Lone Star Conference Football Weekly Release (09/18/17)

1. Angelo State | Cameron | Eastern New Mexico | Midwestern State | Tarleton State | Texas A&M-Commerce
Texas A&M-Kingsville | Texas Woman’s | UT Permian Basin | West Texas A&M | Western New Mexico
www.lonestarconference.org | 1221 W. Campbell Rd. Suite 171, Richardson, Texas 75080 | Phone: 972-234-0033 | Fax: 972-234-4110
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, September 18, 2017
Contact: Melanie Robotham, (972) 234-0033 Ext. 103
LONE STAR CONFERENCE FOOTBALL WEEKLY RELEASE
September 18, 2017
LSC FOOTBALL
This week’s schedule includes four Lone Star Conference games with Texas A&M-Commerce at Texas A&M-Kingsville,
West Texas A&M at Tarleton State, Angelo State at Eastern New Mexico, and UT Permian Basin at Western New Mexico.
A&M-C and MSU top the standings at 3-0 and 2-0, respectively.
LSC football teams are 14-12 overall this season. The squads are 2-3 combined versus the Rocky Mountain Athletic
Conference, Northern Sun Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, and Great Northwest Athletic Conference teams, which
are also in NCAA Super Regional Four.
LSC schedule and results available here: http://www.lonestarconference.org/calendar.aspx?path=football
LSC FOOTBALL ON ESPN3
The Lone Star Conference game between Tarleton State and Texas A&M-Kingsville on October 21 will be featured as
part of the 2017 NCAA Division II Football Showcase schedule.
The Texans and Javelinas Homecoming meeting in Kingsville, Texas, will be streamed live on ESPN3 as part of an
ongoing three-year agreement to highlight Division II athletics events.
The first 18 games of the football showcase are predetermined matchups. Four additional flex games — highlighting
crucial matchups — will be finalized later in the football season and played in November.
ESPN3 is ESPN’s live multiscreen sports network, a destination that delivers thousands of exclusive sports events
annually. It is accessible on computers, smartphones, tablets and connected devices through the ESPN app. The network
is currently available nationwide at no additional cost to fans who receive their high-speed internet connection or video
subscription from an affiliated service provider.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
OFFENSIVE
Luiz Perez, Texas A&M University-Commerce, SR, QB, Chula Vista, Calif., Otay Ranch HS
Perez had one of the best showings of his career in his three quarters of action in the No. 3 Lions 51-22 win over Eastern
New Mexico. He went 20-for-24 for 357 yards and five touchdown passes. He also ran for a six-yard touchdown in the
game. Perez did the majority of his damage in the first half, throwing 16-for-18 for 328 yards and 5 TDs in the first half.
Perez threw passes of 25+ yards to five different receivers, including three touchdown passes of more than 50 yards.
Perez has thrown nine touchdowns in his last two games and has a completion percentage of 70 percent so far this year.

2. DEFENSIVE
EJ Speed, Tarleton State University, JR, LB, Fort Worth, Texas, N. Crowley HS
Speed came up with big moment after big moment for Tarleton in Saturday's LSC opening win at Angelo State. ASU was
amid a run of 10 unanswered points and looking to take the lead heading into halftime with 1:44 on the clock in a 17-17
game, but Speed had other ideas. The junior linebacker forced and recovered a fumble, which he ran in back 10 yards
for his first career touchdown, to give the Texans the lead for good right before the break. Fast forward into the third
quarter with time winding down and Tarleton leading 27-17 and the Rams attempting to punt from their own 25-yard
line, Speed strikes again. The linebacker blows through the ASU offensive line and knocks down the punt, which rolled
out of bounds at the four and set up another scoring opportunity for the Texans. Despite also being responsible for 10
Tarleton points, Speed also made himself known with arguably the biggest stop of his career in the fourth quarter. With
10 minutes left in the game and ASU trailing 30-17, the Rams marched 62 yards down to the Tarleton one-yard line
before Speed stopped quarterback Charlie Rotherham for a two-yard loss on fourth-and-goal from the one-yard line.
