COMMERCE - The third-ranked Texas A&M University-Commerce Lions' football team plays its second of five home games this Saturday, hosting Eastern New Mexico University for the Lone Star Conference opener and Hall of Fame Game and Letterwinners' Weekend at Memorial Stadium.
WHO: Eastern New Mexico University at Texas A&M University-Commerce
WHERE: Commerce | Memorial Stadium
WHEN: 6 p.m. on Saturday, September 16
RECORDS: A&M-Commerce is 2-0 overall and is opening its Lone Star Conference schedule. Eastern New Mexico is 2-0 and 1-0 in the LSC.
RANKINGS: Texas A&M-Commerce is ranked No. 3 in the AFCA Coaches' Poll in the D2Football.com Media Poll. Eastern New Mexico is receiving votes for the AFCA Coaches' Poll.
LIVE AUDIO: Lion Sports Network -- KETR 88.9 FM, Commerce (
http://www.ketr.org)
LIVE VIDEO: http://www.LionAthletics.com/live
LIVE STATS: http://www.statbroadcast.com/events/statmonitr.php?gid=tame
LIONS OPEN LSC SCHEDULE
• The A&M-Commerce Lions will welcome the ENMU Greyhounds for Hall of Fame Day and Letterwinners' Weekend, the second of five games at Memorial Stadium scheduled for 2017.
• This is the Lone Star Conference opener for the Lions, and the second LSC contest for the 'Hounds.
• The 2017 Hall of Fame class will be inducted at a banquet at 11 a.m. They will also be recognized at halftime.
ALL-TIME SERIES
• This is the 31st meeting between the two schools.
• The series is evenly split at this point, with each team having won 15 games.
• The Lions have won the last three meetings, and will be looking for their first four-game win streak against the Greyhounds.
• A&M-Commerce has scored at least 35 points in each of the last four contests vs. ENMU.
The Lions hold a distinct 11-4 advantage at home. Eastern has only won in Commerce once since 2004, taking the 2013 matchup.
CLOSER #ToTheTop
• For the second consecutive week, the Lions are tabbed as the No. 3 team in the nation in both the AFCA and D2Football.com polls.
• The Lions have now reached their highest AFCA ranking since the poll was introduced in 2000.
• The Lions' previous high ranking in the AFCA poll was fourth last season.
• A&M-Commerce has been ranked in 29 straight AFCA polls, dating back to the 2015 preseason poll.
• This is A&M-Commerce's 35th all-time appearance in the AFCA poll since its inception in 2000.
CARTHEL 5TH IN SCHOOL HISTORY IN WINS
• Head coach
Colby Carthel now ranks fifth in A&M-Commerce history in coaching wins with 36 wins.
• However, he will be in fifth for a while, as his 36 wins are just over half of 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. |
36-14 |
| 6 |
M.A. Smith |
1951-53 |
30-2-1 |
DEFENSIVE SCORING STREAK
• With
Garrett Blubaugh's interception return for a touchdown in the first quarter of the William Jewell game, the Lions have now scored on defense in three straight games.
MARTINEZ MOVES UP SCORING CHARTS
• Kicker
Kristov Martinez led the conference in scoring for kickers and was named honorable mention All-American by Don Hansen's Football Gazette and second team all-Lone Star Conference.
• Martinez is currently in second in scoring average for kickers in the LSC, half of a point behind Bailey Hale of ENMU.
• Martinez has been perfect on his place-kick attempts through two games, going 3-for-3 on field goal attempts, and 8-for-8 on PAT attempts
• In his sophomore season, Martinez connected on 18-of-24 field goals with a long of 46 yards. He also made 55-of-58 point after touchdown attempts. He recovered his own onside kick against Tarleton and had 20 touchbacks on 80 kickoffs.
• His 109 points was the second-most in the Lone Star Conference, and the most amongst kickers.
• That 109 points ranks as the fourth-most in a season in A&M-Commerce history.
• He has scored 218 points in his career, which moves him up to fifth in A&M-Commerce history.
• The A&M-Commerce all-time leader in scoring is Billy Watkins, who scored 281 points from 1990-93 on 134 PATs and 49 field goals.
