September 19th, 2024 3:00am
Week 2 Recap
In case you missed it, here are the big stories from Week 2 of LSC football:
Now, about last week:
Sul Ross State wins at home over Wayland Baptist 52-51 (1 OT)
First off, congratulations to Sul Ross State for winning their first football game as a Division 2 program. Sure, it was over an NAIA squad that wanted nothing more than to pull off the upset (and nearly did), but it’s still a win for the Lobos. Of course, they had to work quite a bit more than expected to get that win. Midway through the second quarter, Andrew Martinez and the Lobos’ passing attack led them to a 31-7 lead and I’m sure many thought this would be an easy blowout. But almost immediately Wayland Baptist mounted a comeback, scoring two touchdowns to end the first half and to draw within 31-21. Sul Ross State was able to extend their lead to 45-27 in the third quarter, but the Pioneers had plenty left in the tank and scored the game’s final 18 points to force overtime.
But there was no overtime luck for the Pioneers.
Wayland Baptist took the ball first in the first overtime period and scored on a 1-yard run by Keamondre Horace. The extra point, however, was no good, and that would ultimately doom the Pioneers. Martinez hit a seam route to Yamil Oaxaca for a 20-yard touchdown pass, and Carlos Arreola’s extra point did not miss, and the Lobos get the win despite blowing the two big leads.
Sul Ross State improves to 1-2 and Wayland Baptist falls to 1-2.
#10 Central Washington wins at Colorado Mesa 28-12
Things weren’t looking too good for Central Washington as they found themselves down 9-0 at a Colorado Mesa team that already took down one LSC opponent in Texas A&M-Kingsville. Could the Mavericks, who had already turned a Kennedy McGill interception into a touchdown, force CWU into some more mistakes like they did to the Javelinas?
Not this time.
CWU took the ball in the second quarter and scored touchdowns both times, with the second coming on a 35-yard pass from wide receiver Darius Morrison to Darrien Gaines to give the Wildcats a 14-9 lead they wouldn’t lose. Even though Morrison was the first half’s top passer and not Kennedy McGill, the defense was solid and they were still winning, right?
The second half saw the CWU offense gain confidence with Tyler Flanagan and Cam Daniels providing stability in the running game. McGill eventually overtook Morrison as the leading passer (otherwise we’d have a really interesting story if that wasn’t the case), although his numbers (7 of 13 passes for 113 yards and an interception) weren’t exactly a masterclass in the quarterback position. Between that and the CWU defense not letting up, they extended their lead to 28-9 before a Sullivan Moon field goal gave Mesa their final points of the game. After that, McGill and the CWU offense took care of the final 8:54, holding the ball a total of 35:06 of the game.
Central Washington improves to 1-1 and Colorado Mesa falls to 1-1.
Texas-Permian Basin wins at home over Adams State 67-14
UTPB scored on 8 of its first 9 drives of the game to jump out to a 32-0 halftime lead and pretty much obliterated the Grizzlies, scoring on 11 of their 15 possessions overall. The Falcons had a perfect 50/50 balance on offense, 306 yards rushing and passing, and the UTPB defense held Adams State to 225 yards. Dylan Graham threw for 272 yards and 4 touchdowns, Kory Harris ran for 155 yards and 2 touchdowns, Ja’Juan Mason led all receivers with 72 yards on 3 catches, and Traylen Suel scored 1 touchdown receiving and 1 touchdown on a 96-yard kickoff return. Ahmare Merrida was the Grizzlies’ top offensive player with 55 rushing yards, 48 receiving yards, and a touchdown catch. Outside of that, there really isn’t much more to say, so that’s it.
Texas-Permian Basin improves to 2-1 and Adams State falls to 0-2.
