A&M-Commerce Lions vs. McMurry War Hawks
Saturday, October 19 • 6 p.m.
Memorial Stadium • Commerce, Texas
Records: A&M-Commerce (4-2); McMurry (1-5)

Video: LionAthletics.com (subscription required)
Radio: KETR 88.9 FM (listen online at KETR.org)
Live Stats: LionAthletics.com
Twitter Updates: @Lion_Athletics
A&M-Commerce Game Notes (PDF)

Opening Kick
After a two-game road swing, A&M-Commerce returns to Memorial Stadium this Saturday, hosting McMurry at 6 p.m. The Lions and War Hawks renew an old school Lone Star Conference rivalry as the two schools meet for the first time since 1971.

Lions on the Web
Fans unable to make it to Memorial Stadium for Saturday's showdown with the War Hawks can still catch every Lion play. Live video will be available at LionAthletics.com, powered by Stretch Internet, with a subscription required. KETR 88.9 FM will carry the game live with Charlie Chitwood and Brock Callaway on the call, and will be streamed online at KETR.org. Live stats will be available at LionAthletics.com while Twitter followers can get in-game updates @Lion_Athletics.

Scouting the War Hawks
Roster • Statistics
2013: 1-5 overall
Last Week: Lost to Midwestern State, 66-20, in Wichita Falls, Texas
Head Coach: Mason Miller (Valdosta State, '99). First season at McMurry (1-5, .167)
Key Offensive Players:
• #16 Gabe Rodriguez (Fr., QB): 106-of-185 (57.3%) for 1,213 yards (202.2 avg.), 18 TDs, 6 INTs
• #3 Chris Simpson (Jr., RB): 84 rushes for 390 yards (4.6 avg.), 3 TDs, long of 40
• #5 Paxton Grayer (So., RB): 45 rushes for 366 yards (8.1 avg.), 3 TDs, long of 72
• #10 Jeret Smith (Jr., WR): 44 catches for 686 yards (15.6 avg.), 7 TDs, long of 80
Key Defensive Players:
• #17 Desmond Guy (Jr., DB): 66 tackles (44 solo), 2.0 TFL, 2 PBU, 1 FR
• #21 Jonathan Blair (Jr., LB): 53 tackles (33 solo), 8.0 TFL, 2.0 sacks, 2 INT, 2 PBU, 2 QBH
• #2 Cory Pippen (Sr., DB): 33 tackles (19 solo), 3.5 TFL, 1.0 sacks, 2 INT, 2 PBU
• #91 Markell Rice (Sr., DT): 32 tackles (18 solo), 4.5 TFL, 1.0 sacks, 1 PBU, 1 FF
Synopsis: McMurry enters Saturday's game with a 1-5 mark on the year, including an 0-3 record against Lone Star Conference opponents, The War Hawks, who will become a football-only member of the LSC next season, dropped a 52-32 decision at Texas A&M-Kingsville, lost at home to Angelo State 48-35 before succombing to 25th-ranked Midwestern State 66-20 last week. McMurry comes into the week averaging 28.3 points per game and have a balanced offensive attack, averaging 163.5 rushing and 276.3 passing yards per game. But the War Hawk defense has struggled through the first half of 2013, giving up 50.5 points, 340.2 rushing and 208.2 passing yards per game.

Series Information
A&M-Commerce and McMurry get together for the 15th time Saturday as the two schools use to wage battle on a yearly basis as Lone Star Conference opponents. The Lions have a 9-5 edge in the all-time series, including a 53-6 decision at Memorial Stadium in 1971, the last meeting between the two schools. A&M-Commerce has been consistently strong against McMurry at home, posting a 6-1 all-time mark against the War Hawks in Commerce as its only loss was a 40-0 decision in 1927, the first-ever meeting between the two schools.

