COMMERCE – The Texas A&M University-Commerce football team welcomes Southeastern Louisiana to Ernest Hawkins Field on Saturday to close out the 2023 season.  
 
WHO: Southeastern at A&M-Commerce
WHERE: Commerce | Ernest Hawkins Field
WHEN: Saturday, November 11 | 3:30 p.m.
RECORDS: The A&M-Commerce Lions are 1-8 overall and 1-4 in Southland Conference play, while the SLU Lions are 2-7 overall and 2-3 in conference play. 
RANKINGS: Neither team is nationally ranked
 
LIVE AUDIO: Lion Sports Network – KETR 88.9 FM, Commerce (http://www.ketr.org)
LIVE VIDEO: ESPN+ | https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/eventCalendarId/401540436
LIVE STATS: https://statb.us/b/473502
GAME NOTES: TAMUC | SLU
 
SENIOR DAY PRESENTED BY BROOKSHIRE'S 
• Prior to the game on Saturday against Southeastern, the Lions will honor their graduating seniors. A&M-Commerce is honoring 15 seniors from the program, the full list can be found below.
 

Name	Hometown
Emmanuel Adabgon	Mesquite, Texas
Jerome Buckner	Columbus, Ohio
Elias De Leon	Little Elm, Texas
Zaddock Dinkelmann	Somerset, Texas
Davotrick Dotrey	Longview, Texas
Javotrick Dotrey	Longview, Texas
Brendan Easley	Orlando, Fla.
Ra'Veion Hargrove	Trotwood, Ohio
Juan Henry	Kenner, La.
Damion LaFrance	Wallis, Texas
Cameron Nellor	Mount Vernon, Texas
Levi Drake Rodriguez	Georgetown, Texas
Daryion Taylor	Humble, Texas

A&M-COMMERCE ENTERS SECOND YEAR IN NCAA DIVISION I FCS
• The Lions begin the second season in NCAA Division I FCS this year.
• It is also the second season for the Lions in the Southland Conference and first under coach Clint Dolezel.
• A&M-Commerce will be eligible for FCS Playoffs during the 2026 season.
 
SLC MEMBERS IN 2023-24

Institution	Offers Football?
A&M-COMMERCE	YES
Houston Christian	Yes
Incarnate Word	Yes
Lamar	Yes
McNeese State	Yes
New Orleans	No
Nicholls State	Yes
Northwestern State	Yes
Southeastern Louisiana	Yes
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi	No

 
DOLEZEL TAKES THE REINS
• Coach Clint Dolezel makes his debut this season as the Lions coach, returning to his alma mater.
• A Lion Athletics Hall of Fame inductee, Dolezel is considered one of the best arena football quarterbacks of all-time and coached multiple championship teams in arena football.
• He brings along another Lion Athletics Hall of Famer, Bobby Bounds as the offensive coordinator and Dave Ewart as the offensive line coach.
• Chase Paramore (Running Backs), Jarrett Boykin (Wide Receivers), and Nathan Jester (Tight Ends) are new additions on the offensive staff, while Jay Williams (Safeties) is the lone new coach defensively.
• Both Jester and Williams spent last season on the coaching staff as graduate assistants.
 
LEADERS IN INTERCEPTIONS
• Through seven games, the Lions have 343 return yards from their 15 interceptions on the season, which includes two returned back for a touchdown.
• A&M-Commerce is the FCS leader in interception return yards and second in the country with 15 interceptions.
• The Lions are also tied for third with 22 turnovers forced.
• The interceptions returned for touchdown are from Javotrick Dotrey (Longview) and Jaden Rios (Frisco - Lone Star).

SERIES HISTORY AGAINST SOUTHEASTERN
• A&M-Commerce and Southeastern meet for the 10th time on the gridiron, with A&M-Commerce holding a 5-4-1 advantage in the series.
• Last season, A&M-Commerce picked up a win over Southeastern in Hammond, which was the first win over a ranked opponent in the Division I era and the first win over a Southland opponent.
• This is the first meeting in Commerce between the two teams since 1964, the last three meetings came in Hammond.

HOMECOMING WINNING STREAK COMES TO AN END
• The Lions fell to Nicholls on homecoming weekend, marking the first loss on homecoming weekend for the Lions since 2013.
• A&M-Commerce is now 60-36-1 all-time on homecoming weekend.

A WIN AT LAST
• The Lions snapped a four-game losing streak and an eight-game losing streak dating back to last season by beating
McNeese.
• A&M-Commerce has started 1-0 in conference play in its both years in the Southland Conference and NCAA Division I FCS.
• The win also marked the first collegiate coaching win for Clint Dolezel.

NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
• After a two-interception performance against Old Dominion, Max Epps was named the Southland Conference and FCS Stats National Defensive Player of the Week.
• He enters week eight as the FCS leader in interception return yards, with 150, which is the 21 more than any other FCS player.
• He is also tied for the FCS lead with four interceptions.
• Epps was the first National Player of the Week in any sport for A&M-Commerce in the Division I era.

