KINGSVILLE, Texas – Looking to bounce back from an opening night loss, the Texas A&M-Kingsville football team will be attempting to even their record at 1-1 when they journey to Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada to battle the Simon Fraser Clan on Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. at Terry Fox Field.

The Javelinas (0-1) enter this game following a 34-10 loss to Central Washington on Sept. 2^nd in which they saw an early 10-0 lead fall by the wayside. Their final point total represented the fewest points they've scored since they were held to seven by Eastern New Mexico on Nov. 8^th 2014. Coach Daren Wilkinson and his team will be attempting to avoid the program's first 0-2 start since 2007.

"We need to make sure we go into the game respecting our opponent," said Wilkinson. "I know we thought our team was going to be good and we thought Central Washington was going to be a formidable opponent, but I don't think we respected them as much as we had warned [our players] to. That's on us as coaches, but we need to make sure that, no matter who we're playing, we respect our opponent."

For Simon Fraser, they will also be attempting to capture their first win of 2017 following a 34-28 defeat at the hands of Arizona Christian University. That loss was the 24^th in-a-row for the Clan, a streak that dates back to Oct. 18^th 2014, when they knocked off South Dakota School of Mines. Their slide started before the arrival of current head coach Kelly Bates, who is still searching for his first triumph against 20 losses.

Javelina quarterback Connor Smith figures to be under center for the second consecutive Saturday and he'll once again be searching for his first victory in the Blue and Gold. The senior totaled 23 completions in 36 attempts for 222 yards in his debut last week. The biggest blemish on his stat line was a fourth quarter interception and he was sacked four times but also had three completions for more than 20 yards.

"He made some good throws," said Wilkinson. "He also made some throws that we'd like for him to have back. He just needs to be more consistent. It'd been a long time since he stepped on a football field and there were definitely some jitters for him."

Kingsville's top performer on offense was running back Nick Pelrean, who totaled 102 yards on the ground and broke loose in the first quarter for a 56-yard touchdown. The score represented the eighth TD in Pelrean's last six games and he's now topped 100 yards rushing three times as a Javelina. At the receiver position, junior Kyle Plum grabbed a team-high five passes for 68 yards with tight end Stehly Reden pulling down four receptions including a 42-yarder.

"[The run game] is where everything starts," said Wilkinson. "Our offense is such that we have to run the football. Central Washington put pressure on us and that forced us to start throwing the ball more often than we wanted to. We need to be able to stick to the gameplan and run the ball a little bit more consistently."

Simon Fraser signal caller Miles Richardson enters this row fresh off a career day. The redshirt sophomore rolled up 434 yards, the fourth-highest week one total in Division II, and accounted for all four SFU touchdowns. He fired two touchdown passes without a turnover, marking the first time he's thrown more touchdowns than interceptions in a game. He also scrambled across the goal line twice, picking up the first two rushing TDs of his collegiate career. The native of Burien, Wa. made good use of the big play, hooking up with his receivers seven times for plays 25 yards or longer.
 
The Clan had two different receivers pull down eight catches for over 100 yards, led by Gavin Cobb's eight receptions for 183 yards, putting him fifth in the NCAA in receiving yards. Not far behind is flanker Nathanael Durkan with 8 catches for 115 yards and a score. It was a different story on the ground for coach Bates's group, as they could only amass 26 yards on 23 rushing attempts. Starting running back Jalen Jana ran for 37 yards on 11 carries.

Coach David Brown II and his defense are tasked with slowing down SFU's attack. Against Central Washington, they allowed a completion percentage of just 50% and Kuziah Ferebee also snagged an interception. Trevor Moses led the group with 11 tackles, the third time in Kingsville's last five games the linebacker has led the team in takedowns. Brandon Jones picked up right where he left off in 2016 by collecting a pair of tackles for loss and Caleb Valentine came up with the first sack of 2017 for the Javelinas.

"We need to do our job on defense," said Wilkinson. "When we got gashed last week, there were situations where certain players were taking the defense into their own hands and maybe not sticking to their assignments. It all goes back to just doing your job."

Against Arizona Christian, Simon Fraser's defense was led by linebacker Jordan Leech, who racked up nine tackles, while fellow linebacker Trevor Kemp and defensive back Brendan Lowry were both credited with eight. The unit also totaled five tackles for loss, but had difficulty getting off the field, allowing the Firestorm to convert on seven third downs in 15 attempts.

One of the biggest issues for the Clan in their season opening defeat was their special teams. They allowed 128 yards on four kick returns, an average of exactly 32 yards per runback. The also gave up an average of better than 15 yards on four punt returns.

The first trip for Texas A&M-Kingsville to Terry Fox Field will be the second encounter between these programs. Last season, Simon Fraser came to Javelina Stadium and were decisively defeated, 68-7. Six first quarter TDs for the Hogs put them ahead 40-0 and set a school record for the most points scored in one quarter.

Saturday's game will be broadcast live on WILD 105.5 FM and KTAI 91.1 FM in Kingsville and Javelina fans can also find the link online at javelinaathletics.com. Fans are also encouraged to follow and interact on all Javelina social media accounts. For full coverage of Texas A&M-Kingsville football, please follow @JavelinaFB on Twitter and Instagram, like the official Facebook page of Javelina football (/JavelinaFootball) and subscribe to the JavelinaAthletics YouTube channel.