Sul Ross looks to spoil a second straight homecoming when they travel east to Pineville, LA this Saturday to take on conference rival Louisiana College. Kickoff with the Wildcats is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. at Wildcat Field.

Media Information

Radio…... KVLF AM 1240
Web…….. bigbendradio.com
Watch Live…… https://www.lcwildcats.net/sports/2017/11/21/boxcast-stream.aspx?path=gen
Live Stats…... https://portal.stretchinternet.com/lcwildcats/

Quick Hits and Recap

• Sul Ross improved to 2-3 on the season with a 21-9 triumph over the Southwestern Pirates on October 5.
• The Lobos outgained the Pirates 279-210.
• Running back Williton Grear tied a career high for rushing yards in a game with 173. He also had a 56-yard rushing touchdown.
• Receiver Dre'Chon Moody led all Lobo receivers again with 71 yards on four catches and 44-yard touchdown.
• Levah Tarry led the team again in tackles with 10. Cory McMahan, Javeon Moses, and J Contreras each had an interception. McMahan blocked a punt which was taken in for a score by Micah Garcia.

Scouting the Wildcats

• Head coach Justin Charles enters his third season as head coach of the Wildcats. After a 3-7 record in 2017, coach Charles led the Wildcats to a 5-5 year in 2018.
• The Wildcats currently sit at 2-4 with 20-14 and 27-21 wins over Belhaven and Howard Payne. LC fell to Stetson (58-13), Southwestern (50-3), Hardin-Simmons (51-6), and Texas Lutheran (59-21).
• Louisiana College is averaging 15 points per game while allowing 42.2 per game.
• The Wildcats have rotated quarterbacks this season. Sal Palermo III has thrown for 976 yards with seven touchdowns and four interceptions. Landon Lalonde has 591 yards passing with four touchdowns and five interceptions. The team averages 263.7 passing yards per game.
• LC averages just 68.8 yards per game on the ground. Aaron Woods leads the team in attempts (51), net yards (198), average yards per rush (3.9) and average yards per game (33).

Series History

• The Wildcats lead the all-time series 15-4.
• Louisiana College defeated the Lobos 49-13 in last season's meeting.

 
Around the ASC (October 19, 2019)

Belhaven at Hardin-Simmons, 1:00 p.m.
Texas Lutheran at Howard Payne, 1:00 p.m.
Mary Hardin-Baylor at Southwestern, 1:00 p.m.
McMurry at East Texas Baptist, 2:00 p.m.


Conference Rewind

Southwestern 31 – Belhaven 21 (Saturday, October 12)
JACKSON, Mississippi – Belhaven's Brad Foley and Southwestern's Elijah Smith traded 19-yard and 5-yard touchdown runs in the first quarter for a 7-7 tie that extended to halftime. The Pirates scored 24 unanswered in the second half for a 31-7 lead. Southwestern rushed for 277 yards with Devin Shaw leading the team with 116 and a score. The Blazers made it a game late, but the Pirates held on for the 31-21 win. Southwestern moves to 3-2 on the season, while the Blazers drop to 1-5.

#1 Mary Hardin-Baylor 50 – East Texas Baptist 14 18 (Saturday, October 12)
BELTON, Texas – ETBU and UMHB swapped first quarter touchdowns for a 7-7 game after the first. The Cru scored 16 straight in the second quarter capped off by Jase Hammack's second touchdown pass for a 23-7 lead. ETBU answered back with a Brian Baca touchdown strike, but a late field goal put UMHB up 26-14 at the half. The Cru outscored the Tigers 24-0 in the second half and rolled to the 50-14 win. The defending champs are 5-0 on the season, while the Tigers drop to 2-3.

