Leo Garcia

Football 9/19/2019 3:51:00 PM Jon Montoya, Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Information

Hogs host Rams for Lone Star Conference Opener

Javelina uniforms to be adorned with gold ribbons for Brooke's Blossoming Hope for Hall of Fame and Champions Weekend

The Matchup

Texas A&M-Kingsville is back at home for the third consecutive week to open up Lone Star Conference play against Angelo State for Hall of Fame and Champions Weekend
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Pepsi Field at Javelina Stadium on Saturday, September 21
The Javelinas will be wearing gold ribbons on their uniforms to honor the Brooke's Blossoming Hope Foundation
TAMUK has lost six straight to the Rams, including the last two at home
ASU took a 30-14 win in the 2018 matchup as the Hogs were held scoreless in the second half

Scouting the Rams

Angelo State has won two straight to open the season following a 68-7 win over Simon Fraser at home for week two
ASU won its first game of 2019 over Western Oregon, 45-20
Jeff Girsch is in his first full season as the head coach for the Rams after taking over the program for the final two weeks of the 2018 season
Keke Chism and Lawson Ayo serve as the one-two punch for the Rams' receiving corps as Chisum leads the way with 120 yards and one touchdown on 11 catches, while Ayo has 86 yards on seven catches and two scores
Payne Sullins has been the primary signal-caller for ASU, throwing for 406 yards on a 75.5 completion rate and five touchdowns
10 Rams have carried the ball on the ground for Angelo State, with Lloyd Howard bearing the brunt of the work with 29 carries for 248 yards and four touchdowns
Andy Becker leads the defensive effort with 12 total tackles, while Duran Miller owns 2.5 sacks
Becker, along with Devin Washington, both have one interception through two games, while Miller, Dagen Dunham and Alize Thomas both have a fumble recovery
Jared Defelice leads the kicking game with two field goals, including one from 30 yards out

Last Time Out

The Javelinas blew out Sul Ross State in the second week of the season, 72-0
It was the first time TAMUK scored at least 70 points in 43 years, with the last coming in 1976 against Stephen F. Austin on October 2, a 77-7 win
Luis Lopez ran for 132 yards on the ground in only 12 carries along with three touchdowns
The Javelinas posted seven total touchdowns on the ground, with Kris Barnes and Amonte Bowen both adding two
Cade Dyal threw for 146 yards and two scores through the air, connecting once each with Devin Milburn and Aaron Dilworth
Dilworth caught another touchdown later in the game from Koy Detmer Jr. and finished with 69 receiving yards
The Javelina defense held SRSU to a net rushing yardage of -1 on 28 attempts and limited the Lobos to 98 yards through the air
Ronnie LaRue intercepted a pass from Trey Johns at the start of the third quarter, while Jacob Clarkson and Tre'Michael Tutt both recovered a fumble

Lone Star Conference in the National Rankings

Three LSC teams continue to place in the AFCA and D2Football.com rankings through two weeks, with another two receiving votes in the AFCA poll
Tarleton remained at No. 4 in the AFCA rankings following a win over Doane and remained at No. 5 in the D2Football.com pol
A&M-Commerce remained at No. 12 in both polls following a 34-27 win over Western Oregon
Midwestern State snuck away with a 28-27 win over Lindenwood and remained at No. 16 in both polls
West Texas A&M started receiving votes following the 49-21 win over William Jewell, while Eastern New Mexico continued to receive votes after holdling on to a 44-37 win over Colorado Mesa
Angelo State stopped receiving votes in the AFCA poll despite defeating Simon Fraser 68-7

History in the Making

TAMUK's 72-0 win over Sul Ross State was the first shutout for head coach Daren Wilkinson since he first took over the program ahead of the 2015 season
The win was also his first 70-point win at the helm of the program
The last shutout came in the 2010 season, a 21-0 win over A&M-Commerce on September 8
It was the 126th shutout in program history and the 10th of Sul Ross State
The Javelinas held the Lobos to a net rushing yardage of -1, the first time since 2016 TAMUK held its opponents to a net negative rushing yardage
Since Wilkinson joined the program, the Hogs have their their opponents to fewer than 100 yards on 13 different occasions, including twice so far in the 2019 campaign, twice in 2018, four times in 2017, and five times in 2016

Familiar Territory

The contest against Sul Ross State (Division-III) was the fourth in five seasons against an opponent outside of NCAA Division IIwith Daren Wilkinson at the helm of the program
Wilkinson currently owns a 3-1 record against non-Division-II foes, including a 1-1 mark against Incarnate Word (Division-I)
UIW took an 18-16 win in the 2015 meeting in San Antonio, while TAMUK returned the favor in 2016 with a 31-22 win at Javelina Stadium
The Hogs defeated Texas Wesleyan (NAIA) in 2018 at 52-10 in the first meeting against the Rams since 1945
TAMUK posted a 72-0 shutout of Sul Ross in the second week of 2019

Go Big or Go Home

The Javelinas have had 15 plays in excess of 20 yards, including two of at least 70 yards
Lopez's 70-yard touchdown run, along with a 79-yard kick return from Amos Coleman III, both came against Sul Ross State

Driving Range

TAMUK has posted 12 scoring drives so far in 2019, including two drives that lasted under a minute
Both drives that were under 60 seconds ended on a rushing touchdown courtesy of Lopez
The Hogs have had four scoring drive in excess of four minutes, all lasting at least eight plays and three of which ended on a passing touchdown

Sizing Up

The Javelinas have outgained both of their 2019 opponents through the air, surpassing Saginaw Valley State 263-259 and Sul Ross State 298-98