• Martinez moved up to third on the career field goal list with a pair of 30-yarders at UNA.
| CAREER SCORING LEADERS |
| 1. |
281 |
Billy Watkins (134 PAT, 49 FG) |
1990-93 |
| 2. |
224 |
David Dell (104 PAT, 40 FG) |
1995-98 |
| 3. |
222 |
Aundra Thompson (37 TD) |
1972-75 |
| 4. |
219 |
Saul Martinez (126 PAT, 31 FG) |
2013-14 |
| 5. |
218 |
Kristov Martinez (119 PAT, 33 FG) |
2015-pres. |
| 6. |
216 |
Marvin Brown (36 TD) |
1951-52 |
| 7. |
210 |
Ricky Dirks (35 TD) |
1981-84 |
| 8. |
208 |
Leonard Allen (121 PAT, 29 FG) |
1973-76 |
| 9. |
180 |
Cary Noiel (30 TD) |
1978-81 |
|
180 |
Gary Compton (30 TD) |
1986-90 |
| CAREER PATs MADE LEADERS |
| 1. |
134 |
Billy Watkins (134-143) |
1990-93 |
| 2. |
126 |
Saul Martinez (126-130) |
2013-14 |
| 3. |
121 |
Leonard Allen (121-134) |
1973-76 |
| 4. |
119 |
Kristov Martinez (119-125) |
2015-pres. |
| 5. |
105 |
Kevin Garman (105-113) |
1981-84 |
| 6. |
104 |
David Dell (104-111) |
1995-98 |
| 7. |
93 |
Mark Regian (93-70) |
1968-71 |
| 8. |
55 |
Randy Weston (55-62) |
1999-02 |
|
55 |
Lloyd Corder (55-69) |
1951-52 |
| 10. |
51 |
A. Abo-Mahmood (51-55) |
2009-10 |
| CAREER FIELD GOALS MADE LEADERS |
| 1. |
49 |
Billy Watkins (49-84) |
1990-93 |
| 2. |
40 |
David Dell (40-61) |
1995-98 |
| 3. |
33 |
Kristov Martinez (33-46) |
2015-pres. |
| 4. |
31 |
Saul Martinez (31-38) |
2013-14 |
| 5. |
29 |
Ha'a Bento (29-44) |
2004-05 |
|
29 |
Leonard Allen (29-52) |
1973-76 |
| 7. |
26 |
Randy Weston (26-37) |
1999-02 |
| 8. |
21 |
Kevin Garman (21-41) |
1981-84 |
| 9. |
16 |
Mark Regian (16-29) |
1968-71 |
| 10. |
14 |
A. Abo-Mahmood (14-20) |
2009-10 |
STRENGTH VS. STRENGTH : ENMU RUN GAME
• The Greyhounds are known for their rushing attack, but the Lions have been exceptionally strong on run defense in the early going of the 2017 season.
• The Lions have allowed only 48.0 yards of rushing per game.
| Rk |
Team |
G |
W-L |
Atts |
Yds |
YPAtt |
TD |
YPG |
| 1 |
Sioux Falls |
2 |
2-0 |
60 |
-17 |
-0.28 |
1 |
-8.5 |
| 2 |
Northwood |
2 |
2-0 |
48 |
46 |
0.96 |
2 |
23.0 |
| 3 |
Delta St. |
2 |
2-0 |
67 |
76 |
1.13 |
0 |
38.0 |
| 4 |
St. Cloud St. |
2 |
1-1 |
52 |
92 |
1.77 |
4 |
46.0 |
| 4 |
Saginaw Valley |
2 |
2-0 |
62 |
92 |
1.48 |
0 |
46.0 |
| 6 |
Central Wash. |
2 |
2-0 |
45 |
93 |
2.07 |
1 |
46.5 |
| 7 |
A&M-COMMERCE |
2 |
2-0 |
67 |
96 |
1.43 |
0 |
48.0 |
| 8 |
Lincoln (Mo.) |
2 |
1-1 |
62 |
105 |
1.69 |
1 |
52.5 |
| 9 |
Neb.-Kearney |
2 |
1-1 |
60 |
108 |
1.80 |
2 |
54.0 |
| 10 |
Fort Hays St. |
2 |
2-0 |
60 |
112 |
1.87 |
0 |
56.0 |
• The Greyhounds average 285.5 yards of rushing per game. ENMU has also run the ball 138 times - more than any team in Division II and the fourth-most in all divisions of the NCAA.
