KANSAS CITY, Kan.– The Texas A&M University-Commerce football team etched its name into history with a 37-27 win over West Florida in the NCAA Division II National Championship game Saturday. The Lions had nearly 500 yards of total offense and never trailed in the game.
 
It is the first NCAA Division II National Championship in school history and the second National Championship in Lion football history, 45 years after the Lions won the 1972 NAIA National Championship.
 
The Lions are the first team in the Lone Star Conference to win a Division II Football National Championship since 1981 and the only current team in the LSC to hoist the trophy.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Harlon Hill trophy winner Luis Perez had 23 completions for 323 yards and two touchdowns. During the first quarter, he broke a Division II record for most passing yards in a single post season. He finished the season with 4,999 passing yards.
- Reggie Kincade returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter. This tied a Division II National Championship game record for the longest return.
- E.J. Thompson rushed for 110 yards and rushed for a touchdown in the third quarter.
- Shawn Hooks had 104 yards receiving, including a 50-yard touchdown catch and run in the first quarter.
- Marquis Wimberly had 64 yards receiving, including a 40-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter. Vincent Hobbs had five catches for 71 yards.
- Kristov Martinez made all three of his field goals and all four of his extra points.
- Jalon Edwards-Cooper had an interception in the second quarter. The Lions overcame four turnovers in the game.
- Alex Shillow had 1.5 tackles for loss. Brucks Saathoff, DD Fletcher, Michael Onuoha, Peyton Searcy and Jaylon Hodge all had sacks in the game.
- The Lions had 201 more yards in the game, winning both the air and the ground battle. The Lions had three touchdowns of at least 40 yards.

A&M-COMMERCE NOTES
- Second overall National Championship Game in program history; previously played in the 1972 NAIA National Championship Game where they beat Carson-Newman 21-18.
- A&M-Commerce's opening seven-play, 97-yard drive was their third drive of at least 90 yards in the last two games. The Lions had two against Harding in the semifinals.
- A&M-Commerce becomes the second program to win football championships at both the NAIA level and NCAA Div. II level. Pittsburg State was the other school winning the 1957 NAIA title with two NCAA Div. II titles (1991, 2011).
- Today's win extended the Lions' longest active winning streak in Division II to 10 games. It also ties the school's record for longest winning streak in program history (1958-59.
- Reggie Kincade's 99-yard kickoff return in the second quarter was the first kickoff returned for a touchdown since 2012 and tied the record for longest return in championship game history (Ronald Moore, Pittsburg State, 1992).
- Luis Perez set the following NCAA Tournament records: pass completions (144), pass attempts (211) and passing yards (1,570).
- Luis Perez is the first quarterback to throw for at least 300 yards in a championship game since 2005 (Josh Lamberson, Northwest Missouri State).
- Luis Perez finished the season with 4,999 passing yards, moving him into fourth on the NCAA Division II single season list.
- Luis Perez tied a Lone Star Conference record for 200-yard passing games in a season (14)
- Running back EJ Thompson rushed for a career-high 110 yards. This was the third consecutive game he recorded a career-high rushing total (70 at Minnesota State-Mankato, 75 vs. Harding).
- Wide receiver Shawn Hooks had a career-high 104 receiving yards on four catches with one touchdown.
- Kicker Kristov Martinez tied the Lone Star Conference record for field goals in a season (24) after making three field goals today. He also becomes the fourth kicker in tournament history to connect on three field goals in the Championship Game.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
1ST QUARTER
After a crafty UWF kickoff pinned the Lions deep in their own territory to begin the game, a rush from Hale gave the Lions some breathing room. Perez then found Hobbs for 28 yards. After dragging a defender five yards, he was stopped at midfield. It took just one more play to score as Perez found Hooks on the right side. A hole opened up and a downfield block from Wimberley sprung Hooks to the end zone for a 50-yard touchdown. The Lions took a 7-0 lead.
 
The Lion defense also had a good showing on their first opportunity on the field, causing a UWF three and out. The Lions took the ball but were also forced to bring out the punting team. The Lions faked the punt but a pass from Perry was intercepted and returned to midfield, giving the Argos good field position.
 
UWF took advantage and got a drive going. Passes of 11 and 15 yards moved the sticks inside the one yard line. It took the Argos two plays to score, but they punched the ball in to tie the game at 7.
 
