COMMERCE - The No. 8 Texas A&M University-Commerce Lions' football team travels to No. 12 Winona (Minn.) State University to open the NCAA Division II Football Championship in a battle of one-loss teams in the regional quarterfinal round.

WHO: Texas A&M University-Commerce at Winona State University
WHERE: Winona, Minn. | Altira Federal Credit Union Stadium
WHEN: 1 p.m. on Saturday, November 18
RECORDS: A&M-Commerce is 9-1 overall. Winona State is 10-1 overall.
RANKINGS: A&M-Commerce is ranked No. 8 in the AFCA Coaches' Poll and the D2Football.com Media Poll. Winona State is ranked No. 12 in the AFCA Coaches' Poll and No. 11 in the D2Football.com Media Poll.
SEEDINGS: A&M-Commerce is the fifth seed in Super Region Four. Winona State is the fourth seed. The winner of this game advances to the regional semifinal to play at top-seeded Central Washington, which received a bye.

LIVE AUDIO: Lion Sports Network -- KETR 88.9 FM, Commerce (http://www.ketr.org)
LIVE VIDEO: HERE
LIVE STATS: HERE
TICKETS: HERE

VISIT PLAYOFF CENTRAL FOR INFORMATION ON WATCH PARTIES, ETC.

LIONS QUALIFY FOR 5TH STRAIGHT POSTSEASON
• The Lions have qualified for the NCAA Division II Playoffs for the third consecutive season and will play in the postseason for the fifth straight season.
• The Lions have made 14 overall trips to the postseason with a 10-7-1 record.
 
STILL PUSHING #ToTheTop
• The Lions ended the regular season at No. 8 in the nation in both the AFCA and D2Football.com polls.
• A&M-Commerce has been ranked in 38 straight AFCA polls, dating back to the 2015 preseason poll. 
• This is A&M-Commerce's 44th all-time appearance in the AFCA poll since its inception in 2000.
 
LIONS TAKE OVER LSC LEAD IN ALL-TIME WINS
• The Lion victory over Tarleton was their 304th Lone Star Conference victory in football action.
• A&M-Commerce now has a three-game lead in the category of all-time LSC victories.
• A&M-Kingsville sits on 301 wins in LSC play.
 
CARTHEL 5TH IN SCHOOL HISTORY IN WINS
• Head coach Colby Carthel now ranks fifth in A&M-Commerce history in coaching wins with 43 wins.
• However, he will be in fifth for a while, as his 43 wins are still 20 behind J.V. Sikes' 63 wins in fourth place.
 

1	Ernest Hawkins	1964-85	132-92-6
2	Eddie Vowell	1986-98	74-71-1
3	Bob Berry	1935-41, 46-50	72-34-8
4	J.V. Sikes	1954-63	63-34-4
5	Colby Carthel	2013-pres.	43-15
6	M.A. Smith	1951-53	30-2-1

 
TO THE GREAT WHITE NORTH
• While the trip to southeastern Minnesota may seem like one of the longer trips for the Lions, it is less than 1,000 miles according to Google maps, and thus does not break the top five in terms of long trips.
• In fact, it is not that much longer than the longest conference trip for the Lions.
• From Commerce to Western New Mexico, the drive is 853 miles.
• From Commerce to Winona is only 63 miles further, at 916 miles.
• Winona is farther north than all but two of the Lions' previous trips.
• The 1997 trip to North Dakota State is the most northerly trip, followed by the 1995 NCAA playoff trip to Portland State.
 
AGAINST THE NSIC
• This is the first season the Lone Star and Northern Sun conferences have been paired up in a super region, and with the size of the NSIC (16 schools), that league no longer plays non-conference games in the regular season.
• The Lions are 1-1 all-time against the NSIC, splitting a home-and-home series with Upper Iowa in 2010 & 2011.
• A&M-Commerce won at Memorial Stadium in 2010, 30-10, and was edged by UIU in Fayette in 2011, 15-14. (Current receivers coach Yogi Gallegos passed for 220 yards and two touchdowns in the game).
• The Lions' only other contest against a current NSIC member was in 1991, when ET beat Wayne State (Neb.) 54-16 at Memorial Stadium. The Wildcats were a Division II independent at the time.
 
