(courtesy of Standard Times)
VERSUS



(courtesy of Amarillo Globe News)

Regional Rankings RELEASED for 3rd Time:


1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. stWeek 11 Previews and Predictions:

Oklahoma Panhandle State (5-4) v. Tarleton State (2-7), Noon Kickoff

Stephenville, TX



nd half, the Javelinas were already up 43 to 17 and there was 2:19 left in the game. Woerner could only manage 12 completion for 175 yards and 2 TDs with 1 INT. The running corp was held to only 106 yards. The Texans even had the turnover advantage; but, still feel out of contention in the 2nd half.



I will be intrigued to see what these 2 teams do in a second game against each other. Will records be broke again? Will they put up over a combination of 1,000 yards in a single game, again? Time will tell and Saturday quickly approaches for a Noon kickoff. I think this comes down to if the Aggies can slow down the Texans passing game. My first thought is, probably not. OPSU has struggled in pass defense and is giving up an average of 263 passing yards a game. They do look good to slow the good rushing Texans game, as they have a really good rush defense.



A salute goes out to Head Coach Cary Fowler for his season with the Tarleton State Texans.



Prediction: Tarleton State 1,338 OPSU 927
HA! Just Kidding
Tarleton State 56 OPSU 38



Texas A&M Kingsville (2-8) v. West Texas A&M (5-4), 1 p.m. Kickoff

Canyon, TX


rd series of the Javelina Offense in the 1st quarter and would not return, being replaced by transfer Stevie Joe Dorman at the QB position.

The Buffaloes appeared to be a little sluggish last week against Panhandle State. I will have to admit that the Aggies looked pumped to play this game and McClendon ran hard on the Buffs for 170 yards and averaging 8.5 per carry. Who thought this game would be 7 to 0 at halftime? If the Aggies had not turned the ball over twice, could they have won? RBs Devon Paye and Geremy Alridge-Mitchell accounted for 166 rushing yards and 2 scores. Paye looks to be the successor to the throne for the Buffaloes at the RB position next season. TE Dillon Vaughan got back into the action this week with 63 receiving yards and a long of 28. Wideout Xavier Amey has looked a lot better for the Buffs in the last few weeks and helped in this one with 91 receiving yards and 1 TD.

The Javelinas had a full head of steam last week against Tarleton State. The Texans went into the half all knotted up at 17. Then, it was all Kingsville, a very similar scenario to the Texans game against Angelo State. Strange coincidence. The Javs put up a staggering 494 total offensive yards on the Texans. They held the Texans to only 175 receiving yards on the day. The also had a 2 to 0 turnover margin in their favor. Carr put up 3 passing TDs with 0 INTs on the day and was not sacked. RB Greg Pitre ran wild with 186 rushing yards, while Carr had 5 attempts for 78 rushing yards. Overall, one heck of an offensive production game for the Javelinas.

These two teams will go at it again but at the opposite stadium from the regular season scheduled game. I absolutely think this will be a COMPLETELY different game. I named several of the variables in the first game; removing those almost makes a completely different game for any set of teams. Carr is back in at QB, the Javelinas are having good offensive production lately, the Javelinas have the top LSC pass defense only allowing an average 182.5 passing yards per game. Neither team can stop the run that well and are both last in the conference running the ball. West Texas appears to have a little better offensive production; however, Kingsville has one of the better LSC defenses. Almost every LSC team has struggled getting past the Hoggies in way or another.


Buffs run wild at home!

Prediction: West Texas A&M 34 Texas A&M Kingsville 27


rd Place Game:
Angelo State (6-4) v. Eastern New Mexico (6-4), 1 p.m. Kickoff

Portales, TX,


The final game at Blackwater Draw will be played this weekend when the Greyhounds play host to the Angelo State Rams in the 3rd place matchup. Over the years, Blackwater Draw has become a place where strange things can appear to happen, even to the best teams in the country. You kind of never know what you are going to get heading into the Draw. I have always liked that about the Home of the ENMU football team. They may not always be the best team in the LSC in some years; but, when you come to the Draw, all bets are OFF. Oh, has there been some great games at Blackwater Draw!

