Commerce, Texas – No. 11 A&M-Commerce finished its Lone Star Conference slate with a perfect 6-0 record after creating five turnovers in a 27-14 win over No. 10 ranked Midwestern State Saturday in Memorial Stadium to claim the program's 22nd conference championship.
 
Turning Point
- The Lions defense stepped up in the biggest way creating three fourth quarter turnovers. Brucks Saathoff picked off a pass on the first play in the fourth frame to set up a Lions field goal.  The Mustangs fumbled a handoff only to see Tyree Barton pounce on the loose ball with 11:12 on the clock in the quarter, and Darian Lindsey sealed the game with an interception with 2:54 left.
 
Highlights
- The Lions defense forced five turnovers in the game.
 
- Harrison Stewart completed 11 of his 20 passes for 193 yards and a touchdown. Gabriel Rodriguez completed his only pass for a touchdown.
 
- Richard Cooper ran for 100 yards on 21 carries with a long of 27, while running back mate Theo Wofford accounted for 73 yards on 21 carries.
 
- Derrick Macon led the Lions with three catches for 28 yards, while Darby Smith caught two passes for 84 yards.  Lance Evans, two catches for 35 yards, and Buck Wilson, one catch for 11 yards, caught the two Lion touchdown passes.
 
- Cole Pitts led the defense with nine tackles, a forced fumble, a pass break up and an interception.
 
- Tyree Barton accounted for two tackles for loss, two quarterback hurries and a fumble recovery.
 
- Lindsey and Saathoff provided the Lions other two INTs. 
 
- Lindsey and Demarlon also caused fumbles.
 
Summary
1st Quarter
- The Lions got a huge stop on third down after Steven Baker broke up a pass that would have been an MSU score. A&M-Commerce responded with an 8-play, 82-yard drive that took off 3:33 from the clock that ended with a Gabriel Rodriguez one-yard run.
 
2nd Quarter
-  A&M-Commerce marched down the field with a 5-play, 46-yard scoring drive. Cooper had runs of 10 yards, 15 yards and 17 yards on the drive that ended with a two-yard pass from Rodriguez to Evans to give the Lions a 14-0 lead with 13:15 left in the second quarter.
 
- Cole Pitts picked off an MSU pass to set the Lions up for a 9-play, 63-yard scoring drive that lasted two minutes.  On 4th and 3 from the MSU 18 yard line, Trever Lasseter hit Theo Wofford for a 7-yard pass to pick up the first down and keep the drive alive. Stewart hit Buck Wilson on a slant in the end zone to give the Lions a 21-0 lead with 29 seconds left before the half.
 
3rd Quarter
- The Mustangs came out of the half with a 13-play, 72-yard scoring drive that lasted 5:36 and ended in Derek Lockhart 13-yard touchdown pass from Quade Coward.
 
- After short Lion punt gave the Mustangs the ball at A&M-Commerce 18 yard line, MSU trimmed A&M-Commerce lead down to 21-14 when Lockhart recovered a Coward fumble in the end zone with 4:59 left in the third.
 
- The Lions responded with an 11-play, 57-yard drive that resulted in a 35-yard Kristov Martinez field goal on the final play of the frame.
 
4th Quarter
- After a Brucks Saathoff interception, A&M-Commerce extended the lead out to 27-14 after a 44-yard Chase Thrasher field goal with 14:02 left in the game.
 
Inside the box score
- With the win, the Lions improve to 7-1 on the season and 6-0 in the LSC claiming the program's 22nd title and first back-to-back championship run since the 1958-59 seasons.  The 22 LSC titles is the second most in conference history. 
 
- The win gave the Lions a 6-0 record in the Lone Star Conference.  It is the first time since 1990 the Lions have gone undefeated in the LSC play and the 11th time in program history.
 
- With his 100 yards, Cooper became the first Lion to rush for over 1,000 yards in a season since 2005, when Cliff Edwards ran for 1,041 yards.  On the year, Cooper has 1,017 yards which is 13th on the Lions single-season rushing record list. He needs just 12 yards to move into 12th ahead of Craig Powell's 1,029 yards in 1972 and 24 yards to move into 11th place head of Cliff Edwards' 1,041 yards in 2005. 
 
- Pitts' pick in the second quarter was his first of the season and second of his career. His last INT came against West Texas A&M on October 18, 2014.
 
- Saathoff, a freshman linebacker, intercepted his first pass as a Lion.
 
- Darian Lindsey's interception was his first of the season and fourth of his career.
 
- Tre'von Taylor earned at least one sack in his second straight game after a two-sack performance at West Texas.  Taylor leads the Lions with five and a half sacks on the season giving him 12.5 for his career.  The sophomore is five sacks away from breaking the Lion career sacks record set by Tevin Moore from 2011 to 2013.
 
- Thrasher's 44-yard field goal tied the longest of the season and of his career.  His other 44-yard field goal came against Delta State on September 12.
 
- Commerce native Buck Wilson caught his first touchdown pass in second quarter.  A week ago Wilson rushed for his first offensive touchdown.
 
- Jeremiah Walters tied his career-high with six tackles. 
 
What's Next?
- The Lions will step out of the LSC and out of the NCAA Division II ranks with a road trip down to FCS Sam Houston State Saturday, October 31.  The game will be aired Fox College Sports and the Fox Sports Go app.  Kickoff against the No. 10 ranked Bearkats is slated for 6 p.m.
 
- The win also clinched the Lions the No. 1 seed in the Lone Star Conference Playoffs for the second straight season. A&M-Commerce will host the No. 4 seeded team on Saturday, November 7 at 3 p.m. The win also guaranteed the Lions a home game on Saturday, November 14 in either the LSC Playoff Championship or the third place game.  With one week remaining in conference play, the Lions will await their opponent for the Nov. 7 opening round matchup.
 
Fans can follow all the action from the 2015-16 season on www.LionAthletics.com, through twitter @Lion_Athletics and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/LionsAthletics.