Texas A&M University-Commerce
dropped a 30-14 decision to Northwestern State in Natchitoches,
Louisiana at Turpin Stadium on Saturday night.
In the loss, the Lions (0-1) outgained the Demons by 302 to 289 but
it was two fumbles and an interception that led host NSU to the
victory. Northwestern State quarterback John Hundley threw for 83
yards and a touchdown and ran for another 83 yards and a touchdown
in the win. Texas A&M-Commerce quarterback Terry
Mayo completed 16 of 39 passes for 279 yards and two
touchdown passes to Willie Thornton. The tandem of
Mayo and Thornton combined for 141 yards including a 65-yard
touchdown strike in the second quarter and a 48-yard reception
in the third quarter.
In the loss, A&M-Commerce running backs Nabil
El-Amin and James Jamison each had
over 100 yards of all-purpose yardage. El-Amin added 127
and Jamison added 112. Senior linebacker Andrew
Gamboa anchored a Lions defense with 12 tackles and senior
safety Alex Contreras added nine tackles,
forced and recovered a fumble. Senior punter Daniel
Swaim punted the ball seven times for an average of 46.7
yards a kick.
After the two teams exchanged touchdowns, NSU went ahead 10-7 on a
29-yard field goal by Robert Weeks after a 14 play, 53-yard drive.
Following the ensuing kickoff, the Lions had a snap that went into
the end zone and recovered by the Demons' Josh Daniels for a
17-7 advantage with 6:15 left in the opening half.
In the third quarter, the Demons
extended the margin to 17, 24-7, when safety Gary Riggs stepped in
front of a Mayo screen pass for a 29-yard interception return. The
Lions managed to cut the deficit to 14, 24-14, when Mayo found
Thornton for his second touchdown reception of the contest. On the
reception, Thornton fought off the NSU defender and bobbled it
before coming down with it to complete the 48-yard touchdown
strike. Northwestern State put the final points of the board in the
fourth quarter when Hundley scored on a three-yard touchdown run
and the point-after attempt failed.
Next, A&M-Commerce will take on Angelo State for its home
opener on Saturday, September 6 at Memorial Stadium at 7:00 p.m.