STAYING IN TEXAS
• After playing two games on the opposite sides of the country, the Lions are home in Texas for all but one game this season, playing eight straight games in the Lone Star state.
• Throughout Southland Conference play, the Lions played all their games in Texas.
 
SUCCESS IN SEASON OPENERS
• A&M-Commerce fell to UC Davis in week one in the season opener, ending a streak of nine straight wins in the first game of the season.
• Prior to this season, the Lions last lost a season opener in 2012.
 
STREAK OF SEASON OPENING WINS

2013	W, 51-6, Sul Ross State
2014	W, 98-20, East Texas Baptist
2015	W, 48-17, Adams State
2016	W, 40-28, at Delta State
2017	W, 8-7, at North Alabama
2018	W, 37-36 (OT), Texas A&M-Kingsville
2019	W, 93-0, Seleccion Nuevo Leon
2021	W, 12-6, at Colorado State-Pueblo
2022	W, 52-7, vs. Lincoln (Calif.)

 
ALWAYS FARED WELL AGAINST RANKED TEAMS
• The Lions have played three nationally ranked teams so far this season.
• Dating back to the 2015 season, A&M-Commerce has picked up at least one win over a ranked team each season.
• Last season, the Lions beat No. 20/19 Southeastern on the road, for the first ranked win as a Division I FCS member.
• This season, the Lions are 0-3 against ranked teams and do not have any other ranked team left on their schedule.
 
FIVE HUNDRED TIMES ON THE ROAD
• The road game at SFA was the Lions' 500th game on the road and third of the season.
• The Lions are 229-263-11 all-time on the road.
 
A SERIES OF FIRSTS
• The Lions and ODU met for the first time.
• It was also the first time that A&M-Commerce faced a FBS opponent since moving up to NCAA Division I.
 
CALIFORNIA LOVIN'
• The game at Sac State was A&M-Commerce's first game in the state of California since playing UC Davis in 1999.
 
STILL STREAKING
• A&M-Commerce extended its non-shutout streak to 131 games last week.
• The Lions were last shutout on Nov. 12, 2011.
 
TAYLOR-MADE START TO THE SEASON
• A cornerstone for the Lion defense, Daryion Taylor totaled nine tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, a sack, and one interception, which came in the fourth quarter, against UIW.
• Taylor leads the team with 61 tackles and has forced four turnovers.
• The senior defensive back was picked as a preseason all-Southland Conference selection.
 
RARE FEAT FOR THE LIONS
• Last season, the Lions started 3-0 in conference play with the win over HCU. The Lions became just the fourth program to start conference play 3-0 during its first season in NCAA Division I AA/FCS, joining UAlbany (DII), Dayton (DIII), and Gardner-Webb (DII).
 

Yr.	Team	Conf.	Strk	Final Record
1983	Dayton	Pioneer	W6	6-0
1999	UAlbany	Northeast	W5	6-1
2002	Gardner-Webb	Big South	W3	3-0
2022	A&M-COMMERCE	SOUTHLAND	W3	3-3

 
RARELY MISSED HISTORY
• The Lions went 5-6 in 2022, rarely missing a winning record, stopping a streak of having a winning season for every year since 2013.
 
LIONS EARN NATIONAL RECOGNITION IN 2022
• After the win at Southeastern a year ago, quarterback Eric Rodriguez was among the honorable mention candidates for FCS National Offensive Player of the Week award.
• As a team, the Lions were also named as a honorable mention National Team of the Week
• On October 17, Kendall Paul was also named an honorable mention Defensive Player of the Week after earning the SLC Defensive Player of the Week.
 
 FINDING SECOND HOMES
• As is the case around the country, the Lions welcome 24 transfers to the squad in 2023. The transfers have found their way to Commerce from all levels of college football.
 

College Football Division	Number of Transfers
Division I FBS	1
Division I FCS	10
Division II	5
NAIA & Junior College	8

 
LIONS IN THE PROS
• Four Lion alums are currently, or recently signed professional football contracts, highlighted Miami Dolphins starting cornerback Kader Kohou.
• Luis Perez ended the most recent XFL season as a league champion with the Arlington Renegades, earning championship game MVP honors.
• Recent graduate, Celestin Haba signed a contract with the Winnepeg Jets of the Canadian Football League and has become a mainstay on the defensive line.
• Haba joins Jalen Edwards-Cooper in the CFL. Edwards-Cooper plays for the British Columbia Lions.
 
LION FOOTBALL RANKED NO. 4 IN "TOP 20 PROGRAMS THAT INSPIRE"
• The Lion Football program was ranked No. 4 in College Athletic Advisor's Top 20 Programs That Inspire in 2021.
• The program rankings are open to all four-year, collegiate-level programs outside of NCAA Division I and are based on a subjective assessment of student experience in four areas:
-Holistic development of student-athletes in the institution;
-Academic achievement and support for the academic success of student-athletes;
-Overall college experience for participants within the program;
-Affordability/graduation rates/student satisfaction.
• Although College Athletic Advisor's list is subjective, the organization believes these rankings "present an informed starting point for a discussion about where student-athletes can excel as 'triple-threat' competitors (academics, athletics, and socially) in college and in their future lives."