Tarleton took over and was eventually able to run the clock out en route to a 30-24 win over the previously unbeaten
Rams. Speed finished the game with eight tackles, three for a loss, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery for a touchdown,
and a blocked punt.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Sergio Sroka, Tarleton State University, SR, K, Miami, Fla., Belen Jesuit HS
Sroka went 3-for-4 in the kicking game, including a long field goal of 38 yards to help Tarleton get past Angelo State 30-
24 in the LSC opener last Saturday.
WEEKLY AWARDS
Offensive
S-4 D'Angelo Bowie, Western New Mexico
S-11 Jordan Thomas, Texas A&M-Kingsville
S-18 Luiz Perez, Texas A&M-Commerce
Defensive
S-4 Chris Smith, Texas A&M-Commerce
S-11 Daelin Young, West Texas A&M
S-18 EJ Speed, Tarleton State
Special Teams
S-4 Bailey Hale, Eastern New Mexico
S-11 Alex Schrag, West Texas A&M
S-18 Sergio Sroka, Tarleton State
OTHER TOP PERFORMERS
Del'Michael High, Tarleton State University, enjoyed his best performance of the young season as the senior wide
receiver hauled in eight passes for 119 yards in Tarleton's 30-24 win in the conference opener at Angelo State last
weekend.
Josh Stevens, Angelo State University, led the Rams on offense with a career high 169 yards on the ground. The
senior averaged 7.3 yards per carry and scored twice on the ground. He carried the ball 23 times with a long of 43. The
Ormand Beach native also caught four passes for 44 yards.

3. Kamal Cass, Eastern New Mexico University, accounted for 146 all-purpose yards in Eastern's game at third-ranked
Texas A&M-Commerce. The senior running back notched his first 100-yard game of the season on the ground and
caught a pass.
Marcus Younger, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, lifted the backfield with a game-high 132 yards from scrimmage
in the 35-13 loss to Midwestern State. Younger rushed for 116 yards on 17 carries, averaging 6.8 yards per touch, while
also catching two passes for 16 yards. Younger longest run for the game was for 23 yards.
D'Angelo Bowie, Western New Mexico, continues to be one of the top receivers in the nation as he added six
receptions for 108 yards and two scores. His longest catch of 35 yards went for a touchdown and was the first score of
the game for the Mustangs. His second TD of 21 yards brought WNMU to within 12 with still over four minutes to play in
the third quarter. This season he now has 464 yards and five touchdowns.
Layton Rabb, Midwestern State University, completed 17-of-22 passes for a career-high 230 yards with two
touchdowns helping 13th-ranked Midwestern State to a 35-13 win over Texas A&M-Kingsville Saturday night at
Memorial Stadium. The 6-5, 225-pound junior connected on scoring strikes to Dorian Johnson (11) and D.J. Myers (45)
and also had a 56-yard strike to Tyrique Edwards to set up another score.
Bright Ihegworo, Angelo State University, had a career day for the Ram defense. He recorded a career high with 3.0
sacks and 4.0 tackles for loss. He was a part of a defense that limited TSU to only 83 yards rushing. The 11 total tackles
tie his career high as Angelo State held Tarleton State to only 291 yards of total offense.
Peyton Tilley, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, led the Javelinas with a season-high ten tackles including three solo
stops. Tilley also scooped a fumble and picked up four yards at a critical point of the game versus #13 Midwestern State.
Isaiah Barnett, West Texas A&M University, was all over the field in the Buffs' 17-6 win over UT Permian Basin on
Saturday. He led the team with eight tackles and six solo stops, while having two interceptions for 57 yards and three
pass breakups. Barnett's two picks led to the first 10 points of the game for the Buffs. Leading 7-3 in the third, Barnett
picked off Kameron Mathis for the second time and returned it 45 yards to the UTPB 19 setting up a field goal for a 10-3
lead.
Yusef Sterling-Lowe, Texas A&M University-Commerce, had eight tackles, including a four-yard tackle for loss in the
No. 3 Lions 51-22 win over Eastern New Mexico. Seven of his tackles were solo tackles. Sterling-Lowe did not have a pass
thrown his direction as the Lion defense gave up just 104 yards passing in the game.
