Notes

Louisiana College and Sul Ross will face each other in the Lobos' second home game of the 2018 season this Saturday at 7:00 p.m. at Jackson Field. Live coverage will be provided on the Sul Ross Sports Network.

Media Information

Radio…...KVLF AM 1240
Web……..www.bigbendradio.com
Watch Live…...https://livestream.com/srsumedia/events/4322363
Live Stats…...https://srlobos.com/sidearmstats/football/summary

Quick Hits and Recap 

• McMurry University held off a 10-point Lobo rally in the third quarter and registered a 35-24 ASC victory over visiting Sul Ross Saturday night in Abilene.
• The War Hawks' win over the Lobos snaps a three-game losing streak in the all-time series between the two teams which dates back to 1923.
• Sul Ross outpaced the War Hawks in total offense by a 523-498 margin.
• The Lobos also held the edge in first down totals by a 26-20 margin. McMurry stacked up 452 yards of passing offense while limiting Sul Ross to 247. 
• Sully took to the ground 45 times for 276 yards while the War Hawks mustered 16 carries for just 46 yards. The Lobo passing game completed 25 of 46 passes and two interceptions. McMurry finished completing 28 of 41 passes.
• Williton Grear posted 22 carries and netted 173 yards. Fabian Baeza completed 25 of 43 passes for 247 yards and one touchdown. He surrendered two interceptions and was sacked once.

Scouting the Wildcats (LC Sports Info.)

• The Louisiana College football team made their first American Southwest Conference of the season and engaged in a four-quarter battle with the Southwestern University Pirates on Saturday night. The defensive unit made play after play throughout the second half as they Wildcats held on for the dramatic 21-19 victory.
• Following Saturday's victory over the Pirates,  senior linebacker and captain Orel Ledet Jr was named the American Southwest Conference Player of the Week. This is the second weekly honor from the conference for Ledet in his career, earning the title in after the 2017 season finale win at Howard Payne University.
• Ledet made 16 total tackles in the game including 10 solo stops and another behind the line for a two yard loss. He helped the Wildcat defense hold the Pirates well below both their season point and rush yard total for the season.
• Ledet and the defense was responsible for holding the potent rushing attack of Southwestern to just 130 yards of total offense in the second half of Saturday's game. They stifled the option attack of SU only giving up 20 rushing yards in the third quarter and 62 in the fourth to a team that came in averaging almost 250 yard per game on the ground.
• Ledet leads the team with 33 tackles in three games this year, and is the only player on the team with double-digit solo and assisted tackles. The hybrid linebacker who has the ability to put his hand in the ground and rush the passer gives him the versatility, along with his speed and athleticism, to protect the field from sideline to sideline.

Series History

• Sul Ross and Louisiana College will face each other for the 19th time on the football field Saturday. The Wildcats lead the all time series 14-4.
• The Lobos defeated LC in their very first meeting in 2000 by a score of 42-11.
• The only other Sul Ross victories over the Wildcats came in 2004's 48-41 win, 2016's 21-14 victory and 2017's nail-biting 34-31 win.

Last Meeting (Sept. 30, 2017)

• A 27-yard field goal by sophomore kicker Eli Lopez with one second left in regulation propelled Sul Ross State University to a 34-31 ASC victory over Louisiana College last season in Pineville.
• Lopez nailed a 34-yard field goal a split second after the Wildcats called a timeout. Louisiana College was then penalized with 12 men on the field which set up Lopez's 27-yard, game-winning boot.
• Louisiana College won the battle in total offensive yardage by a 519-426 margin.
• The Lobos were five of six in red zone conversions while the Wildcats scored all-three times inside the Sul Ross 20 yard line.
• Both teams combined for 163 yards of penalties.
• Individually, James Davis completed 19 of 37 passes for 267 yards and three touchdowns. Markese Martin led Lobo rushers netting 64 yards off of just two carries while Jordan Batson pulled down six catches for 87 yards and a score.
• Defensively, Mike Quinonez recorded a team-best 14 tackles. Jacques Wisner  and Jermaine Stevens, Jr. recorded a pair of break ups each.

