Commerce, Texas – The No.22 ranked Lion football team opened the season at Memorial Stadium on Thursday night, earning a convincing 48-17 victory over Adams State. 
 
In three season openers under the direction of head coach Colby Carthel, A&M-Commerce has outscored opponents 197-43.
 
The Lions return to action on Saturday, September 12, when they play host to the Gulf South Conference's Delta State – currently the No. 14 ranked team in the American Football Coaches Association Poll. The Blue and Gold will host their annual Hall of Fame Game, and kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.
 
Turning Point
- John Thomas rumbled in for a 20-yard touchdown catch with 9:13 left first half. Thomas broke through three tackles for the score.  Prior to the 4-play 42-yard drive the Lions had accumulated only 148 yards of total offense.  The score sparked a 24-point second quarter that saw the Lions take a 27-6 lead into the locker rooms.
 
Highlights
- Richard Cooper paved the way out of the backfield with 149 yards and one touchdown on 17 carries. 
 
- Theo Wofford ran 18 times for 97 yards and two scores.
 
- Darby Smith led the Lions in receiving with 86 yards and a touchdown on one catch that came during the second quarter surge.
 
- Lance Evans hauled in four catches for 39 yards.
 
- Harrison Stewart completed 17 of his 32 passes for 254 yards and three touchdowns.
 
- Freshman linebacker Brucks Saathoff paced the defense with nine tackles.
 
- Nine different Lions accounted for tackles in the Grizzles backfield.
 
- The Lions defense forced three turnovers.  Trey Porter and Chris Smith each had interceptions.  Both INTs resulted in points for the Lions.  Terrell Clinkscales forced and recovered a fumble.
 
Summary
1st Quarter
- Freshman kicker Kristov Martinez scored the first points in 2015 with a 23-yard field goal with 3:36 on the clock in the first quarter.
 
2nd Quarter
- Thomas rumbled for a 20-yard touchdown catch breaking tackles into the endzone.
 
- Stewart connected with Darby Smith for an 86-yard TD pass
 
- Porter makes a diving interception on a tipped pass to force the first turnover of the game.
 
- Martinez added his second field goal of the night, a 34-yarder that put the Lions up 20-0.
 
- Chris Chumlay hauled in a 24-touchdown pass from Harrison Stewart for an A&M-Commerce touchdown.
 
- Austin Hillman got the Grizzlies on the scoreboard, connecting with Chad Hovasse from nine yards out.
 
3rd Quarter
- After the Lions turned an onside kick into a big return, Richard Cooper gave the Lions their first rushing score of the season. The touchdown went for 27 yards.
 
- Grizzly kicker Zach Cimaglia hit a 25-yard field goal.
 
- Smith hauls in his INT to set up a 4-play, 14-yard scoring drive capped off by a Wofford two-yard touchdown.
 
4th Quarter
- Wofford hit paydirt again, this time from 19 yards out to end a 7-play, 54-yard drive.  The Clinkscales forced and recovered fumble started the Lion drive.
 
- Hovasse caught his second TD pass of the night, a quick hitter from Johnny Feauto, who Adams State used interchangeably throughout the game.
 
Inside the box score
- The Lions sent left tackle Elwood Clement, middle linebacker Cole Pitts, middle linebacker Charles Woods and quarterback Harrison Stewart out as captains.
 
- Martinez' field goal to open the scoring is the first time since the 2013 season the Lions opened the season with a field goal.
 
Thomas' finished with two catches for 34 yards … His 34 total yards surpassed his 26 yards in all of 2014.
 
- The Smith 86-yard touchdown reception was the longest play from scrimmage since October 26, 2013 against Tarleton State when Vernon Johnson scored on an 88-yard TD pass from Harrison Stewart … Stewart has five passes for over 50-yards.
 
- The victory marked the Lions' 200th all-time victory at Memorial Stadium.
 
- Kieston Carter's seven tackles set a new career-high for the linebacker who had only seen action in two games in 2014.
 
- Cooper's 149 rushing yards set a new career-high for the junior tailback … Wofford set new personal best with his 18 attempts … Wofford was six yards shy of his best yardage total of 103 set in the 2014 opener against East Texas Baptist … With the absence of the famed short-yardage truck package formerly run by QB Deric Davis, the Lions expect to have more carries in short-yardage and goal line situations by the running back tandem.
 
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.