| Cal Poly (3 gms) |
195 |
| The Citadel |
140 |
| Springfield |
139 |
| ENMU |
138 |
| Georgia Tech |
135 |
| Rk |
Team |
G |
W-L |
Atts |
Yds |
YPAtt |
TD |
YPG |
| 1 |
Midwestern St. |
1 |
1-0 |
39 |
468 |
12.00 |
6 |
468.0 |
| 2 |
Ferris St. |
1 |
1-0 |
52 |
413 |
7.94 |
5 |
413.0 |
| 3 |
Minnesota St. |
2 |
2-0 |
87 |
713 |
8.20 |
6 |
356.5 |
| 4 |
Charleston (W. Va.) |
2 |
1-1 |
104 |
644 |
6.19 |
6 |
322.0 |
| 5 |
Delta St. |
2 |
2-0 |
94 |
602 |
6.40 |
7 |
301.0 |
| 6 |
Eastern N.M. |
2 |
2-0 |
138 |
571 |
4.14 |
6 |
285.5 |
| 7 |
Colo. Sch. of Mines |
2 |
1-1 |
90 |
556 |
6.18 |
7 |
278.0 |
| 8 |
Gannon |
2 |
1-1 |
76 |
555 |
7.30 |
8 |
277.5 |
| 9 |
West Ga. |
2 |
2-0 |
100 |
553 |
5.53 |
4 |
276.5 |
| 10 |
Indiana (Pa.) |
2 |
2-0 |
90 |
540 |
6.00 |
2 |
270.0 |
BEHIND THE LINE
• The Lion defense has had exceptional success penetrating the line of scrimmage and tackling opponents for loss.
• A&M-Commerce leads the Lone Star Conference and Super Region Four in tackles for loss per game, ranking sixth nationally.
• ENMU has conceded 17 TFLs to Southwest Baptist and five TFLs to Western New Mexico.
| Rk |
Team |
G |
W-L |
SoloTFL |
AstTFL |
Yds |
TOTAL |
TFLPG |
| 1 |
Southwest Baptist |
2 |
1-1 |
17 |
24 |
117 |
29 |
14.5 |
| 2 |
Delta St. |
2 |
2-0 |
18 |
14 |
124 |
25 |
12.5 |
| 2 |
Sioux Falls |
2 |
2-0 |
23 |
4 |
124 |
25 |
12.5 |
| 4 |
Morehouse |
2 |
1-1 |
16 |
16 |
136 |
24 |
12.0 |
| 4 |
Lane |
2 |
1-1 |
23 |
2 |
88 |
24 |
12.0 |
| 6 |
A&M-COMMERCE |
2 |
2-0 |
18 |
10 |
92 |
23 |
11.5 |
| 6 |
West Va. Wesleyan |
2 |
2-0 |
20 |
6 |
82 |
23 |
11.5 |
| 6 |
Slippery Rock |
2 |
2-0 |
17 |
12 |
71 |
23 |
11.5 |
| 9 |
Charleston (W. Va.) |
2 |
1-1 |
15 |
14 |
60 |
22 |
11.0 |
| 9 |
Minnesota St. |
2 |
2-0 |
18 |
8 |
57 |
22 |
11.0 |
| 9 |
North Greenville |
2 |
1-1 |
10 |
24 |
106 |
22 |
11.0 |
SCOUT TEAM PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
• The Lions will announce scout team players of the week each Tuesday for the 2017 season. Winners so far this year are:
ON THIS DAY in Texas A&M-Commerce/East Texas State Football (4-3) :
• 1950 - ET opens the season at Corpus Christi State with a 13-0 win in the final season under head coach Bob Berry.
• 1961 - The Lions host Abilene Christian in the season opener and squeak out a 16-14 victory.
• 1967 - ET drops a 24-16 decision at home to Abilene Christian in the season opener.
• 1972 - After dropping the season opener by 2 to ACU last week, the eventual NAIA National Champion Lions roll to a 37-14 victory over East Central in Ada.
• 1978 - The Lions head to Lawton and are tripped up by the Cameron Aggies, 17-7.
• 1989 - Pronounce Natchitoches correctly, as the Lions lose at Northwestern State, 38-14.
• 1995 - The last time the Lions score less than 10 points in a win before this year's UNA win - It's a 6-3 win over Henderson State in Arkadelphia.
• 2006 - A&M-Commerce falls to 1-2 on the season with a 35-10 home loss to WT.
