchdowns, tackles or receptions.

In addition to being a member of the Lions' football team, he has served as a volunteer basketball and baseball coach for the Commerce Parks and Recreation Department. This fall, he will serve as the chair of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee. He has been involved with the Big Event, a city-wide clean up in Commerce, the Commerce Children’s Museum Father/Daughter Dance and the Hunt County Special Olympics.

A total of 106 student-athlete football players were nominated by sports information directors for the team which honors college football players who make “outstanding contributions in the areas of volunteerism and civic involvement.” The number of nominations is the largest number in the 18-year history of the award and ’09 nominees represent 41 states, including Washington, D. C. and 45 conferences.

From the 106 nominees, a national panel will select two 11-player Good Works Teams, one team composed of players from the NCAA Bowl Subdivision and a combined team from the Championship Subdivision, Divisions II and III and the NAIA.

West Texas A&M's James Chandler nominated for Allstate AFCA Good Hands Team

James Chandler has been nominated for the 2009 Allstate American Football Coaches Association Good Works Team. Chandler, born in London, England, has been involved in numerous community service projects, including:

• Traveling to Taiwan , May 17- June 2, 2009, to perform missionary work through Baptist Student Ministries.
• Leading Youth Worship and performs Youth Ministry at Believers Way Church in Amarillo , Texas .
• Serving as counselor at Angel Tree Camp in 2008 and will again in 2009. This is a four-day camp, held each August at Ceta Canyon Methodist Camp, outside of Canyon, Texas, which administers to inner-city Amarillo, Texas youths.
• Giving testimonies at West Texas A&M chapter of Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA). He also gave a testimony during the Panhandle-area FCA banquet, as well as speaking at area high-school FCA chapters.
• Making regular visits, along with West Texas A&M teammates, to the Children’s Wards of Amarillo hospitals.
  
  

Mustangs lend many helping hands
College and professional athletes have long been considered spoiled, many of them displaying a “what have you done for me lately?” attitude.

But the football coaches for the Midwestern State Mustangs have tried to develop a different attitude on their team — more like “What can we do for you?”

So the Mustangs were involved in several community service projects during the spring semester of 2009.

“We decided in December, as a staff, that we needed to do more things together as a team — off the football field,” head coach Bill Maskill said. “And in doing that, we could do some things within the community.”

Zia Volleyball Team Earns Second Straight AVCA Academic Award
PORTALES, N.M.— For the second consecutive season, the Eastern New Mexico University volleyball team has been selected for the American Volleyball Coaches Association Team Academic Award. The Zias were one of 46 NCAA Division II teams to receive the award.

The AVCA created the award in the 1992-93 year to honor both college and high school teams that maintained a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.3 on a 4.0 scale or a 4.1 GPA on a 5.0 scale.

Following the 2008 season, Heidi Geyer (OH, Santa Fe, N.M./St. Michaels HS) was selected Academic All-Lone Star Conference, while Caitlin Murphy (L, Amarillo, Texas/Tascosa HS), Vanessa Wilcox (OH, Houston, Texas/Kempner HS), Karen McIntyre (S, Houston, Texas/J. Frank Dobie HS) and Grace Brandt (S, Dumas, Texas/Dumas HS) were named to the LSC Commissioner’s Honor Roll.

Sigwing Selected as the Seventh Head Coach of Zia Softball Program

PORTALES, N.M.— Eastern New Mexico University athletic director, Dr. Jeff Geiser has announced the selection of Lauren Sigwing as the new head coach of the Zia softball program. Sigwing is no stranger to the highly competitive nature of NCAA Division II softball, having served as a graduate assistant at Northwest Missouri State, and played collegiately at Central Missouri State in the Mid-American Athletic Association. Most recently, she served a three-year stint at Fort Scott Community College and led the program to its best season in 2009, winning 36 games.

“I am very excited about coaching the softball program at ENMU,” said Sigwing. “I think there is a lot of potential and am looking forward to coaching them.”