Texas A&M-Kingsville wins at Mississippi College 27-7
So, Texas A&M-Kingsville wasn’t perfect this week. Gilberto Garza missed another field goal. But his lone miss on the day was from 52 yards, and even with kickers having rockets attached to their feet these days, that’s still an awfully long way to kick a football. Also, Kannon Williams and his backup Teague Sedtal weren’t perfect either, with both getting picked off in the first half.
But the Javelina defense and running game wouldn’t let any mistake hurt them.
Even when Mississippi College was up 7-3 late in the first quarter, this game was still very much in TAMUK’s control. The Javelina defense forced 3 turnovers and two failed fourth-down conversions, and the Roger Hagan and Santana Scott-led rushing attack gained 189 yards and allowed the Javelinas to hold the ball for 36:38 of the game. TAMUK turned that 7-3 deficit into a 13-7 halftime lead and they didn’t let up the rest of the way. Those missed kicks and interceptions? MC scored exactly zero points off them.
Texas A&M-Kingsville improves to 1-1 and Mississippi College falls to 0-2.
Angelo State wins at home over Eastern New Mexico 26-20
Not everything from this game was to Angelo State’s liking. First, the Rams gave up a season-high 371 yards to ENMU. Second, they game up 303 rushing yards to ENMU. Third, ENMU held the ball for 35:56, including three drives of 15 or more plays.
So, what did Angelo State do right?
First, the Rams got one more touchdown than the Greyhounds, which was the difference in the game. Second, ASU settled on Braeden Fuller as the starting quarterback, and for this week at least, he rewarded the coaching staff’s faith in him with 171 passing yards and a touchdown. Third, Brayden Wilcox seems to be getting into mid-season form, leading the Rams with 82 of ASU’s 195 rushing yards. Fourth, ASU converted a rare Mario Sanchez interception into a touchdown when Fuller found Hunter Wallis for an 8-yard touchdown with 5:57 left in the third quarter to put ASU up 26-13. Finally, ASU gave ENMU a taste of their own medicine, grinding out the last 6:21 of the game and preventing the Greyhounds from a possible game-tying drive at the end.
For ENMU, Sanchez wasn’t his normal self at quarterback, completing 3 of 7 passes for 68 yards and that big interception. The running game did perform effectively, led by Ja’Calvin Newsom and Ron Craten, who had 87 and 73 rushing yards. While ENMU’s fate may have come down to a Fuller 5-yard run on third down and 5 on that final ASU drive, it was the Sanchez interception (and the ASU touchdown that followed) that put ENMU in that situation in the first place.
Angelo State improves to 1-2 and Eastern New Mexico falls to 2-1.
Western Colorado wins at West Texas A&M 26-17
11:01 left I the game and West Texas A&M lines up for the game-tying field goal from 33 yards out. Cason Polivoda’s kick didn’t go through the uprights and the Buffaloes still trailed by 3. Now, once again, as they have done to far too many LSC teams over the past couple years, Western Colorado made very few mistakes and takes advantage of their opponents’ mistakes. A Drew Nash 2-yard run capped a 79-yard drive to put the Mountaineers up 26-17. WCU would force a three-and-out and WT decided to punt since there was still 6:28 left I the game and they had a chance to get the ball back.
Western Colorado made sure WT had no chance.
The Mountaineers went on a 10-play drive where they only faced on third down conversion, which they made. WCU ran the clock completely out and preserved a 26-17 win. The Mountaineers held the ball for all but 1:15 (when WT had the three-and-out) of the last 11:01 of the game. It just came down to WCU not beating themselves.
Western Colorado improves to 2-0 and West Texas A&M falls to 1-2.
Western New Mexico wins at home over New Mexico Highlands 36-33
The latest edition of La Batalla Bowl was a classic back-and-forth game that came down to the last second. Almost every time WNMU would go ahead, Highlands had an answer, tying the game three times before finally taking the lead on a Jeliun Carter (in relief of starter Jake Cave) to Nathan Lopez touchdown pass from 21 yards to give Highlands their first lead at 33-28. But Mustangs quarterback Josh Magana (who had his second straight solid game) took the Mustangs 65 yards in 9 plays, giving WNMU the lead back with a 6-yard touchdown pass to Edwin LaCrosse to put WNMU up 36-33 with the two-point conversion. Carter would rally the Cowboys to the WNMU 17-yard line, but there would not be one final Highlands answer, as he ran out of time before one final play could be made toward the end zone. WNMU holds on for their second straight win.