Texas Lutheran 59 – Louisiana College 21 (Saturday, October 12)
SEGUIN, Texas – The Bulldogs opened the game with 14 unanswered in the first quarter on 5-yard and 28-yard touchdowns from Wade Freeman to CJ Romero. Freeman and Romero connected again in the second quarter from 26 yards for a 21-0 lead. After a Louisiana College touchdown, TLU scored 28 straight on the ground for a 49-7 TLU halftime lead and eventual 59-21 win. The Bulldogs put up 555 yards of total offense and 373 on the ground. TLU improves to 4-1 on the season. The Wildcats fall to 2-4.


CONFERENCE STANDINGS
1      Mary Hardin-Baylor         5-0 (4-0 ASC)
2      Texas Lutheran               4-1 (4-0 ASC)
3      Hardin-Simmons             4-1 (3-1 ASC)
4      Southwestern                  3-2 (2-2 ASC)
4      East Texas Baptist          2-3 (2-2 ASC)
4      Sul Ross St.                    2-3 (2-2 ASC)
7      Louisiana College           2-4 (2-3 ASC)
8      Howard Payne                2-3 (1-3 ASC)
9      Belhaven                        1-5 (1-4 ASC)
10    McMurry                         0-5 (0-4 ASC)


Quotes from Coach John Pearce: October 15

Overall impressions from 21-9 win over Southwestern on October 5
Big win for the program. First time Sul Ross has beaten Southwestern. We played them I think three other times. Two close games, lost one in the final second. My first year we lost one 27-20 I believe. We had like seven turnovers, so that didn't help us. Last year they kind of handled us pretty well. So, it was good to get that big win. Trying to break through the middle of the pack programs in the ASC and they're one of them. We'll take it.
 
On defense's second conference game allowing fewer than 10 points
We've been working hard. Both sides of the ball really. Our players got to trust what we're coaching and teaching them and putting them in a position. They just have to execute and the defense really stepped up and kept us in the game. Offense stuck with it and finally had some big plays in the second half. 

On utilization/preparation during bye week
We practiced Tuesday and Wednesday. Basically, gave them some down time. Let them catch up on their school work. We were a little beat up. Obviously, it's week five of the season and everybody is beat up, it's football. The open week came at a great time for us to get some guys healed up. Now we're getting ready to turn our focus on to Louisiana College.

On Louisiana College's use of two quarterbacks
One's a freshmen (Palermo III) and ones a sophomore (Lalonde). I assume they'll probably start #4 (Palermo III). It seemed like he started last week. Both grown, both can throw the deep ball pretty well. They've got some talented receivers, we've got to reroute them. Be physical with them up front and we've got to stop the run. I think if we run to the ball defensively and play aggressive, create some turnovers, that will help our offense.
 
On Louisiana College's points scored vs. points allowed (15/42.2) and opportunity for offense to break out
I hope so. Definitely for sure. We've got to get Will going and the rest of the running backs. I think that will take some of the pressure off of Trey Johns and the receivers. When we have the opportunity to throw the ball we've got to throw and catch for sure.
 
On Williton Grear's back-to-back 100+ yard performances and difference in the position the last two weeks compared to the first three
The teams we were playing. First two weeks we played a top 10 program in Hardin-Simmons and then a D2 program. We kind of got back in play where we kind of match up pretty well with our opponent. That's what happens.
 
On opportunity to go over .500 in conference (3-2) and back to .500 on the season (3-3) with a win and message to the team
That's it. When I met with them Sunday night after our bye week I said "Hey, we've got five games left and we can make this thing really special." It depends how hard they want to work and focus and stay to the task. Louisiana is not going to be a pushover. We just can't go in there expecting they're going to give us the W for sure. We've got to go earn it and take it from them. I think we've got a real good opportunity in front of us.

On possible changes to physically/mentally prepare for a longer road trip
It's no difference. We travel on the road all the time. Our closest conference away game is five hours. It really doesn't matter. We'll leave Thursday night, drive all night. We're going to practice at the Independence Bowl Friday morning and then we'll make our way down to Alexandria which is right next to Pineville.