The game didn't stay tied for long as Kincade took the kickoff at the one yard line. He cut through a hole on the left, ran toward the left sideline and showed off his All-American sprinter speed, racing around one final defender and down the sideline. The 99-yard touchdown return tied an NCAA Division II Championship game record for the longest in history and gave the Lions a 14-7 lead.
 
The Lion defense again held firm, forcing another Argonaut punt after just three plays.
 
2ND QUARTER
 
The Lions then started to drive as Perez found Landry down the right sideline. He stumbled forward inside the red zone before losing his footing. The Lions were unable to punch the ball into the end zone as Martinez was called upon to kick a field goal. The 29-yard kick was good and the Lions led 17-7 early in the second quarter.
 
The Lion defense again made a play. Flushing the UWF quarterback to the right outside the pocket, he threw an errant pass right into the arms of Edwards-Cooper. He returned the ball 11 yards and set the Lion offense up inside of midfield.
 
UWF's defense held the Lions once they entered the red zone. A Lion penalty also drove A&M-Commerce back and they again had to kick a field goal. Martinez split the uprights again and the Lions led 20-7.
 
The teams traded punts on their subsequent possessions. UWF then looked for more points on their final drive of the half. The Argos drove into Lion territory. A sack from Onuoha forced a long third down but UWF converted a 16-yard pass to move the chains. After another 15-yard pass completion, the Argos got into the end zone on a 20-yard catch. The Lion lead was cut to 20-14 with 58 seconds remaining.
 
The Lions looked for one more drive to end the half. Perez hit passes of 12 and 18 yards to put the Lions close to field goal position. However, two UWF sacks ended the half with the score at 20-14.
 
LION HALFTIME STATS
- Perez was 15-of-18 in the first half for 195 yards and a touchdown.
- Carandal Hale had 12 carries for 64 yards.
- Hobbs had four receptions for 60 yards.
- Kincade returned a touchdown 99 yards for a touchdown.
 
3RD QUARTER
The Lion defense forced an Argo punt on UWF's first possession of the half. The Lions got the ball back but a Hale fumble on the first play gave the Argonauts the ball back inside of the red zone. The Lion defense held true, with Searcy sacking the quarterback on third down to hold UWF to a field goal. The Lions led 20-17.
 
Thompson had two eight-yard rushes and Perez hit Hobbs for 11 yards to take the Lions into enemy territory on their next drive. Perez then found Wimberly for 11 yards to take the Lions into the red zone. Thompson finished off the drive, rushing up a huge hole in the middle to give the Lions a 27-17 lead.
 
After the Lion defense forced a punt on UWF's next possession, the Lions again started a promising drive. However, the Argo defense then made a play. Andre Duncombe made a one-handed interception of Perez. A personal foul penalty against the Lions gave the Argos a short field. The Lion defense buckled down to hold UWF to a field goal. The Lions led 27-20.
 
The Lions took the next kickoff and moved their way down the field with ease. Thompson had two rushes before Perez hit Wimberly on a perfect throw for a 40-yard touchdown pass. This gave the Lions a 34-20 lead headed into the fourth quarter.
 
4TH QUARTER
 
After the Lion defense forced another punt on UWF's next possession, the Lions again drove down the field. Thompson had a 19-yard rush as the Lions had five consecutive rushes. Perez then found Hooks cutting across the field. He cut around defenders, being tripped up inside the 10-yard line after a 43-yard catch and run. The Lions were unable to get the ball into the end zone and settled for a 19-yard field goal from Martinez, giving them a 37-20 lead, their largest of the game.
 
UWF drove for a touchdown of their own on the next possession. The Lions had two pass interference penalties before UWF hit a 38-yard pass inside the red zone. Two plays later, a rusher crossed the goal line, cutting the Lion lead to 37-27 with less than five minutes to play.
 
UWF attempted an onside kick but was unsuccessful. The Lions ran on their first two plays to force UWF to use their timeouts. The Lions punted, pinning the Argonauts deep inside their own territory with 4:20 to play.
 
UWF had a 33-yard pass on its second play of the drive. Two plays later, D.J. White looked to have the dagger with an interception. However, replay review changed the call and the Argos continued their drive. The Lion defensive front continued to harass the UWF quarterback and the Lions had stellar play in the secondary. Edwards-Cooper had a pass breakup on third down and the defense held on fourth down to force a turnover on downs.
 
