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THE OPENING KICKOFF

The Sul Ross State University Lobos (4-4, 2-2 ASC) welcome the Howard Payne University Yellow Jackets (0-8, 0-5 ASC) to Jackson Field for the final home game of 2016. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m., Saturday, November 5.

MEDIA INFORMATION
 

• Saturday night's contest can be heard live on KVLF with internet audio provided at www.bigbendradio.com.
• Live video streaming and audio can be found at http://livestream.com/srsumedia/events/4322363.
• Live stats will be provided at http://www.sidearmstats.com/sulross/football/. 

QUICK HITS AND RECAP
 

• No. 3 University of Mary Hardin-Baylor (8-0, 5-0 ASC) unleashed a 42-point barrage in the second half and rolled by Sul Ross in a 59-10 ASC decision Saturday.
• Three special teams miscues in the second half including a blocked punt that was returned for a touchdown helped spell the Lobos' undoing as Mary Hardin-Baylor coasted to the 59-10 victory.
• As a team the Crusaders put up 441 yards of total offense while holding Sully to 261.
• Davis completed 16 of 23 passes for 152 yards and a touchdown. Jeremy Reed (Grandview, MO/GHS) snagged three receptions for 74 yards.
• Alonte Thomas (Cameron/Yoe) and Fentrese Milligan (Elgin/EHS) posted five tackles each. Mike Quinonez (El Paso/El Dorado) had a forced fumble in the effort. 

SCOUTING THE YELLOW JACKETS (from HPU sports info.)
 

• The Howard Payne University football team managed just 180 yards of total offense in a 41-6 conference loss to McMurry University Saturday afternoon at Brownwood's Gordon Wood Stadium.
• Howard Payne had just 55 yards passing and 125 yards on the ground while McMurry posted 211 on the ground and 151 in the air.
• McMurry scored 34 unanswered points before the Jackets would get on the scoreboard. 14 of McMurry's first 34 points came off a 93-yard interception return and an 80-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown.
• HPU's Austin Kilgore led all tackles with 11, six solo. Dylan Hudson, Kris Mack and Jason Disney followed with seven tackles each. Disney added two pass breakups. Darron Perry and Zach Reed each had an inception, Perry's returned for 43 yards.
• Howard Payne is now 0-8 overall and 0-5 in American Southwest Conference action under first year head coach Hunter Sims. McMurry improves to 3-4 overall and 1-3 in league play.
• Howard Payne and Sul Ross are tied for third place in the ASC in field goals at 4-6 after eight games.
• The Yellow Jackets ranks second the league behind Mary Hardin-Baylor in fourth down conversions at 13 for 31.
• Junior quarterback Caisson Montieth ranks fifth out of the conference's top 10 rushers with 108 carries for 465 yards and two touchdowns.
• Montieth is eighth in the ASC in total offensive yardage with 1444 yards.
• Jason Disney leads the conference in tackles with 94 including 46 solo tackles.
• Disney also leads the league with five forced fumbles.

 

SERIES HISTORY
 

• Howard Payne leads the all-time series against Sul Ross, 46-19.
• The Lobos defeated the Yellow Jackets, 27-13, in the very first game of the series in 1958. 

LAST MEETING (November 14, 2015)
 

• Davis threw for 235 yards and three touchdowns as Sul Ross wrapped up the 2015 season with a 35-23 victory over Howard Payne last season in Brownwood.
• Davis connected on 11 of 19 attempts for the afternoon while Byron Jones (League City/Clear Springs) grabbed four of those passes for 117 yards and a score.
• On the ground Williton Grear (Austin/Del Valle) posted a team best 21 carries netting 113 yards and a score.
• Both teams combined for 896 yards of total offense as Sully pounded out 446 of those yards.
• The Lobos outran their Howard Payne counterparts 211-165 in yards on the ground. The Yellow Jackets won the passing battle outpacing the Lobos 285-235.
• Defensively Fernie Gonzalez (El Paso/Canutillo) totaled a team high 12 tackles while Quinonez and Zack Roberson (Houston/Cypress Ridge) recorded 10 stops in the victory. Roberson had a sack for a loss of ten and an interception which was returned for four yards. Jermaine Stevens (Houston/South Houston) saddled four breakups against HPU.
• The Lobos dominated the first half putting up 21 unanswered points. 