“The fact that she was a 4.0 student in psychology was very impressive,” said Geiser. “She was a NFCA All-American Scholar Athlete and what that tells me is that she is a very hard worker and will do whatever it takes to get the job done. She played in the MIAA and is very familiar with Division II and the Lone Star Conference. The search committee did an outstanding job and I think we have hired an outstanding softball coach”

In the 2009 season, she guided FSCC to a 36-23 record, including a 17-9 mark in the competitive Jayhawk Conference. The Lady Hounds picked up a doubleheader sweep second place Johnson County and split with third place Pratt. The squad closed their season by earning a second-place finish at the District D Regional Tournament and ended up breaking team records in home runs and stolen bases.

Sigwing attended NCAA Division II Central Missouri State, where she was a National Fastpitch Coaches Association of America All-American Scholar Athlete and a Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association Presidential Scholar.

UIW football to be on ESPN radio

Incarnate Word’s inaugural season will be broadcast on ESPN 1250 The Zone, the university announced.

The deal includes pregame and postgame shows, and a weekly show with coach Mike Santiago set to air at 7 p.m. each Thursday. ESPN 1250 personality Paul Alexander will provide play-by-play action.

The Cardinals open the season against Monterrey Tech at 7 p.m. on Aug. 29 at Benson Stadium.

LSC Roundup 7-9

Texas Tech receiver headed to UIW
The upstart Incarnate Word football program has received another gift — only this time it doesn’t come courtesy of New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson, a UIW athletics benefactor.

Texas Tech reserve wide receiver Todd Walker, who has a year of eligibility remaining, said he plans to play out his final season of with the Cardinals this fall.

A 6-foot-1, 180-pounder who runs a sub-4.4 second 40-yard dash, Walker joins suspended wide receiver Jerrell Wilkerson (Texas) as the Cardinals’ only players from Division I schools.
Walker also considered Arizona.

“I got to meet with the coaches and players and definitely fell in love with it,” said Walker, a Pflugerville graduate. “I wanted to be part of the start of a new program for the record books.”

Walker caught seven passes for 37 yards last season. In 2007, he redshirted after suffering two hernias. He had 21 catches for 214 yards and two touchdowns in 2006.

While Walker figures to challenge for a starting spot from Day 1, Wilkerson’s presence might not be felt as soon.
Wilkerson passed his spring courses but must still pass summer school — which runs into the second week of camp — to regain his eligibility, Santiago said.

But even if Wilkerson does that, Santiago said he would not play in the Aug. 29 season opener against Monterrey Tech.
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***(Scout had Walker rated as a 4 star recruit and the #20 WR nationally coming out of HS in 2005, Rivals had him rated a 3 star recruit and #44 nationally as an athlete)***

Related: Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe // 07.09.09
Related: Reagan football filled with new faces

OCC players head on
Several former Orange Coast College football players, as well as one current Pirate, have found a home at four-year programs, Pirates Coach Mike Taylor confirmed Wednesday.

Taylor said Shad Baichtal and Benjamin Soza, both sophomore safeties in 2008, will play next season at West Texas A&M and Lenoir-Rhyne College, respectively.

Summer two-a-days: AFC East, NFC West
4. Who the heck is Anthony Armstrong, and why should the rest of the NFL take notice?
Want a fantasy football "sleeper" this year that not every one of your buddies knows about already? Spend a last-round pick on Miami Dolphins wide receiver Anthony Armstrong. Who the hell is Anthony Armstrong?

Good question.

Though he was a star at tiny West Texas A&M, Armstrong went understandably undrafted by the NFL after college and ended up with the Dallas Desperados of the Arena Football League instead. In Dallas, he became a fan favorite and a breakout star. He caught the eye of current Dolphins GM Jeff Ireland, who was with the Cowboys front office at the time. When Ireland made the move to Miami, he brought Armstrong with him, adding the lightning fast receiver to the Dolphins' practice squad in 2008.

Still a relative unknown to even the Dolphins' rabid fan base, Armstrong turned a lot of heads in minicamps last month. When OTA sessions began in May, he was likely the eighth or ninth receiver on the depth chart. After lighting it up throughout the OTA sessions and in five minicamp sessions in June, Armstrong might very well end up being one of the main go-to wideouts in Miami this season. It's certainly not a given that he'll make the final 53-man active roster. But if he's on the field, watch out.

