Football | 11/7/2017 8:46:00 AM

Game Week Notes

KICKOFF

In just their third meeting all-time, Sul Ross and Belhaven will wrap up the 2017 slate in a 2:00 p.m. kickoff from Jackson, Ms.

Saturday's contest can be heard live on KVLF AM 1240 with internet audio at http://www.bigbendradio.com.

QUICK HITS AND RECAP
 

• The Lobos (4-5, 3-5) took one on the chin last weekend as Texas Lutheran coasted to a 40-14 conference victory in Sully's home closer.
• The Bulldogs amassed over 60 yards of total offense while holding the Lobos to 324.
• TLU scored 19 unanswered points in the second half for the victory.
• Belhaven (2-7, 1-7) dropped a 55-7 ASC decision at No. 5 Hardin-Simmons University on Saturday.
• Saturday's game at Jackson marks the only early afternoon kickoff for Sul Ross.

SCOUTING THE BLAZERS (from BU sports info.)
 

• Hunter McEachern completed 31-53 passes for 266 yards, one touchdown pass, and one interception in a 55-7 loss at HSU.
• Marquis Hedge led the rushing attack for the Blazers with 6 carries for 36 yards.
• Brad Foley had 5 carries for 16 yards and 8 receptions for 33 yards and a receiving touchdown.
• Quan Jones led the receiving corps with 8 catches for 118 yards.
• Jareth Embry added 2 receptions for 43 yards and Kyky Austin had 3 catches for 21 yards.
• Defensively, Latevinan Glass led the Blazers with 10 total tackles, while David Hudson and Denarrius Noel each recorded 8 total tackles.
• David Lewis added six total tackles in the contest, while Keith Marshall and Alvin McCaskey recorded 4 total tackles.
• Belhaven as a team rushed for 51 yards and tallied 266 passing yards for a total of 317 yards of total offense.

SERIES HISTORY
 

• The Lobos and Blazers are tied at 1-1 in the all-time series between the two schools dating back to 2015.
• Sul Ross defeated Belhaven in a 52-36 homecoming victory in 2016.

LAST MEETING (Oct. 8, 2016)
 

• James Davis threw for a season best 321 yards and two touchdowns as the Sul Ross Lobos rolled by Belhaven, 52-36 Saturday in a cool, cloudy homecoming extravaganza last season.
• Both teams combined for 1,151 yards of total offense.
• Adrion Smith led the ground assault netting 90 yards off of 12 carries.
• Byron Jones recorded five receptions for 149 yards and one touchdown.
• Mike Quinonez led the defense with 10 tackles while Job Mason and Jermaine Stevens posted four and three breakups respectively.
• Stevens also grabbed an interception while Jacob Castaneda shouldered a pick for a 46-yard return.

SUL ROSS TEAM AND INDIVIDUAL NOTES (vs. TLU)
 

• Sul Ross was held to 324 yards of total offense in a 40-14 loss against visiting Texas Lutheran on Nov. 4.
•  The Bulldogs stacked up 611 yards including 466 yards on the ground.
•  James Davis completed 12 of 21 passes for 214 yards and two touchdowns but suffered an interception in the second half.
• Davis led the Lobo running game with eight carries netting 77 yards.
•  Steven Savedra posted five receptions for 105 yards and a score.
• Defensively, Ronin Williams secured 19 tackles including 15 solo.

AROUND THE ASC (Nov. 11, 2017)

Southwestern @ Texas Lutheran, 1 PM-Seguin*
East Texas Baptist @ No. 1 Mary Hardin-Baylor, 1 PM-Belton*
Louisiana College @ Howard Payne, 1 PM-Brownwood*
No. 5 Hardin-Simmons @ McMurry, 1 PM-Abilene*
Sul Ross St. @ Belhaven, 2 PM-Jackson, Ms.*
 
*ASC game

CONFERENCE RECAP

No. 5 Hardin-Simmons-55, Belhaven-7
 
ABILENE- Hardin-Simmons' football team improved to 8-1 with a 55-7 American Southwest Conference win over Belhaven on Senior Day Saturday afternoon at Shelton Stadium.
 
East Texas Baptist-66, McMurry-21
 
MARSHALL- Taking control of the game from the start and never looking back, the East Texas Baptist University football team honored their eighteen seniors with a 66-21 victory over the McMurry University War Hawks. With one game left to go, ETBU finds themselves with their third straight seven win season.
 
No. 1 Mary Hardin-Baylor– 51, Louisiana College-20
 
PINEVILLE, La.- The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor football team jumped out to an early lead and then held off Louisiana College's offensive attack as the Cru posted a 51-20 victory over Louisiana College Saturday in Pineville.
 
Southwestern-70, Howard Payne-6
 
GEORGETOWN- The Howard Payne University football team fell 70-6 to Southwestern University Saturday afternoon at Birkelbach Field.

It was the first meeting between the two schools since Oct. 25th of 1950.

QUOTES FROM COACH JOHN PEARCE

THOUGHTS ON SENIOR NIGHT: It was emotional for me seeing 20 of our seniors playing their last game at Jackson Field. They came into a program that was experiencing some rough times but they bought into the system my first season and stuck with it and now they're about to graduate. It's rare to see 20 seniors in a Division III program just because retention is so difficult at this level. So I tip my hat to those guys. They've experienced the ups and downs and I feel and hope that will carry over to life after football.

ON THE LOSS OF MOMENTUM AFTER THE FIRST QUARTER: It was a combination of things. We had some guys who had to sit out this game which hurt us defensively. I think we just wore down after the first period and we didn't play well. Texas Lutheran didn't do anything fancy. They just ran the ball down our throat. They're defense hit us hard and we weren't able to recover.

ON THE YOUNGER PLAYERS STEPPING UP: Our sophomore and freshman class are a pretty competitive bunch. They realize that most of the upperclassmen are better than they are at this point in their playing career but they also see this as an opportunity to get better, play smarter and just develop into a college football player. We'll sit down after the season and chat with those younger guys just to find out where they in terms of their commitment to our program.

ON FIRST STEPS INTO THE OFFSEASON: We do exit interviews with all our players. Our first goal is to get the kids who are already here to stay and continue to build on retention. It will be a fresh slate after this weekend. After Thanksgiving we'll hit the road recruiting for three solid weeks.

THOUGHTS ON TEAM FOCUS HEADING INTO WEEK 10: It's like every week of the season. It's another opportunity to out there and get better as a player. We were able to do that at the beginning of the season. Really, it's been a tale of two teams this year. We started off really hot, really good and focused and then after a couple of losses, some things started to falter. I think we set the bar really high as players and coaches heading into the season but now we just want to finish strong and with a win. The older you get and the longer you've been away from the game, you usually don't remember a lot about what happened in game nine but you'll definitely remember what happened in game 10. Since I've been here we've been able to finish with a win so that'll be our focus this week.
 
ON BELHAVEN AND HAL MUMME'S AIR RAID OFFENSE: The last few weeks we've had to defend the run and that's going to change this weekend. They're going to throw the ball a lot. That's what they do. It'll be two programs searching for a win. They beat Milsaps in their season opener then beat Louisiana College a few weeks ago. So we both want to end things on a good note. That's what I told our players on Sunday. We're two programs looking for a victory. We need a good, solid week of practice in all three phases.