COMMERCE - The No. 9 Texas A&M University-Commerce Lions will start the quest for their third straight Lone Star Conference championship this Thursday, hosting the University of Faith's Glory Eagles for the 2016 season opener.
WHO: University of Faith at Texas A&M University-Commerce
WHERE: Commerce, Texas | Memorial Stadium
WHEN: 7 p.m. on Thursday, September 1
RECORDS: This is the first game of the season for both teams.
RANKINGS: Texas A&M-Commerce is ranked No. 9 in the AFCA Coaches' Poll and No. 18 in the D2Football.com Media Poll
LIVE AUDIO: http://www.KETR.org, KETR 88.9 FM
LIVE VIDEO: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/tamucommerce/
LIVE STATS: http://statb.us/b/142704
STARTING OFF ON THE RIGHT FOOT
• The Lions have won their home opener in each of their first three seasons under head coach
Colby Carthel.
• The first game of the Carthel era was a 51-6 win over Sul Ross State in 2013, followed by the record-breaking 98-20 rout of East Texas Baptist in 2014.
• The third straight home-opening win came in 2015 with a 48-17 win over Adams State.
LIONS ARE PRESEASON FAVORITE
• The Lions have won the last two Lone Star Conference regular season titles and picked up 19 of 28 available first place votes. The Lions' 269 points in the poll placed them above second-ranked Midwestern State with 254 points and eight first place votes.
• The Lions are entering their fourth season under the direction of head coach
Colby Carthel and have won 24 games in Carthel's first three seasons.
• Texas A&M-Commerce won all six LSC regular season games last season on the way to the Lions' first NCAA berth since 1995.
• A&M-Commerce has won its last seven regular season LSC games and the last six regular season LSC games played at Memorial Stadium.
COOPER ON THE LOOSE
• Senior running back
Richard Cooper (Angleton HS) enters the 2016 season ranked sixth in school history in career rushing yardage with 11 games of 100 or more rushing yards in his storied career.
• He is one of the top returning running backs in Division II this season in multiple categories.
NCAA Division II Career Ranks for Returning Leaders (entering 2016 season)
| Category |
Stat |
D2 Rank |
SR4 |
| Total Rushing Yardage |
2,170 |
15th |
3rd |
| Yards Per Game |
86.1 |
10th |
3rd |
| Yards Per Carry |
6.1 |
9th |
4th |
• Cooper was named the Lone Star Conference's Preseason Offensive Player of the Year in July after earning the LSC's Offensive Back of the Year award in his junior season.
• He is widely considered to be an All-American candidate this year as he looks to climb up the A&M-Commerce record books.
CARTHEL'S FIRST THREE YEARS
• Head coach
Colby Carthel has had unprecedented success in his first three seasons at Texas A&M-Commerce in comparison to previous coaches for the Lions.
• Only M.A. Smith from 1951-53 and Bob Berry from 1935-37 have higher winning percentages in their first three seasons. Only Smith has more victories in the first three seasons in Commerce.
• Carthel is the only coach at A&M-Commerce to go to the postseason in each of his three seasons. Smith took the Lions to a pair of Tangerine Bowls, but did not reach the postseason in his first year.
| Coach |
First 3 Seasons |
Record |
Winning Pct |
| M.A. Smith |
1951-53 |
30-2-1 |
.924 |
| Bob Berry |
1935-37 |
22-6-1 |
.776 |
| Colby Carthel |
2013-15 |
24-12 |
.667 |
| Eddie Brister |
1999-2001 |
16-17 |
.485 |
| J.W. Rollins |
1931-33 |
11-12-2 |
.480 |
| Scottie Conley |
2004-06 |
14-16 |
.467 |
| J.V. Sikes |
1954-56 |
13-15-2 |
.467 |
| Ernest Hawkins |
1964-66 |
11-15-2 |
.429 |
| Russell Jernigan |
1921-23 |
9-13-1 |
.380 |
| Eddie Vowell |
1986-88 |
12-21 |
.364 |
| Guy Morriss |
2009-11 |
9-22 |
.290 |
| Joe Murphy |
1924-26 |
5-21-1 |
.204 |
DOLEZEL TO BE HONORED AT HALFTIME
• Former East Texas State quarterback Clint Dolezel is an inductee into the Texas A&M-Commerce Athletic Hall of Fame in 2016. He will be honored at halftime of Thursday's contest.
• At ETSU, Dolezel was a two-time all-Lone Star Conference honoree, earning second team all-conference honors in 1992 and 1993. In his two seasons with the Lions, he completed 249-of-483 passes with 23 touchdown passes and 22 interceptions. The Lions were 13-9 in Dolezel's time under center.
• Following his time in Commerce, Dolezel plied his trade in arena football as quarterback for the Milwaukee Mustangs (1995-97), Texas Terror (1997), Houston Thunderbears (1998-99), Grand Rapids Rampage (2001-03), Las Vegas Gladiators (2004-05), and the Dallas Desperados (2006-08). In 13 seasons, he completed 66 percent of his passes for 44,559 yards with 931 touchdowns.
• He was a three-time All-Arena selection (2001, 2006-2007) during his playing career and voted the No. 8 Greatest Player and No. 5 Greatest Quarterback in AFL History by the Silver Anniversary Committee in 2012.
• In 2001, he guided the Grand Rapids Rampage to the XV ArenaBowl championship. Dolezel was inducted into the Arena Football League's Hall of Fame on April 12, 2013.