At 5-foot-11, 175 pounds, he's not a giant. But he's got speed — tons of it. Like No. 1 wideout Ted Ginn Jr., Armstrong's biggest task at hand will be learning to harness that speed, managing it to run precise and timely routes.

Dolphins quarterback Chad Pennington spoke about Armstrong's lightning fast quickness with the South Florida Sun Sentinel last month.

"You can really tell the difference from his route-running from a year ago until now," he said. "He understands that his speed is his weapon, but only when he uses it appropriately. He can't just outrun everybody. He has to have proper technique getting off the jam and get good, clean releases. He's done a really good job of that this spring."

Every year, there's a receiver that emerges from nowhere to make an impact. Whether it be Marques Colston or Mike Furrey, these guys work their way up the depth charts and make it impossible for coaches to keep them off the field.

Anthony Armstrong could be that guy in 2009.

Just don't tell your fellow fantasy league owners. You'll want him all to yourself.

Cooper signs track scholarship with TSU

LSC Roundup 4-10

Sparks flying: A&M-Commerce's Jordan selected by Los Angeles in 2009 WNBA Draft
“Give it to Jordan.”

That was the game plan Texas A&M University-Commerce women’s basketball coach Denny Downing used throughout Britney Jordan’s three-year career with the Lions.

The plan paid dividends for both A&M-Commerce and Jordan, as the senior became the first women’s basketball player in program history to be selected into the WNBA as the Los Angeles Sparks picked her 35th overall on Thursday in the league draft.

“It’s an amazing feeling,” said Jordan. “I had a great chapter at A&M-Commerce. This is the beginning of a new chapter.”

“I don’t know if I have enough words to say,” said Downing. “Obviously I’m so happy for Britney and the commitment she made to the program.”

Jordan is just the second player in Lone Star Conference history to be selected in the WNBA Draft after Southeastern Oklahoma State’s Crystal Robinson was chosen by the New York Liberty in 1999.

Walk-on Wildcat
Abilene Christian baseball coach Britt Bonneau knew he had something special in Willie Uechi pretty quickly. It was just a matter of finding the walk-on freshman from San Antonio Marshall a place to play.

"It was pretty obvious this guy needed to be in our lineup somewhere," Bonneau said.

So Uechi (pronounced U-E-chee), a second baseman in high school, played wherever there was a need early on his career at ACU. In fact, he opened the season that first year in right field.

"I hadn't taken any balls in right field all year, so it caught me off guard," Uechi said. "I had to find an outfielder's mitt to play with. But it was fun just getting out there to play. I was happy just to be out there
Related: ACU leads LSC entering final baseball series

Been there, done that
When Justin Brown talks, East Central University’s defensive linemen listen — and not just because he weighs 270 pounds. An unpaid (sort of) assistant on ECU head coach Tim McCarty’s defensive staff this spring, Brown was an All-American defensive end on McCarty’s first Tiger squad back in 2004, and in 2005 he came within one cut of making the season-opening roster with the Indianapolis Colts, who were only a season away from winning their first Super Bowl.

“The way they react is that they can see the results you can get from hard work,” Brown said this week as the Tigers neared the halfway point in their spring camp. “They listen to me because I obviously know what I’m talking about because I’m still out there playing.”

UIW kicks off football with first spring game
Like many of his Incarnate Word defensive brethren, linebacker Dakota Mawyer had waited nearly eight long months to finally hit someone in a setting where points were at stake. The payoff for their patience Wednesday night?

Mawyer and the rest of the defense got to represent the visitor's side of the scoreboard in a 49-23 victory against the offense in the program's first-annual spring game at Benson Stadium. Among those in the lively crowd of 450 were program benefactors Tom and Gayle Benson.

Former Clark running back Jerrell Wilkerson, the city's career rushing leader who is on academic suspension, watched from the sideline but was not in uniform.