Western New Mexico improves to 2-1 and New Mexico Highlands falls to 0-2.
Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo wins at home over Western Oregon 31-14
One thing I learned from this game was that Cal Poly isn’t all that good. The other thing I learned was that Kainoa Jones might be Western Oregon’s quarterback. WOU didn’t look terrible in losing to the Division 1 Mustangs, but outside of their two touchdown drives, they ran into the same problems CWU did in their loss to Division 1 San Diego – they didn’t finish enough drives despite having more total yards, first downs, and holding the ball for over 35 minutes of the game. After tying the game early in the third quarter, WOU’s last four drives ended in a punt, blocked field goal, interception, and turnover on downs. All of this while Cal Poly scored the last 17 points of the game. WOU can leave this game with some things to build on going into next week despite the loss.
Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo improves to 1-2 and Western Oregon falls to 0-2.
LSC Week 2 Standings
School | LSC | Overall | |
|---|---|---|---|
Texas-Permian Basin | 1-0 | 2-1 | |
Angelo State | 1-0 | 1-2 | |
West Texas A&M | 1-0 | 1-2 | |
Central Washington | 0-0 | 1-1 | |
Midwestern State | 0-0 | 1-1 | |
Texas A&M-Kingsville | 0-0 | 1-1 | |
Western Oregon | 0-0 | 1-2 | |
Eastern New Mexico | 0-1 | 2-1 | |
Western New Mexico | 0-1 | 2-1 | |
Sul Ross State | 0-1 | 1-2 | |
Three-Way Dance for New Mexico Dominance Standings
School | Record |
|---|---|
Eastern New Mexico | 1-0 |
Western New Mexico | 1-0 |
New Mexico Highlands | 0-2 |
New Mexico Highlands has been eliminated from title contention, and New Mexico Dominance will be decided once and for all in the Green Chile Bowl, so I’ll mothball these standings until the week of October 26.
Week 3 Preview
It’s the first full week of league play, so that means the first league game for CWU, MSU, TAMUK, and WOU.
All games are on Saturday, September 21. All game times are in the Central time zone.
Western Oregon at Sul Ross State, 1:00 PM
Series History: First meeting
Western Oregon showed some positives in their loss to Cal Poly last week, particularly in their defensive effort and the play of Kainoa Jones at quarterback. WOU did outgain Cal Poly by 386 to 315 yards in the loss. Sul Ross State is looking for a shootout, or at the very least to get their passing game going early and often. If Andrew Martinez can find Vicente Luevano and Yamil Oaxaca enough, they may put some points up on the board and make things interesting. The Lobos need to work on going a full 60 minutes without either falling behind big early or running out of gas late. My guess is that they will likely run out of gas late due to not having quite enough defensive depth up front. Western Oregon isn’t going to blast anyone UTPB-style, but they really should have enough talent and physical presence to win this one. Western Oregon by 13 points.
Texas A&M-Kingsville at Texas-Permian Basin, 6:00 PM
Series History: Texas A&M-Kingsville leads 5-3
Last meeting: 2023 (Texas-Permian Basin won 29-17)
UTPB has been a team of extremes so far in 2024 – either they blow out their opponent, or they get blown out. I guess it’s good as long as they are on the winning end of most of them? One thing to look at on the UTPB side is how effective their running game is, as TAMUK has given up 105 yards a game on the ground in 2024, and the Falcons have a reputation of wanting to beat their opponents’ defense up front with their multi-faceted running game, which has averaged 190 yards a game in 2024. If CSU-Pueblo’s defensive effort is to be believed, the key to beating UTPB will be to bring pressure up front, force Falcon mistakes (specifically Dylan Graham), and take advantage of those mistakes. TAMUK is a team that can force turnovers (5 in 2 games in 2024), but the big question then is whether the Javelinas can take advantage of any UTPB mistakes with touchdowns like Pueblo did. I don’t know if their offense can, but the Javelinas’ defense will keep this one on the razor’s edge the whole way. Texas-Permian Basin by a field goal.