Joe Tito, Western New Mexico, was all over the backfield against the Wolves posting two sacks, three tackles for
loss, two quarterback hurries and five total tackles, with two coming solo. His first sack led to a strip-sack and helped
stop a drive deep in WNMU territory.
Dakota Montoya, Eastern New Mexico University, registered the first interception of his career on Saturday at third-
ranked Texas A&M-Commerce. He returned that interception for ENMU's first pick-six since October 2015.
Alec DiValerio, Midwestern State University, spearheaded a Midwestern State defense which kept Texas A&M-
Kingsville out of the end zone in four trips to the Red Zone during a 35-13 win Saturday night at Memorial Stadium. The
6-4, 260-pound junior from Sachse made seven tackles including two for loss with a quarterback sack.
Kristov Martinez, Texas A&M University-Commerce, moved into second place in school history in points scored. He
is still perfect on field goal attempts, placing another kick through the uprights against the Greyhounds. He also made six
extra points in the Lions 51-22 win over ENMU. He is 55 points away from becoming the all-time leading scorer, trailing
only former Lion kicking great Billy Watkins.
Bailey Hale, Eastern New Mexico University, turned in another strong week for the Eastern New Mexico University
football team. His first-quarter field goal at third-ranked Texas A&M-Commerce was a career-best 48 yards. He also had
a pair of touchbacks on four kickoffs.
Sean North, Western New Mexico, showed his versatility as he returned four kickoffs for 127 yards, with a long of
57. He routinely took the ball out of the end zone on the kickoffs, adding returns of 20, 32 and 18 yards.

4. Mitchell Henton, Midwestern State University, averaged 44.5 yards on four punts placing one inside the 20-yard line
with a long of 49 while helping Midwestern State to a 35-13 win over Texas A&M-Kingsville Saturday night at Memorial
Stadium. The 6-2, 225-pound senior also successfully converted each of his five point-after attempts while stepping as
the primary place kicker for the first time in his collegiate career.
LSC NOTES (Submitted by LSC SID’s)
Angelo State
* Tarleton State 30, Angelo State 24
Eastern New Mexico
After opening the season with two wins, the Eastern New Mexico football team suffered its first loss. A tough first half
lifted third-ranked Texas A&M-Commerce over the Greyhounds, although ENMU provided a number of highlights.
Defensive lineman Dakota Montoya turned the first interception of his career into the Hounds first pick-six since
October 2015. Senior running back Kamal Cass turned in his first 100-yard rushing day of the season. Tobi Amadi also
forced a fumble. The Greyhounds have won the turnover battle and time of possession in all three contests this season.
This week, ENMU will host Angelo State in the Annual Hall of Honors Game, which also is part of Military Appreciation
Day.
Midwestern State
Midwestern State improved to 2-0 for the fourth consecutive season taking a 35-13 win over Texas A&M-Kingsville
Saturday night at Memorial Stadium... The Mustangs moved to 10-6 in LSC openers in the Bill Maskill era (starting in 2002)
and won the league opener for the fourth straight year for the first time since joining the league in 1997... MSU improved
to 53-9 (.855) in games played before Oct. 1 in the Maskill era... MSU extended its dominance over Texas A&M-Kingsville
winning for the seventh straight time over the Hoggies and have won 12 of the last 13 meetings with TAMUK... The
Mustangs have scored at least 30 points in 12 of the last 13 meetings with the Javelinas... Junior running back Adrian
Seales became the 20th player in program history to rush for 1,000 yards finishing with 83 yards on 13 carries and now
has 1,025 career rushing yards... Fellow junior running back Vincent Johnson ran for 62 yards on 11 carries with two
touchdowns. It was his 12th career game with multiple TDs... Johnson moved past Craig Pettigrew (1,516 yards/1991-93)
into 13th place on MSU's all-time rushing list with 1,531 yards... Junior quarterback Layton Rabb passed for a career-high
230 yards on 17-of-22 passing with two touchdowns... Sophomore Tyrique Edwards paced the receiving corps with 74
yards on three receptions... The MSU defense has surrendered one offensive touchdown in through eight quarters of
football... The Mustangs amassed 11 tackles for loss and sacked the Texas A&M-Kingsville quarterback five times... Senior
defensive end Semaj Robinson accounted for three tackles for loss, two sacks, forced a fumble and had one quarterback
hurry... Junior defensive end Alec DiValerio finished with seven tackles, two for loss and one sack with a quarterback
hurry... Junior Deandra Stevenson and sophomore Travon Ransom also notched sacks... Sophomore cornerback DaMarcus
Wilson made seven tackles and broke up a team-high three passes... Sophomore cornerback Robert Grays made seven
tackles and broke up two passes before leaving the game with a serious injury with 3:34 to play in the fourth quarter...