Lobos' Templeton to play football at Abilene Christian
While riding from Baton Rouge, La. to Longview on Sunday, Melvin Templeton did some soul searching on where to spend the next four years. His search was over by the time he got home, and it has pointed him to Abilene.

The former Longview football player confirmed his decision on Thursday, signing with Abilene Christian University in the Lobo Coliseum foyer. Templeton chose ACU over Howard Payne, as well as trying to walk on at North Texas, Baylor and Texas A&M. Templeton made his decision while he was returning with several other Longview powerlifters from the American Powerlifting Federation's High School Nationals.

"I had to do some soul searching on the ride home. The decision to go to ACU came over me. It was a subtle feeling," Templeton said. "The college reminds me of Longview High School. It felt like home."

Templeton did not play varsity football until this past fall. Templeton played defensive end, linebacker and was the kickoff return team. Templeton frequently had a size disadvantage playing defensive end, but frustrated opposing offensive linemen anyway by the way he bounced off blocks. Templeton helped the Longview football team to a 13-3 record and the state runner-up finish in Class 4A Division I

ACU neck-and-neck with ASU in softball
The Abilene Christian softball team plays Tarleton State in a three-game Lone Star Conference South Division series, beginning with a doubleheader at 5 p.m. today at Poly Wells Field. Game 3 is noon Saturday. It's ACU's last LSC South series at home.

The Wildcats (31-11 overall, 9-3 LSC South) enter the series a half-game back of Angelo State (34-7, 10-3) for the LSC South lead. Angelo State beat Texas Woman's 11-3 on Thursday in Denton. Should ACU and Angelo State finish the regular season tied, the Rambelles own the tiebreaker after winning the series 2-1 against the Wildcats during the weekend in San Angelo. Tarleton State (22-16, 7-5) is two games back for the second and final LSC South tournament berth.

Lady Buffs enter crucial LSC series
After three years of sub .500 ball, the West Texas A&M softball team has a chance at the postseason. The Lady Buffs are tied for fourth in the Lone Star Conference standings with Texas A&M-Kingsville, with each team having one LSC series left. The top four teams advance to the LSC tournament.

WT gets its final series under way at 1 p.m. today against last place Eastern New Mexico in a doubleheader at Lady Buff Yard. Kingsville has the weekend off from LSC play.

Buffs battle SEOSU to wrap up home slate
West Texas A&M closes out its Lone Star Conference home season this weekend needing to start a winning streak to make a run at the upcoming LSC Tournament. The Buffs open their four-game series today against Southeastern Oklahoma State with a 4 p.m. doubleheader at the Amarillo National Bank Dilla Villa.

The two teams meet at noon Saturday in a doubleheader in the Dilla Villa. WT has 12 LSC games remaining - the final two series on the road at Northeastern State and Eastern New Mexico - and sit in 11th place at 11-21. The top six teams make the tournament, and the Buffs are four games out of sixth place.


ASU dominates at home
Adree Lakey and Culley Jo Dawson are going to have a big hand in how well the Angelo State women's track team does at next month's NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Thursday at the David Noble Relays, each of them won two events and each either qualified or improved their qualifying marks for the national meet next month at the LeGrand Sports Complex.

Their big days Thursday helped the ASU team to a big day as well. The Rambelles won the meet in dominating fashion over Tarleton State. The ASU men also won the meet, outscoring McMurry.

"We had a lot of personal bests and a lot of season bests," Lakey said. "I think that everybody is comfortable at home and everybody gets good marks here."

David Noble Relays final results
Women
Team standings - 1. Angelo State 273; 2. Tarleton State 90; 3. McMurry 55; 4. Hardin-Simmons 37; 5. Texas State 31; 6. Texas A&M-Commerce, 22.

Men
Team standings - 1. Angelo State 161; 2. McMurry 103; 3. Tarleton State 98; 4. Abilene Christian, 44; 5. Bacone 43; 6. Texas A&M-Commerce 42.

Lady Buff golfers move up in poll
West Texas A&M's Lady Buffs are ranked seventh in this week's NCAA West Region golf poll, moving up one spot from a week ago.