LEAVING THE ANIMAL KINGDOM
• After playing Tarleton's Texans last week, the Lions play Winona's Warriors this week.
• This marks the first time since the beginning of the 2004 & 2005 seasons that the Lions have played non-animal mascots in consecutive weeks. The Lions opened with Southern Arkansas' Muleriders those years, then played Tarleton in week two.
 
CONFERENCE LOYALTY
• Today's game matches two teams who are charter members of their leagues.
• East Texas State Teachers College was a founding member of the Lone Star Conference in 1931.
• Winona State Teachers College was a founding member of the Northern Teachers Athetic Conference - NSIC predecessor - in 1932.
 
SENIORS BREAK SCHOOL RECORD
• With the win at Tarleton, the senior class broke the school record for wins in a four-year period. The previous record stood since the Tangerine Bowl runs of the early 1950s.

Years	Record
2014-17	37-10
1951-54	36-5-2
2013-16	35-14
1957-60	34-7
1972-75	32-13-1
1936-39	31-8
1990-93	31-16-1

 
THREE-HEADED MONSTER
• As you will read below, Luis Perez is very good at throwing the football to his teammates, who in turn, are quite adept at finding the endzone.
• Two Lion receivers tied for third in the Lone Star Conference in terms of receiving touchdowns, with another in fourth.
• Darrion Landry, and Buck Wilson each have nine receiving touchdowns this season. D'Arthur Cowan is right behind them with eight. All eight of Cowan's touchdown receptions have come in LSC play.
 
PEREZ SETS SCHOOL RECORD, LEADS THE NATION
• After 387 passing yards in Canyon against WT, Luis Perez' passing average has vaulted him to the top of the Division II ranks. He is one of nine passers in Division II averaging over 300 yards passing per game.
 

Rk	Team	Cl.	Gms	A-C-I	TD	Yds	Avg
1	Luis Perez, A&M-Commerce	Sr.	10	385-277-6	36	3,429	342.9
2	Connor Jessop, Shepherd	Sr.	10	357-231-7	38	3,300	330.0
3	Tanner Garry, Slippery Rock	Sr.	11	437-268-9	32	3,522	320.2
4	Amir Hall, Bowie St.	Jr.	10	321-215-4	39	3,187	318.7
5	Grant Russell, Ohio Dominican	Sr.	10	305-221-3	30	3,182	318.2
6	Brook Bolles, Central Mo.	Jr.	11	396-223-12	21	3,485	316.8
7	Nick Rooney, Adams St.	Jr.	10	441-271-10	29	3,153	315.3
8	Y. Gavalas, LIU Post	Sr.	10	363-257-8	37	3,087	308.7
9	Javia Hall, Western N.M.	Sr.	10	458-255-12	24	3,006	300.6
10	Chas Stallard, Central Okla.	Sr.	11	361-238--6	28	3,209	291.7

 
• His last touchdown pass in the UTPB game broke his own school record for touchdown passes in a season.
• The Lions have had their quarterback pass for 30 or more scores in each of the last four season. Prior to that, the record of 22 scoring passes in a season had stood for 52 years.
 

SINGLE SEASON PASSING TOUCHDOWN LEADERS
1.	36	Luis Perez	2017
2.	32	Luis Perez	2016
3.	31	Tyrik Rollison	2014
4.	30	Harrison Stewart	2015
5.	22	James Gray	1952

 

SINGLE SEASON PASSING YARDAGE LEADERS
1.	3,764	Tyrik Rollison	2014
2.	3,429	Luis Perez	2017
3.	3,326	Luis Perez	2016
4.	3,173	Harrison Stewart	2015
5.	2,861	Buster Faulkner	2004

 
• Perez is also the Lion career leader in three major passing categories.
 

CAREER PASSING YARDAGE LEADERS
1.	6,755	Luis Perez	2016-pres.
2.	5,955	Bob Bounds	1987-91
3.	5,800	Kyle Mackey	1980-83
4.	5,635	Terry Skinner	1973-77
5.	5,362	Tyrik Rollison	2013-14

 

CAREER PASSING COMPLETION LEADERS
1.	521	Luis Perez (487-724-11)	2016-pres.
2.	375	Bob Bounds (375-706-36)	1987-91
3.	372	Kyle Mackey (372-751-44)	1980-83
4.	367	Terry Skinner (367-813-45)	1973-77
5.	353	Adam Farkes (353-700-30)	2009-10

 

CAREER PASSING TOUCHDOWN LEADERS
1.	68	Luis Perez	2016-pres.
2.	51	James Gray	1951-53
3.	48	Harrison Stewart	2013-15
4.	43	Jim Dietz	1967-70
	43	Tyrik Rollison	2013-14

 
• He ranks first in Division II and ninth in all of the NCAA in career passing yards per game.
 