Senior punter Mitchell Henton averaged 44.5 yards on four punts placing one inside the 20 with a long of 49. He was also
a perfect 5-for-5 on PATs assuming kicking duties for the first time in his collegiate career...
Tarleton State
Tarleton topped Angelo State 30-24 to win its league opener last weekend. EJ Speed led the Texan defense that came up
with five takeaways. The Texans will return home to host West Texas A&M Saturday night in Stephenville.

5. Texas A&M-Commerce
The No. 3 Lions defeated Eastern New Mexico 51-22 on Saturday to pick up their first conference win and move to 3-0
on the year. The Lion offense had 445 yards, including 358 yards through the air, and seven touchdowns. The Lions had
back-to-back one play touchdown drives in the first half, scoring 41 points in the first half. The Lion defense forced two
fumbles and held the Greyhounds to under 50 percent conversion rate on third down. The Lions will face A&M-Kingsville
on the road on Saturday. The Lions have a current five-game winning streak against the Javelinas.
Texas A&M-Kingsville
* Midwestern State 35, Texas A&M-Kingsville 13
UT Permian Basin
* West Texas A&M 17, UT Permian Basin 6
West Texas A&M
The Buffs improved to 2-1 on the year and closed a three-game home stand with a 17-6 win over UT Permian Basin
Saturday afternoon...Though the Buffs didn't play well, the team got the victory thanks to strong defense and a pair of
sophomore Isaiah Barnett interceptions leading to 10 points for the Buffs...Barnett led the team with eight tackles and
six solo stops, two interceptions for 57 yards and three pass breakups...WT tallied four sacks in the game with two from
Daelin Young and nine tackles for loss as Young had a team-high three tackles in the backfield...The WT offense
continued to struggle as the team had 222 yards of offense with just 82 yards on the ground and 140 through the
air...Junior quarterback Ben Arbuckle had his first start of the season going 13 for 24 with two interceptions for 140
yards...In addition, WT struggled on third down going 2 of 11, while UTPB was 6 of 18...The Buffs make their first road
trip of the season this week as they travel to Tarleton State for a 7:05 kick Saturday night.
Western New Mexico
Despite a strong rally early in the second half to get back to within 12, Western Oregon was not to be denied in taking
the 58-21 win over WNMU. Ian Davis posted 10 tackles, eight solo, while Dominic Barry was second with nine stops.
D'Angelo Bowie again went for over 100 yards receiving and added two scores.
Bowie continues to be one of the top receivers in the nation as he added six receptions for 108 yards and two scores. His
longest catch of 35 yards went for a touchdown and was the first score of the game for the Mustangs. His second TD of
21 yards brought WNMU to within 12 with still over four minutes to play in the third quarter. This season he now has
464 yards and five touchdowns.
Tito was all over the backfield against the Wolves posting two sacks, three tackles for loss, two quarterback hurries and
five total tackles, with two coming solo. His first sack led to a strip-sack and helped stop a drive deep in WNMU territory.
North showed his versatility as he returned four kickoffs for 127 yards, with a long of 57. He routinely took the ball out
of the end zone on the kickoffs, adding returns of 20, 32 and 18 yards.
# LSC #