Last time out: Like many of the other teams playing this week, these 2 squared-off just 3 weeks ago at the Draw. The Greyhounds jumped out to a good lead on the Rams in the 1st half with a 31 to 15 score margin. Then, just like that, it was 38 to 15 midway through the 3rd quarter. ENMU accumulated an astounding 583 rushing yards and 6 TDs, almost 5 times the amount of rushing yards that the Rams produces (118 yards). ENMU only passed the ball a total of 5 times with 18 receiving yards and an INT, while the Rams went to the air for 387 passing yards and 1 TD. Offensive Coordinator Lee really had the offense clicking and in sync with an overwhelming force and driving the ball to the end zone. The Rams really had no answer to stop the Triple-Option. The teams were almost polar opposites in the game. Unfortunately, the Rams could not pull out of the big hole and only mustered 13 points in the second half, with a 46 to 28 final.

ENMU gave everything they had and put it all towards trying to beat Midwestern State, last week. The Greyhounds led most of the game against MSU, who barely beat them early on in the season. The game last week would prove to be no different, as the game had to go all the way into the 4th quarter to determine a winner. ENMU entered the 4thth quarter. MSU outgained ENMU by only 37 yards, with the help of passing the ball. ENMU could only seem to convert 6 of their 20 passes for 64 yards, fairly low even for their triple-option. However, the Mustangs are one of the better pass defenses in the league. RB Kamal Cass has really been quite a force for ENMU. He accumulated 197 rushing yards and 3 TDs (1,275 rushing yards and 19 TDs for season). Just a reminder, he is only a sophomore.

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The Rams struggled immensely against the Greyhounds last time. Truth be told, the game was never that close as ENMU controlled the clock and the game most of the way through. Angelo has probably been focusing all week on how to stop or slow down the Triple-Option running attack of the Greyhounds. This was their main struggle out last and will most certainly be this week. The good thing going for the Rams is that they have the best passing offense (338.2 avg) in the conference and ENMU has the worst passing defense (275.2 avg). They will certainly need that factor to play out to their advantage.


Greyhounds bring 1 last win to Blackwater Draw!

Prediction: ENMU 38 Angelo State 35



GAME OF THE YEAR PART 2

#11 Midwestern State (9-1) v. #8 Texas A&M Commerce (8-2), 2:30 p.m. Kickoff

Commerce, TX,
Memorial Stadium

The Lions might have had a little shy of a heart attack last week in pulling out a win over a tough and determined Angelo State team that looked to have their number again in the LSC playoff. However, the Lions prevailed in the end. Commerce will play host again to Midwestern State, who played in Commerce only 3 short weeks ago. So many things on the line for both of these teams, mostly the NCAA Playoffs. Here is the utter truth: Win and you host a 1st
Last time out: I traveled down to watch this one because the LSC Title was on the line. The game featured wet conditions with a steady mist and never was torrential downpour. The mist came on and went off multiple times. At first, it looked like both teams were running in slow condition, mainly due to the rain. The Lions jumped out to a 21 point lead in the 1st half and took that into halftime (21 to 0). Then, here came the Mustangs with 2 scores in the 3rd quarter to make the game back to manageable. QB Quade Coward was looking good and leading the Mustangs. The Lions responded at the end of the 3rd with a FG and then a costly Coward INT early in the 4th lead to a FG for the Lions (27 to 14). Then, midway through the 4th QB Quade Coward went down on a hit and Hutchinson would try to help win the game. However, the Mustangs could not get much into a rhythm and finished with a 14 to 27 final. The Lions and Mustangs were fairly even most of the way in the game. It appeared that most of the scoring for Commerce came on the big play drives (big run or big pass) where the receiver or player broke open for a big game. Additionally, 6 turnovers by the Mustangs certainly did not help their effort.


I mentioned the Commerce-Angelo game some in the previous preview and want to state on what an incredible game that it turned out to be. I did not miss a beat of it and had no clue who would be triumphant in the end. The Lions were down and not quite there in the game to surge back until an 88 yard kickoff return by none other than Richard Cooper to spark the Lions at the right time. Before that play, the Lions were down by 18 points to Angelo. The critical juncture was stopping Kyle Washington on a sneak near the end of the 4th quarter and the turnover on downs at the 1-yard line. The Lions had the ball at the 1 and could not take a safety or they would be down. However, a burst up the middle by none other than Richard Cooper for a 50 yard gain would seal the deal for the Lions.


Concluding Thoughts:

Another great showdown in the making. NCAA Playoffs on the line with possible home field advantage, LSC tournament trophy is up for grabs and all over LSC supremacy make this an AWESOME game.

The Lions find a way to pull it out!

Prediction: Texas A&M Commerce 31 Midwestern State 28