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Game Week Preview
KICKOFF
The Sul Ross State University Lobos will kickoff their 89th season of intercollegiate football Sept. 2 at NCAA Division II U.T. Permian Basin.The 2017 season marks U.T.P.B's second year of football.
MEDIA INFORMATION
QUICK HITS
- Falcons lead all-time series, 1-0.
- Sul Ross ended the 2016 season at 6-4 (4-2, ASC)
- Five wins in the last six games pushed the Lobos over the .500 mark for the first time in 10 years and this year's 6-4 record was the best mark in 20, equaling the 1996 results.
- For his efforts, coach John Pearce was named American Southwest Conference's Coach of the Year
- During Pearce's three-year tenure, the Lobos' won-lost record has improved each season, from 2-8 to 3-7 to this year's 6-4 mark.
- Top two returnees include three-year regular quarterback James Davis (Houston/South) and All-American defensive lineman Zack Roberson (Houston/Cypress Ridge).
- Davis accounted for over 2,600 yards passing and rushing this season, throwing for 18 touchdowns and running for 10 more.
- Roberson (Houston) registered 22 tackles for loss, including 12.5 sacks among his team-leading 67 stops.
SCOUTING THE FALCONS
- U.T.P.B. finished their inaugural season at 2-9 (0-7, LSC).
- The Falcons two victories came against the Lobos (27-6) and a week later against visiting Arizona Christian (49-34).
- U.T.P.B. was outscored, 552-244 in its 11-game slate in 2016.
- Brandon Infiesto led the ground attack with 109 carries for 573 yards and four touchdowns.
- Quarterback Kameron Mathis completed 162 of 335 passes for 2078 yards and ten scoring strikes. Mathis suffered 10 interceptions last season.
- Mitchell Leonard posted a team-high 39 receptions for 673 yards and seven touchdowns.
- Chris Hoad led defenders with 114 tackles (54 solo) while grabbing 12 sacks.
- Marquee Allison led the team in sacks with 18.
- The Falcons are a member of the 11-team Lone Star Conference of which Sul Ross is a former member. 2017 is the second season of intercollegiate football at U.T. Permian Basin.
SERIES HISTORY
U.T.P.B. leads the all-time series with Sul Ross, 1-0.
LAST MEETING (Sept. 3, 2016)
- In its first three quarters of intercollegiate football, U.T. Permian Basin unloaded a 20-0 run on its way to a 27-6 inaugural victory over the Sul Ross Lobos at a packed Ratliff Stadium last season.
- Despite the margin Sul Ross outpaced the Falcons in nearly every offensive category.
- The Lobos won the battle in first downs by a 20-15 margin while netting 138 yards in rushing compared to U.T.P.B.'s 128 yards.
- James Davis led the ground attack with 15 carries for 79 yards and Sully's only score which came early in the closing period on a 23 yard run.
- Davis also completed 19 of 35 passes for 154 yards and suffered a pair of interceptions.
- Byron Jones (League City/Clear Springs), posted four receptions for 41 yards including a long of 17.
- ·Jacob Castaneda (El Paso/Franklin) polled a team- high five tackles.
SUL ROSS TEAM AND INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Sul Ross ended the 2016 campaign in decisive fashion, cruising past Howard Payne University 42-8 in the home finale Nov. 5, then traveling to Marshall to deliver a 47-18 pummeling of East Texas Baptist University.
- ETBU, who finished 7-3 under former Sul Ross quarterback and offensive coordinator Scotty Walden, boasted one of the nation's top offenses in the Division III ranks. A year earlier, ETBU thumped the Lobos 61-21 in Alpine.
- Roberson led the conference in sacks with 12.5 for a loss of 86 yards, and tackles for loss (22 for a negative 122 yards), with both numbers ranked in the top 10 in Division III. His 67 total stops, 43 solo, ranked him 12th in the ASC.
- All but two games in 2017 are scheduled for 6 p.m. kickoffs. The Lobos' October 21 outing at Howard Payne University is scheduled for a 4 p.m. kickoff, while the regular season closer at Belhaven is slated for a 2 p.m. start.
2017 TOP RETURNERS
1 Byron Jones, JR/WR— 2016 Second Team All-ASC Offense: Jones, 2015's ASC Freshman of the Year, led the Lobos in receiving with 43 catches for 644 yards and six touchdowns.
4 Job Mason, SR DB— 2016 Second All-ASC Defense: Mason leads the ASC with 15 breakups. He also ranks fifth with a pair of forced fumbles.
9 Mike Quinonez, SR/LB– 2016 ASC Honorable Mention Defense: Quinonez posted 53 tackles on the season including 31 solo. He recorded two interceptions for returns of 35 yards.