• Dolezel entered the coaching ranks as the offensive coordinator of the Florida Firecats in 2009 and led the Dallas Vigilantes to an 11-7 record in 2011 in his first season as head coach.
• He has been the head coach of the Philadelphia Soul since 2013 and has led the team to a 49-21 record in four seasons and in 2016, Dolezel led the Soul to the ArenaBowl XXIX Championship.
DEPTH STEPS UP
• Despite an abundance of talent returning from the 2015 playoff squad, not many Lions were in the starting lineup for the Ferris State playoff game.
• Only six A&M-Commerce players were starters in the snow in Michigan, all on the offensive side of the ball.
RECEIVERS LOOK FOR CONTINUED SUCCESS
• Senior wide receivers
Lance Evans and
Darby Smith were two of the top receivers in the Lone Star Conference in 2015 and will look to build on outstanding numbers from last season.
• Evans (Mansfield HS) ranked third in total receiving yardage with 986 yards on 50 catches and also ranked fourth in the conference in receiving yards per game with 82.2. His 19.7 yards per catch average was tops in the league amongst players with double digit catches and his eight touchdown catches tied for third in the league.
• Evans was a first team all-Lone Star Conference honoree in 2015
• Smith (Ennis HS) finished sixth in the league with 72.3 receiving yards per game with 868 yards on his 45 catches. His total yardage ranked fourth in the league, right behind Evans. He also scored eight receiving touchdowns to tie for third in the league and his 19.3 yards per catch average tied for second in the conference amongst regulars.
• Smith was a second team all-Lone Star Conference honoree in 2015.
PRESEASON AFCA RANKING NEAR PROGRAM-BEST
• The Lions are ranked ninth in the nation in Division II according to the American Football Coaches Association Preseason Poll.
• A&M-Commerce is tied for the ninth position in the poll with Henderson State.
• The ranking of ninth is the second-best ranking for A&M-Commerce since the AFCA Division II Poll began in 2000.
• The Lions were ranked eighth nationally on October 26, 2015, and have now been ranked in 14 straight polls, going back to the 2015 preseason poll.
• This is A&M-Commerce's 20th all-time appearance in the AFCA Top 25.
ALL-LSC STARS RETURN TO LINEUP
• Of A&M-Commerce's 27 all-Lone Star Conference players from 2015, 10 return to the lineup for the 2016 campaign.
FIRST TEAM
Richard Cooper - RB
Lance Evans - WR
Buck Wilson - RS
SECOND TEAM
Jason Osei - OL
Darby Smith - WR
Cameron Rogers - DS
HONORABLE MENTION
Avery Poates - OL
Chris Chumley - A
Kristov Martinez-Garcia - K
Kieston Carter - DL
ON A ROLL ON OPENING NIGHT
• Texas A&M-Commerce is 52-44-2 all-time in season openers after winning each of the last three season openers.
• The last time the Lions won more than three season openers consecutively was from 1988-93, when East Texas State won six straight season openers.
• This is the third straight year the Lions have opened on a Thursday night and the fourth straight year A&M-Commerce opens the season at home.
RARITY RETURNING
• A&M-Commerce All-American running back
Richard Cooper is just the fifth Lion running back to come back for the season following a 1,000-yard season.
• Three Lions repeated their 1,000-yard season with another such milestone year.
ARTHUR JAMES
1968 - Jr. - 1,538 yards
1969 - Sr. - 1,334 yards
AUNDRA THOMPSON
1974 - Jr. - 1,086 yards
1975 - Sr. - 1,796 yards
RICKY DIRKS
1982 - So. - 1,070 yards
1983 - Jr. - 1,299 yards
1984 - Sr. - 370 yards
CLIFF EDWARDS
2005 - Jr. - 1,041 yards
2006 - Sr. - 945 yards
RICHARD COOPER
2015 - Jr. - 1,380 yards
2016 - Sr. - ??? yards
WHAT COUNTS TONIGHT?
• Prior to the 2015-16 academic year, the University of Faith was named as a "non-countable opponent" for NCAA statistics.
• As such, the game will count towards the Lions' win-loss record as a non-region, non-Division II game.
• Statistics from the Faith game will not be applied towards the Lions' individual or team statistics for the season or career.
UNDER ARMOUR RELATIONSHIP TO BE CELEBRATED
• In the spring of 2016, Lion Athletics entered into the first institutional comprehensive partnership with Under Armour in all of NCAA Division II.
• While Lion student-athletes are already benefiting from the partnership and receiving a Best In Class experience due to the partnership, there are also institutional benefits and other brand engagement and marketing initiatives.
• A special presentation recognizing Under Armour will take place prior to the game.
PROMOTIONS FOR THURSDAY'S GAME
•
Thursday's game has been designated as Student Appreciation Night. The first 3,000 active students through the gate will receive an Under Armour #SeeYouAtTheGame t-shirt, thanks to Student Affairs and Athletics.
• The game has also been designated as Faith and Family Night. Local churches have been invited to the contest.
• The volleyball team will also be recognized during the contest. The Lions' volleyball team's first matches are Friday and Saturday at the Texas Woman's University Hilton Garden Innvitational.
• Also during the contest, State Representative Dan Flynn and representatives from the office of State Senator Bob Hall will welcome Texas A&M-Commerce Police Chief Donna Spinato and City of Commerce Police Chief Kerry Crews, along with members of their respective police forces as Community Pillars.
• The academic partner for the game is the School of Agriculture. Various members of the School of Agriculture, including the rodeo team, will be recognized throughout the evening.