Chennault Cup Stays In Commerce Behind 41-28 Victory Over Javelinas
The Chennault Cup will stay in Commerce for one more season as A&M-Commerce earned a decisive 41-28 victory at Texas A&M-Kingsville Saturday evening. The final score made the game seem closer than it actually was as the Lions took a 27-7 lead into the halftime break and led 41-7 midway through the fourth quarter before the Javelinas scored three late touchdowns. A&M-Commerce held the vaunted A&M-Kingsville rushing attack in check, holding the Javelinas to a grand total of -14 yards rushing for the game, a far cry from the 223.3 yards the Javelinas were averaging heading into the game. It marks the first time in the history of the Chennault Cup the Lions have defeated the Javelinas in back-to-back seasons.

A Long Time Coming
The victory over Texas A&M-Kingsville Saturday evening brought to a close a handful of streaks A&M-Commerce is happy to see fall by the wayside. The 41-28 win at Javelina Stadium was the Lions' first road win in the state of Texas since a 17-9 victory at Angelo State in 2006, a streak of 15 games. It was A&M-Commerce's first victory in Kingsville since a 30-24 victory in 2001 and marks the first time the Lions have won two-straight games against their South Texas rivals since the 1990 and 1991 seasons, closing A&M-Kingsville's gap in the all-time series to 36-24-1 (.402).

Frosch Etches His Name In Lion Record Book
Senior punter Cameron Frosch has been a constant for A&M-Commerce for the last four seasons, and now has his name etched among the Lion all-time greats. With a 40-yard punt early in the third quarter against A&M-Kingsville Saturday evening, Frosch became the program's all-time punting leader, sitting at 9,447 yards and surpassing Dan Roberson's previous mark of 9,332 from 1983-86. The LSC Special Teams Player of the Week on October 7th, Frosch ranks third in the conference in punting average (41.3 ypp).

Scoring In All Three Facets
One of the mantras of head coach Colby Carthel is to get production in all three facets of the game, and it is something the Lions have taken to heart. Of the five touchdowns A&M-Commerce scored against A&M-Kingsville Saturday, three game on offense (two rushing, one passing), one came on defense with special teams adding another. Holding a 13-7 lead with less than a minute to play in the opening half, sophomore Dionte Taylor blocked a Javelina punt and returned it 21 yards to give the Lions a 20-7 lead. Three plays later, junior Cameron Napoleon intercepted an A&M-Kingsville pass and rushed 52 yards to the endzone, breaking the game open as A&M-Commerce took a 27-7 lead into halftime. It marks the third game this season the Lions have recorded a touchdown on offense, defense and special teams, accomplishing the feat against Sul Ross State (Sept. 7) and Delta State (Sept. 13).

Stewart Stepping In
Junior quarterback Harrison Stewart put together his best outing in a Lion uniform against the Javelinas Saturday, accounting for three of A&M-Commerce's five offensive touchdowns. Stewart scored twice on the ground from inside the five-yard line, then connected with junior Jordon Jenkins for a 46-yard strike early in the fourth quarter, essentially putting the game away as A&M-Commerce held a 41-7 lead. Stewart completed five of his six passes for 76 yards and the touchdown strike after starter Tyrik Rollison left the game with an injury midway through the third quarter.

Rushing Game Gaining Steam
One of the biggest question marks over the past few years has been A&M-Commerce's rushing game, but it is an area that is starting to gain steam. True freshman Ki-Janaven Garrett posted a career-best effort against the Javelinas with 80 rushing yards on 24 attempts, besting his previous-best of 78 yards against Midwestern State. Richard Cooper, the other true freshman runner for the Lions, carried six times for 29 yards, and now has 55 rushing yards in his first two games as a Lion.

Taylor Does It Again
Sophomore defensive back Dionte Taylor has suited in two games in his short A&M-Commerce career, but has  made a huge impact in both of those games. Taylor has notched a touchdown on a blocked punt in each of the last two Lion victories, returning a 23-yarder against Southeastern Oklahoma last week and logging a 21-yard score against A&M-Kingsville Saturday evening. Both of those returns came in key moments, giving the Lions a two-score advantage over both the Savage Storm and Javelinas as the walk-on is now tied as the national leader in punt returns for a touchdowns.