Angelo State at Western New Mexico, 7:00 PM
Series History: Angelo State leads 7-2
Last meeting: 2023 (Angelo State won 62-9)
I couldn’t tell you the last time Western New Mexico met Angelo State while having the better record, if it has ever happened. The Mustangs fared well in close games against lesser opposition in the RMAC while ASU kept it close against tougher MIAA opponents before getting their first win last week. Both teams have seemed to found answers at the quarterback position, with Josh Magana having a solid two weeks for WNMU and Braeden Fuller performing well for ASU last week. When looking at these teams, I think ASU still has the upper hand, especially when it comes to their defense and their experience against stronger opposition. Last year’s game was dominated by ASU on both sides of the ball, and while WNMU has shown some improvement, Magana should have a much tougher game against the ASU defense while Fuller and Brayden Wilcox should both have solid weeks again. Angelo State by 17 points.
Midwestern State at Eastern New Mexico, 7:00 PM
Series History: Midwestern State leads 22-7
Last meeting: 2023 (Midwestern State won 34-31)
Midwestern State got a week off after a close loss on the road at Western Colorado. The question coming out of that off week will be how their offense will respond. Was the huge passing game from Sean Jastrab a fluke, or a sign of things to come for the Mustangs? For so long MSU has relied on their ground game for most of their offense, it was strange to see it do a complete 180 against Western Colorado. I will be curious if MSU can show more balance on offense or if teams will try to strategize keeping the ball out of the hands of Devin Cross and Jalen March and force the ball into Jastrab’s hands since WCU did win that way, whether intentional or not.
For ENMU, they need to get more out of their drives and put themselves in position to get more touchdowns. Angelo State was able to keep them out of the end zone enough and weren’t fooled the few times the Greyhounds threw the ball. As with any ENMU game, the running game must be strong and get the Greyhounds into the end zone because their defense hasn’t been up to par yet, giving up 403 yards a game.
This game might be meat-grinder game of the week since both teams may still have a significant focus on the ground game. The MSU defense will have my attention since they have performed better in their games against tougher opposition compared to ENMU. I think that will be the difference in the game since I see the MSU defense keeping ENMU out of the end zone enough to win. Midwestern State by a touchdown.
Central Washington at West Texas A&M, 7:00 PM
Series History: West Texas A&M leads 5-2
Last meeting: 2023 (Central Washington won 30-14)
Hey mister, got a road map?
I’m kinda lost…
- Marshall Tucker Band, “A New Life”
October 21, 2023.
On this date CWU defeated West Texas A&M in what turned out to be Wildcats’ most recent home game. The now eight-game road trip will finally reach an end this week by visiting the very same team that they had that last home game against in West Texas A&M. The Wildcats regained some of their offensive bearings last week, particularly in their running game, where Tyler Flanagan and Cam Daniels both shared the rushing load. Kennedy McGill was better in the second half last week, but a solid 60 minutes would do the Wildcats well.
WTAMU has had significant issues running the football since the Sul Ross State game. Quarterback Sean Johnson has been the Buffaloes’ top rusher the last two weeks, and it hasn’t always been by design. Tre’Jon Henderson and the WT running backs have struggled to get yardage against the better RMAC defenses they have faced the past two weeks. Like those RMAC squads, CWU will show zero letdown in defensive skill. For that reason, I think CWU wins that eighth road game and moves up to a winning record. Central Washington by 10 points.