The Lions needed one first down to ice the game and turned to Thompson. On three carries, he gained just enough yards for a first down, allowing the Lions to end the game in victory formation.

Head Coach Colby Carthel:
Opening Statement…
"First of all, I'd just like to say that we serve an awesome God. We lean on him when times are tough, and we need to give praise when we reach the pinnacle. We have today. That's the split meaning of to the top is to give all praise, glory and honor to the top. I wanted to start off with that. It's a big part of our routine, and a big part of our success. In terms of this game, it was a fantastic game played by two really good football teams. I'm still not sure we're the two best teams in Division II, but we're the two best teams that got it done during the playoffs. We both had a long, hard road through the playoffs. We had to go on the road and beat some terrific teams to get to this stage, and we did. Tonight it was two good teams battling it out, and we made a few more plays than they did to pull out the victory. I can't say enough about these players and what they've overcome. We've had adversity every single week, and sometimes it's injuries, sometimes it's officiating, sometimes it's weather, sometimes it's bad calls by the head coach. But these guys have always overcome. It's what you have to do to win in the playoffs, is overcome adversity. This team has done it time and time again, and I'm really proud of them. I'm proud of our defense. I'm proud of our offense. What is that other phase, Reggie (Kincade)? Special teams. They've been special all year, and they were again tonight. I'm just really thankful for these players, coaches and our administration and everybody back home in Commerce that had a big hand in this. This was a team effort and a team championship. We couldn't be happier."
 
On holding West Florida to just a field goal in the third quarter… "I think it was definitely the turning point in the game. They had the momentum at halftime, came out and had the ball, and we stopped them. We turned it over on the first play, and they got it on the five-yard line. We stopped them again and held them to three points. That's all we said on the sideline in the headsets to the players was championship defense. That's what championship defenses do. We knew our offense was going to get it going. I really felt like that was the turning point in that game – to hold them to just three points on two possessions."
 
On scoring on the team's first possession… "I think all the jitters went out on the first kickoff return that we managed to get to our four-yard line. We got caught with our pants down there. Our offense went down there and executed. They took what the defense gave them. We were able to establish the run a little bit and march down there and really set the tone. I think that gave us a lot of confidence. We went into half and had lost the momentum, but we still had the confidence because we knew that we were our own worst enemy. We got down in the red zone, and penalties and sacks kept us from scoring touchdowns that we would have liked to have had. There wasn't any panic. We had a six-point lead. We've played championship defense all year long."
 
On Luis Perez as a leader and quarterback…"He's the Harlon Hill winner for a reason. I think everybody has seen that. He's just a tremendous football player. He's a tremendous talent. But more importantly, he's a tremendous human being. He's a great husband, and great student, teammate, leader and player. I could sit here for two hours and tell you interesting stories about him. That just speaks to his character and who he is. That's why we signed him three years ago. We saw that in him. There were other quarterbacks out there with bigger arms or better athletes, but there was just something special about him. He's going to be successful no matter what he does in life because of who he is. I'm very happy that he was on our team. He led us where we thought he could, and that was a national championship. Now, I'll probably cry myself to sleep tonight because he's graduated and won't be back next year. We'll keep growing them up, and we've got a great team coming back. We'll be ready to compete next year."
 
WR Shawn Hooks
On overcoming injury this season… "It means a lot. I was out for six weeks straight. I fought through it. Everyone told me to just keep calm, and they told me we were going to get here. I believed in my coaches and believed in my team. We slowly got here. It just feels great to finally play in my last game in college. It's bittersweet."
 
RET Reggie Kincade
On his 99-yard kick return… "Coming out, Coach told us all we had to do was get our blocks. We knew we were going to return one because we had been breaking them a good amount. We just believed in each other and did our job."

QB Luis Perez
On the offense needing to score in this game… "We take it play by play, one play at a time. That's how we approach our offense, taking it one play at a time. You look up later and we have 28 points. It's just taking it one play at a time."
On being efficient with his passing… "Our offensive line played fantastic. We told the o-line this week that the run game was going to be key. They answered the bell. We had over 100 yards rushing. The defense was playing solid. I was able to find open guys and give them the ball in space."
On winning the Harlon Hill Trophy and a national championship… "Words can't even describe it. This is the moment that you dream of. Winning the Harlon Hill, graduating and winning a national title in the same week – you can't script it any better. Coach told us we're a team of destiny, and we believed it. We just ran away with it."