Defensive Unit Continuing To Dominate
One of the major strengths of the 2013 Lions has been the play of its defense and its ability to put pressure on the opposing teams' offensive backfield. A&M-Commerce sits as the national leader in tackles for loss, averaging 12.2 per game, and is second in sacks at 5.17 per game. Against A&M-Kingsville, the Lions flexed their muscles once again, posting seven sacks and 15 tackles for loss against the Javelinas while holding the A&M-Kingsville rushing attack, which came into the game averaging over 220 yards per game, to -14 yards on the evening.

Johnson Making His Mark
Junior wide receiver Vernon Johnson continues to make a strong argument as the Lone Star Conference's Newcomer of the Year. The Fort Worth native ranks among the LSC leaders in five different categories, including leading the conference in both receiving yards (111.2) and all-purpose (144.4) yards per game, while sitting second in both receptions per game (5.8) and kick return average (27.7).

Claggett Closing in on 200
Senior linebacker Matt Claggett has been a constant in the Lion defensive backfield for the past four seasons and continues to inch closer to an impressive career milestone. With his three tackles at A&M-Kingsville Saturday evening, Claggett upped his career tackle total to 185, leaving him just 15 shy of reaching the 200-tackle plateau. The senior from Rockwall has risen up as one of the leaders on the A&M-Commerce defensive unit in 2013, leading A&M-Commerce with 35 tackles on the season, including 16 solo stops, highlighted by his career-best 15 tackles in the upset victory over 25th-ranked Delta State at AT&T Stadium on September 13th.

Don't Mess With Tuaau
Junior nose tackle Charles Tuaau is quickly becoming one of the Lone Star Conference's most feared defensive players, and for good reason. The 6-5, 310-pounder has recorded 15 tackles of the year, 11.5 of which have been tackles for loss including seven sacks. Tuaau, who is the cousin of fellow defensive lineman Frazer Taua, leads the Lone Star Conference in both sacks (1.17) and tackles for loss (1.92) per game while ranking 10th and 11th respectively nationally in the two categories.

Lions Rank Among National Leaders
As the 2013 season reaches the halfway point, A&M-Commerce continues to rank among the national leaders in a number of categories as both a team and individuals. As a team, A&M-Commerce leads the nations in both tackles for loss per game (12.2) and blocked punts (four) while ranking second in sacks per game (5.17) and blocked kicks (five). Individually, sophomore Dionte Taylor leads the nation in punt returns for a touchdown (two) while junior Ronald Fields ranks seventh nationally in passes defended per game (1.8). Junior Charles Tuaau ranks 10th in the nation in sacks per game (1.2) and 11th in tackles for loss per game (1.9) while his defensive line counterpart Tevin Moore ranks 19th (0.9) and 21st (1.7) respectively. Junior wide receiver Vernon Johnson has also made his mark, ranking 17th in all of Division II in receiving yards per game (111.2) and 20th in receiving touchdowns (six).

Lions Among Lone Star Conference Leaders
A&M-Commerce continues to rank among the Lone Star Conference leaders in both the team and individual standings in a handful of categories. As a team, the Lions rank first in the LSC in rushing defense (103.8 ypg), and sacks (31) while sitting second overall in passing offense (295.0), passing efficiency (142.8) and opponent third down conversion percentage (31.8%). Individually, 11 Lions rank among the Lone Star Conference leaders in 14 categories, highlighed by Charles Tuaau leading the LSC in both tackles for loss (1.92) and sacks (1.17) per game, Vernon Johnson ranking first in both receiving yards (111.2) and all-purpose yards (144.4) per game and Ronald Fields maintaining his lead as the Lone Star Conference's passes defended leader (1.83).

Looking Ahead
It's back on the road for A&M-Commerce as the Lions face arguably one of its toughest road trips of the season, heading to Stephenville to battle LSC-leading Tarleton State on Saturday, October 26th. Opening kick against the Texans is set for 7 p.m. The Lions' next home game will be on Saturday, November 2nd, when A&M-Commerce hosts Angelo State for Homecoming, kicking off against the Rams at 2 p.m. at Memorial Stadium.

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