For the 42^nd time in the schools' histories, Sul Ross and No. 6/7 Hardin-Simmons University will meet on the football field. This is the first time since 2004 they will start the season against each other. Kickoff is set for 6:00 p.m. at Jackson Field in Alpine.

Media Information
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Live Stats…….  https://srlobos.com/sidearmstats/football/summary

2018 Recap

Sul Ross is coming off a 1-9 season (1-8 ASC) in 2018.

Sul Ross opened the 2018 season with a 42-20 loss on the road to NAIA Arizona Christian. 
 
Back home, the Lobos fell 68-7 to runner-up Mary Hardin-Baylor before dropping one on the road 35-24 against McMurry.
 
The Lobos would fall in back-to-back home games to Louisiana College and Southwestern 49-16 and 55-7.
 
Back on the road, Hardin-Simmons defeated the Lobos 48-27 before the Sully got their first win of the season on homecoming night against Howard Payne 28-27.
 
The Lobos would lose their next to on the road to East Texas Baptist and Texas Luther 60-14 and 63-20 before losing the final game at the season at home 8-0 to Belhaven.
  
Head Coach John Pearce goes into his sixth season at the helm. Offensive Coordinator Tyler Card enters his third year at the position while Michael Vite starts his second year as defensive coordinator.
 
First year coaches include Connor Simmons and Miles Brandon. 
 
Simmons will serve as Quarterbacks/Wide Receivers Coach. He coached quarterbacks at Shepherd University while serving as a graduate assistant from 2017-2018. Shepherd finished 10-1 in 2017 and won a conference championship in the MEC. Quarterback Connor Jessop at Shepherd finished with 38 passing touchdowns (47 total) and nine interceptions.
 
Brandon, Defensive Line Coach, most recently coached at Hempstead High School from 2016-2017 before joining the Lobos. There he had four First Team All-District Defensive Lineman in 2016 and one First Team All-District Linebacker in 2017.
 
Former Lobo All-American and 2012 ASC Offensive Player of the Year Dominique Carson returns to Alpine as Running Backs Coach.
 
The Lobos are also joined by first year Graduate Assistants Jeremy Stoessner and Quanteze Gallon and first year Student Assistant/Head Equipment Zachary Juarez.


Key Offensive Starters Lost
Byron Jones (WR)- A 2018 ASC Honorable Mention, Jones led all Lobos receivers in receptions (48), yards (447), touchdowns (4), and yards per game (44.70). Jones still holds the ASC single game receiving yards record of 285 as a freshman against Wayland Baptist University in 2015.

Key Defensive Starters Lost
Fentrese Milligan (DL)- A 2018 ASC Second Team All-Conference selection, Milligan finished his senior season with 58 tackles, 36 solo, and a team best 4.5 sacks.

Jacques Wisner (LB)- A 2018 ASC Honorable Mention, Wisner also finished up his collegiate career in 2018 with a second team best 78 tackles, 39 solo, a team high 10.5 tackles for loss and two sacks.
 
Key Returning Offensive Starters
Williton Grear (RB)- A 2018 ASC Second Team All-Conference selection, Gear led the Lobos and was fifth in the conference in rushing yards with 753. Grear scored five touchdowns on 142 carriers for an average of 5.3 yards per carry and 75.3 yards per game.

Key Returning Defensive Starters
Levah Tarry (LB)- A 2018 Outstanding Sportsman Team of the Year selection, Tarry led the Lobos and was sixth in the conference in tackles with 75 including 43 solo and two sacks.


Scouting the Cowboys

• Hardin-Simmons finished the 2018 season with a 9-2 overall record and 8-1 in the American Southwest Conference.
• HSU started 2018 campaign with a 4-0 record before dropping their only conference game in week 5 against Mary Hardin-Baylor 26-0.
• After the loss to UMHB, the Cowboys finished the regular season on a five-game win streak and 9-1 on the regular season.
• The Cowboys met the Crusaders in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and fell 27-6 to the eventual NCAA champs.
• With the departure of starting quarterback Ty Hooper, the Cowboys look to replace the 240 yards and 24 touchdowns lost. 
• The Cowboys also lost their leading receiver Reese Childress. The senior tallied a team best in receptions (72), yards (897), touchdowns (10). receptions per game (6.5) and yards per game (81.5)
• Defensively, the Cowboys lost their top three tacklers. Chris Miller totaled a team best 95 tackles, 52 solo and 1.5 sacks. Eriq Mitchell notched 62 tackles with 30 solo and 1.5 sacks. Zach Richardson had 49 tackles with 25 solo and two interceptions.

Series History

• The Cowboys lead the all-time series, 38-3.
• In their last meeting in 2018, the Lobos fell 48-27 in Abilene.
• Fabian Baeza connected on 27 of 47 passes for 205 yards and two touchdowns.
• Williton Grear rushed 21 times for 156 yards and a touchdown.
• The Lobos last victory against the Cowboys was a 27-21 win in 1997.

Around the ASC

9/7      Howard Payne at Austin College, 1:00 p.m.
9/7      East Texas Baptist at UW-Platteville, 1:00 p.m.
9/7      Southwestern at Sewanee, 1:00 p.m.
9/7      Louisiana College at Stetson, 6:00 p.m.
 

Quotes from Coach John Pearce
 
On heading into week 1
We had a good camp. Don't compare us from last year to this year's team. 60% of our roster is totally different from last year. I thought we had our best training camp going into my sixth year. Guys are working hard, they want to get better. I think this core has something special going. We practice really hard. They want to get better and they're working towards it. It doesn't get easy playing Hardin-Simmons. Great program, you can look at their record against Sul Ross. But that's okay, we know where we've been and what direction we're going and anything can happen on a Saturday.
 
On the QB situation and entrance of QB Coach Connor Simmons
He's (Simmons) a quarterback guy. I think we saw great improvements over all four of our quarterbacks starting with Fabian, Clayton, Jorge is new to our program and Trey is a freshman. They are four guys right now. It's really just being consistent. All four quarterbacks have improved, they still got a long way to go, we're just looking for consistency out of that position.
 
On having Dominique Carson on staff
I think it's good. He relates to our running backs, he knows the position. They understand what he was here as a player. His name is in our locker room. It's definitely a big impact.
 
On last year's "Young Team" label
Last year and this year we are a young team for sure. Last year it was more "I guys," this year it's more "team guys" and that's what I'm excited about. These guys come to work. We had our best Tuesday practice yesterday. Hopefully we can have a great one today and just keep grinding every single day. I told them, I said the way they're working and doing things the right way we're going to flip this conference back the way it was a couple years ago. Get us back into the middle of the pack or even higher. I don't know if it will happen this week, I don't know if it will the week after, but it's going to happen soon. They're doing what we want them to and that's great. It's not like we're making them do it. They want to get better and they want to work. We don't have guys missing our early morning meetings. The discipline side of it has been on the low side and becoming a better football team is on the high side.