SUL ROSS TEAM AND INDIVIDUAL NOTES
 

• After eight games the Lobos rank second in defending the rush holding opponents to 982 yards on the ground.
• Sul Ross is tied with HPU for second place in the conference in field goals at 4 for 6.
• Sully is fourth in the conference in point after kicks at 24-26.
• The Lobos lead the conference in time of possession at 279:20.
• Adrion Smith (Houston/Clear Springs) ranks ninth in the conference with five carries for 255 yards.
• Davis is sixth in passing completing 138 of 223 passes for 1599 yards and 12 touchdowns.
• Davis also ranks sixth in total offensive yardage with 1980 yards.
• Roberson leads the conference in sacks with 8.5 for a total loss of 56 yards.
• Roberson also leads the ASC in tackles for loss at -17 yards. 
• Roberson ranks 16^th in tackles with 52.
• Thomas is tenth in the ASC with three sacks.
• Job Mason (Thorndale/THS) is tied with ETBU's Grant LaPointe-Teat in breakups with a league-best 14.
• Thomas and Jacques Wisner (Dallas/Newman Smith) are tied for second in the conference with two recovered fumbles each. 

ASC RECAP (Week 9)

No. 18 East Texas Baptist 64, Louisiana College 62

PINEVILLE, La. – In an offensive fight that saw a combined 1,200 yards of offense and 126 points, East Texas Baptist edged Louisiana College in a shootout in Pineville (64-62). The Tigers and Wildcats combined score (126) ranks tied for third in ASC history for most points in a game.

No. 10 Hardin-Simmons 55, Belhaven 21

JACKSON, Miss. – Hardin-Simmons moved to 7-1 with a 55-21 win over Belhaven on Saturday afternoon in Jackson, Miss. HSU quarterbacks combined for 22-of-28 passing and 346 yards as the Cowboys rushed 309 yards and had 655 yards of total offense.

McMurry 41, Howard Payne 62

BROWNWOOD, Texas - The McMurry defense held Howard Payne to six points and 180 total yards in a 41-6 win over the Jackets at Gordon Wood Stadium.

QUOTES FROM COACH JOHN PEARCE

On playing the third-ranked team in the nation: We hung with them for a half but we got deep inside their red zone a couple times and just couldn't punch it in in the first half. We knew who we were playing and knew they were very talented on defense. We knew we would probably be limited with some of our big play offense. I talked to the team all last week that we had to keep our composure against a team like Mary Hardin-Baylor and we kind of lost that in the second half. Those two blocked punts really hurt us. Hector [Decanini] served as our deep snapper and he sprained his knee but our trainer cleared him so he could still snap but just wasn't able to cover very well with his injury. But those blocked punts were not his fault. We had some missed blocks and mishandled snaps that cost us with our punt team.

Overall thoughts on the second half: I addressed the team on Sunday and asked them if they had an opinion on the let down. It was almost like Hardin-Simmons. We were right there with them and then just tanked in the second half. Honestly there are so many things you can pinpoint. Some of it is just maturity and some of it is it's just not our time yet. But I think we're closing that gap to where we're able to compete against a team like that for two quarters. We just need to extend that to all four quarters and I believe we'll eventually get to that point.

On the play of special teams in the second half: They scored 21 points because things just snow balled against us with our special teams in the second half. Again, it boils down to simple mistakes that you cannot make against teams like this and Hardin-Simmons. You take away those 21 points and it would have made for a much more competitive game.

Thoughts on the field goal and extra point units: Unfortunately those guys didn't get on the field a whole lot Saturday but it's nice to know that we have a good rotation of kickers who are consistent with putting points into the board. We haven't had that in a long time at Sul Ross. Adam has been clutch for us this year with field goals and extra points. That 41-yard field goal he hit against UMHB was his second longest of the season. Eli Lopez has been getting the ball deep on our kickoff team. So we've been very fortunate with both of these freshmen kickers. Although it's during practice and they don't have a defense coming against them, they've both managed to hit from outside 50 yards. So they both have the leg strength and accuracy that could very well help us out in some tight situations.

On the most impressive aspect of UMHB: No doubt it's their defense. They're big and stout. The main key was they didn't miss tackles. They're very well coached and disciplined defensively. By far they're the best defense we've faced in my three years at Sul Ross. If they stay healthy and just continue to do what they do, they'll definitely be in the loop for a national championship.

Thoughts on the quarterback rotation: James, Jeremy [Schilhab] and Paul [Rodriguez] all have different styles. Paul banged his knee up some so that limited what we wanted to do with our rotation. But coach Connors knows how to maximize all three of those guys and their abilities.

Thoughts on Howard Payne and keys for Saturday's nightcap: We really can't have any hangover from UMHB. We have to completely drain that out of our system. Then we have to come out and execute. We need to come out and have a productive week in practice. Howard Payne will try to run the ball on us. We need to play aggressively and capitalize on any opponent mistakes. We have some folks who are banged up but at this point in the season every team has those issues. So we need to work around that and come out Saturday night and perform to what we are capable of doing.