Rk	Team	Div	Cl.	Gms	A-C-I	Yds	TD	Yds/Gn
1	Luke Falk , Washington St.	FBS	Sr.	42	2,000-1,367-36	14,117	118	336.1
2	Mason Rudolph , Oklahoma St.	FBS	Sr.	39	1,319-831-24	12,404	85	318.1
3	Josh Rosen , UCLA	FBS	Jr.	28	1,099-666-25	8,679	54	310.0
4	Devlin Hodges , Samford	FCS	Jr.	31	1,243-858-23	9,600	76	309.7
5	Baker Mayfield , Oklahoma	FBS	Sr.	44	1,392-954-29	13,539	119	307.7
6	Chase Burton , Franklin	D-III	Sr.	37	1,211-817-20	11,299	120	305.4
7	Gage Gubrud , Eastern Wash.	FCS	Jr.	27	973-637-27	8,123	70	300.9
8	Riley Ferguson , Memphis	FBS	Sr.	22	802-498-17	6,579	59	299.0
9	Luis Perez , Tex. A&M-Commerce	D-II	Sr.	23	774-521-11	6,755	68	293.7
10	Ryan Sample , Benedictine (IL)	D-III	Sr.	30	1,133-647-34	8,806	82	293.5

 
KICKIN' IT WITH KRISTOV
• Kicker Kristov Martinez became the all-time leading scorer with an LSC Player of the Week effort in the regular season finale at Tarleton. 
• He scored 15 points in that game and has scored 10 points or more in five games this season. The four field goals at Tarleton tied a school single game record.
• He has scored 88 points this season, which is actually his lowest scoring season to date behind 109 points in 2016 and 92 points in 2015. The 2017 total to date ranks 10th in school history. The late Saul Martinez scored 134 points in 2014 to set the school single season record.
 

CAREER SCORING LEADERS
1.	289	Kristov Martinez (160 PAT, 43 FG)	2015-pres.
2.	281	Billy Watkins (134 PAT, 49 FG)	1990-93
3.	224	David Dell (104 PAT, 40 FG)	1995-98
4.	222	Aundra Thompson (37 TD)	1972-75
5.	219	Saul Martinez (126 PAT, 31 FG)	2013-14

 

CAREER PATs MADE LEADERS
1.	160	Kristov Martinez (160-167)	2015-pres.
2.	134	Billy Watkins (134-143)	1990-93
3.	126	Saul Martinez (126-130)	2013-14
4.	121	Leonard Allen (121-134)	1973-76
5.	105	Kevin Garman (105-113)	1981-84

 

CAREER FIELD GOALS MADE LEADERS
1.	49	Billy Watkins (49-84)	1990-93
2.	43	Kristov Martinez (43-59)	2015-pres.
3.	40	David Dell (40-61)	1995-98
4.	31	Saul Martinez (31-38)	2013-14
5.	29	Ha'a Bento (29-44)	2004-05
	29	Leonard Allen (29-52)	1973-76

 
FIREWORKS AFTER A SCORE
• The Lions have excelled on kickoffs, both when kicking the ball away, and when receiving the kickoff.
• The Lions rank 1st nationally in kickoff return defense, allowing 12.82 yards per return.
• A&M-Commerce is 5th in the nation in kickoff return average at 27.24 yards per return.
• Winona State ranks 6th nationally in kickoff return average at 27.00 yard per return - 8.64 inches per return behind the Lions.
 
WILSON TAKES IT TO THE HOUSE
• Buck Wilson returned a first quarter kickoff for a 100  yard touchdown against West Texas A&M, earning LSC Special Teams Player of the Week honors.
• He is the fourth Lion on record with a 100-yard touchdown. He is the 25th player in LSC history with a 100-yard kickoff return. He is the seventh player in Division II this season with a 100-yard kickoff return.
 