7 Steven Savedra, SR/TE– 2016 First Team All-ASC Offense: Savedra totaled 26 receptions for 327 yards and three touchdowns as a junior. Savedra posted a D3football.com Play of the Week following Sully's 42-8 victory over visiting Howard Payne on November 5.
12 James Davis, SR/QB: Davis returns for his senior campaign as the Lobos' signal caller. Davis accounted for over 2,600 yards passing and rushing this season, throwing for 18 touchdowns and running for 10 more.
13 Zack Roberson, SR/DL— 2016 ASC Defensive Lineman of the Year, 2016 ASC First Team All-Conference Defense, 2016 D3Football.com All-South Region, 2016 D3Football.com All-American, 2016 Cliff Harris Award nominee, 2017 Tyrantscouting.com Preseason All-American: Roberson wreaked havoc on opposing quarterbacks leading the conference in sacks with 12.5 for a loss of 86 yards. He also leads the ASC in tackles for loss of yards with 22 stops for 122 yards with both numbers ranked in the top 10 in Division III. Roberson ranked 12
th in the league in tackles with 67 with 43 solo.
AROUND THE ASC
Millsaps at
Belhaven, 7:00 p.m.-Thurs., Aug 31
McMurry at Oklahoma Panhandle St., 7:00 p.m.-Thurs., Aug 31
Southwestern at Denison, 6:00 p.m.-Sat., Sept 2
Sul Ross St. at U.T. Permian Basin, 6:00 p.m.- Sat., Sept. 2
Wayland Baptist at
Louisiana College, 6:00 p.m.-Sat., Sept 2
Howard Payne at S.W. Assemblies of God, 7:00 p.m.-Sat., Sept 2
QUOTES FROM COACH JOHN PEARCE
- On facing a second-year program: In my entire coaching career this is the first time I've faced a second-year program. U.T.P.B. is going to get better. They had a very tough conference schedule last season. They had two wins against us and Arizona Christian then they enter into league play with perhaps some of the strongest conference opponents in the nation. But they've learned and have been able to adjust to the speed of the game. I expect them to be as good if not better than our reigning Division III and ASC champs, Mary Hardin-Baylor. They are going to be physical. They have a lot of juniors on the roster this year who have grown and matured. They know how to run. So it's going to be a challenging four quarters Saturday night.
- Thoughts on the U.T.P.B. offense: It looks like they're going with [Caden] Coots as their starting quarterback. He had to sit out the first half of last year's game. One of the big differences is they have one of their tackles who is now a free agent so we won't have to face him. But just looking at what their offensive line is like, they have a few returners. Their running backs are pretty talented. They have a couple of receivers that can get down field in a hurry. Hopefully we can penetrate into their backfield and harass their quarterback and make things difficult.
- Thoughts on the SRSU defense: Our starting 11 are looking really good right now. We have a couple of folks on the line who are dealing with some academic issues so they're taking the semester off to get their grades up. But our secondary is looking outstanding. They have a lot of speed and I'm looking forward to seeing them step up and compete.
- On playing a DII program to start the year: I like it. It's good to play up. It kind of tells you what you have in your own program. On paper, we're expected to lose. I've coached at the Division I AA program and we've played those higher level Division I programs. It's a good test of your players. A lot of our players have had dreams or thoughts of playing at a higher level so this provides a real opportunity for our guys to see just where our talent level is. It's also a great lead-up to our conference opener next week in Belton. So if we can play with and stay with them on their own field, that really serves as a bench mark heading into conference play.
- Thoughts on wrapping up fall camp: We wrapped up with our Red and White scrimmage last Saturday and got through healthy. We had a freshman dislocate his shoulder and he'll be back on the field in about a month so no long-term damage. But that was my biggest concern was getting through that last scrimmage staying healthy. But overall we're good. We still have some depth issues to resolve. It's just a matter of developing your future players but I'm happy and excited where we are right now.
- On the 2017 captains: When Job [Mason} first came to Sul Ross he tried to buck the system a little bit but he bought in and conformed and has turned out to be a very good football player and leader. Zack Roberson, our All-American is in his second season as a captain. Cole [Moulder] actually earned his degree and was originally going to join us on our coaching staff as a grad assistant but he wanted to strap on the pads one last time and will add to the depth on our offensive line. James [Davis] is just an awesome kid and has really developed into a quarterback. His athletic ability has served him well as a duo-sport athlete in football and track. Steven Savedra is one of those guys who is not only coachable but is able to coach and teach our younger players the game of college football. He's ready to graduate and get his degree. They a great bunch of guys and they're now our alpha Lobos.
- Keys to starting 1-0: Ball protection is key. Last year we had chances to score and couldn't capitalize. If we score when we're supposed to we should be in this game. I think it will also come down to conditioning and hopefully we'll be able to hang with them all four periods.