Around the ASC (Sept. 29, 2018)

Belhaven @ Howard Payne, 1:00 PM
ETBU @ No. 7 Hardin-Simmons,  6:00 PM
McMurry @ Texas Lutheran, 6:00 PM
Southwestern @  No. 2 UMHB,  6:00 PM
La. College @ Sul Ross St., 7:00 PM

CONFERENCE STANDINGS

1. Hardin-Simmons 3-0, 2-0 ASC
2. UMHB 3-0, 2-0 ASC
3. ETBU 2-1, 2-0 ASC
4. Texas Lutheran 2-1, 1-1 ASC
5. Howard Payne 1-2, 1-1 ASC
6. La. College 1-2, 1-1 ASC
7. Southwestern 2-2, 1-2 ASC
8. McMurry 1-3, 1-2 ASC
9. Belhaven 0-3, 0-2 ASC
10. Sul Ross St. 0-3, 0-2 ASC

Conference Rewind

No. 2 Mary Hardin-Baylor-47, Texas Lutheran-14
SEGUIN, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor football team overcame a sluggish start with a big second quarter as the Cru rolled to a 47-14 victory over Texas Lutheran Saturday in Seguin. 

No. 8 Hardin-Simmons-65, Howard Payne-14
ABILENE, Texas- Hardin-Simmons' football team continued its strong early season play with a 65-14 win over Howard Payne in American Southwest Conference action on Saturday night at Shelton Stadium. It was the first night conference football game at Shelton Stadium.

East Texas Baptist-46, Belhaven– 20
JACKSON, Mississippi – Facing the challenge of their first road game of the year and weather delays to begin the game at Belhaven University, East Texas Baptist University used a 20-point third quarter to propel them to a 46-20 win over the Blazers.

Louisiana College-21, Southwestern-19
Georgetown, Texas- The Louisiana College football team made their first American Southwest Conference of the season and engaged in a four-quarter battle with the Southwestern University Pirates on Saturday night.

McMurry– 35, Sul Ross St.-24
ABILENE, Texas- McMurry University held off a 10-point Lobo rally in the third quarter and registered a 35-24 ASC victory over visiting Sul Ross Saturday night in Abilene.  The War Hawks' win over the Lobos snaps a three-game losing streak in the all-time series between the two teams which dates back to 1923.

QUOTES FROM COACH JOHN PEARCE
 
Thoughts on Saturday's loss
This one hurts because it's a game we could have won and should have won. We got ourselves in a hole too early. I did like how our guys fought back and took the lead in the third quarter but we lost the momentum again later on. It was really like three games rolled into one. We start off with no momentum, then gain momentum and lose it again. It's frustrating because we're not able to finish up what we started.
 
On the fourth quarter break down
We're just not playing consistent football all four quarters. We had spurts where the offense really looked good in the middle of the game then they spiraled toward the end. We threw an interception in their end zone which really took the wind out of our sails. Byron [Jones] ran a great route but we just couldn't get him the ball.
 
On a young team trying to find its way
Yeah we have a lot of young guys out there but we  just didn't finish the game, bottom line. The effort was there. The game plan was there. But it's a matter of folks executing and finishing plays and playing the game like their coached to play. We're still missing a lot of tackles especially in the open field which is a problem we faced last season. Early in the game, we hit a guy and he bounces right off and scores from 73 yards. We had the blitz going and our defensive front looked really good on the film. Finny [Fentrese Milligan] and Te'Ayveon [Mayo] had good showings up front and really pressured their quarterback.
 
On Williton Grear's 173 yard performance
He's playing like he played his freshman year.  Our offensive line is starting to open some holes for him and he's making the most of it. He needs to continue to do what he's doing and take some pressure off some other aspects of our offense.  If we can get him to spearhead our running game, it's going to open some other avenues for us offensively.
 
Thoughts on quarterback performance
We need more consistency  in our passing game and it's not there right now. There were times when it clicked and other times we were sputtering.
 
Standout points on the defense
Our biggest concern right now is the lack of tackling in the secondary but I like what I'm seeing with our linebackers and front. We're covering better with our linebackers.  In our opener in Phoenix we were playing like deer in the headlights. But those guys are stepping up and we're heading in the right direction.
 
On trying to coach up players
We had some individual meetings with some of our guys Sunday night to see where they are mentally. We haven't experienced a slump like this in a while. It's not fun. But this is where we develop as players and coaches. We're responsible as coaches to get the best out of those players even when things are not going our way. This is when we have to make the decision of whether or not we're going to become a better team or regress. We cannot start to get sloppy in practice because that always impacts how you play on Saturday.
 
On team focus heading into La. College
The first part of this week we're going to really focus on attitude and the mentality of our players. Most of the them are young and fragile and they're having to grow though this adversity.