Bob Sloan	vs. Midwestern State, 1950
Marvin Brown	vs. Midwestern State, 1951
Gary Berry	vs. Sam Houston State, 1958
Buck Wilson	at West Texas A&M, 2017

 
• Wilson averages 31.7 yards per kickoff return on 11 returns. The NCAA requires returners to have 1.2 returns per game to qualify for the statistical rankings. Wilson averages 1.1 returns per game.
• If he met the return quantity qualification, Wilson would rank fourth in the nation in kick return yardage.
•WSU's Jake Balliu ranks 10th nationally at 29.6 yards per return.
 
ON THE SCOREBOARD
• The Lions rank in the top 15 nationally in both scoring offense and scoring defense.
• At 40.4 points scored per game, the Lions are 2nd in the LSC and 14th in the nation.
• At 14.9 points allowed per game, the Lions rank 1st in the LSC and 13th in the nation.
• Winona State is ahead of the Lions in scoring defense - 8th nationally at 14.1 points allowed per game, which is third-best in the NSIC.
 
MULTI-FACETED ALL-AMERICAN ALONG WITH ACTUAL PUNTING INFO
• All-American tackle Jared Machorro has been fantastic on the left side of the offensive line, which could have been expected.
• Likely unexpected? He ranks 11th in the LSC in average punt yardage at 35.5 yards per  punt.
• That's just awesome.
• Actual punter Tristan Perry ranks fourth in the conference with a 40.5 yard punting average.
 
LIONS ALL-TIME IN THE POSTSEASON

Jan 1, 1953	vs. Tennessee Tech	W 33-0	Tangerine Bowl	Orlando
Jan 1, 1954	vs. Arkansas State	T 7-7	Tangerine Bowl	Orlando
Jan 1, 1958	vs. Mississippi Southern	W 10-9	Tangerine Bowl	Orlando
Dec 31, 1958	vs. Missouri Valley	W 26-7	Tangerine Bowl	Orlando
Nov 25, 1972	Central State (Okla.)	W 54-0	NAIA Semifinal	Commerce
Dec 9, 1972	Carson-Newman	W 21-18	NAIA Champion Bowl	Commerce
Dec 6, 1980	at Central Arkansas	W 27-21	NAIA Quarterfinal	Conway, Ark.
Dec 13, 1980	Elon	L 6-14	NAIA Semifinal	Commerce
Nov 17, 1990	at Grand Valley State	W 20-14	DII First Rd	Allendale, Mich.
Nov 24, 1990	at Pittsburg State	L 28-60	DII Quarterfinal	Pittsburg, Kan.
Nov 23, 1991	Grand Valley State	W 36-15	DII First Rd	Commerce
Nov 30, 1991	at Pittsburg State	L 28-38	DII Quarterfinal	Pittsburg, Kan.
Nov 18, 1995	at Portland State	L 35-56	DII First Rd	Portland, Ore.
Dec 13, 2013	vs. Harding	L 3-44	Live United Bowl	Texarkana, Ark.
Dec 6, 2014	vs. East Central	W 72-21	Heart of Texas Bowl	Copperas Cove
Nov 21, 2015	at Ferris State	L 30-48	DII Regional Qtr	Big Rapids, Mich.
Nov 19, 2016	Colorado Mesa	W 34-23	DII Regional Qtr	Commerce
Nov 26, 2016	at Grand Valley State	L 32-55	DII Regional Semi	Allendale, Mich.
Nov 18, 2017	at Winona State	-	DII Regional Qtr	Winona, Minn.

 
AWARD WINNERS
• All-Lone Star Conference honorees will be added to these notes when released by the conference office.
 
ON THIS DAY IN A&M-COMMERCE/ET FOOTBALL (3-3) : 
• 1925 - The Lions drop a 17-0 decision to Hardin-Simmons.
• 1931 - ET is shutout at home by Southwest Texas, 14-0.
• 1961 - The Lions close out the season with a 17-6 home win over Stephen F. Austin.
• 1967 - ET finishes off the year with a 12-10 home victory over Stephen F. Austin.
• 1978 - The Lions defeat Angelo State 35-14 at home to close the year.
• 1995 - The Lions take their longest road trip in program history in a 56-35 loss at Portland State in the first round of the NCAA Division II playoffs. This is the last game played as East Texas State.