Leo Garcia

Football 10/7/2021 5:00:00 PM Jon Montoya, Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Information

Javelinas back in action for road trip to No. 20/18 Midwestern State

Kickoff set for 7 p.m. CT at Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls, Texas

The Matchup

The Javelinas return from their bye for another ranked matchup in the 2021 season with a road trip to Wichita Falls, Texas, against No. 20/18 Midwestern State
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Memorial Stadium and will broadcast live on the LSC Digital Network with a free audio broadcast on the Javelina Sports Network with Mark Inserra on the call
Saturday marks the 23rd meeting between the two programs, with MSU leading the series 16-4
The first meeting between the two programs was on October 18, 1997 at a neutral site, with TAMUK claiming the win at 30-7
The Mustangs have won 10 straight contests, and 15 of the last 16 games, with a 45-34 win in Wichita Falls during the COVID season in spring of 2021
The Javelinas last defeated the Mustangs on November 6, 2010, in Kingsville at 27-7

Scouting the Mustangs

Midwestern State suffered its first loss of the 2021 season last week on the road against Central Washington at 30-20
The loss to the Wildcasts snapped a four-game win streak for the Mustangs, two of which came over ranked opponents
MSU defeated No. 7 A&M-Commerce on September 11 in a neutral site matchup at Choctaw Stadium in Arlington, Texas, at 31-30, followed by a 35-17 win over No. 17 Angelo State on the road the next week
Dillon Sterling-Cole leads the passing attack with 1277 yards on 89 completions in 162 attempts with 14 touchdowns and seven interceptions
Kylan Harrison is the primary target with 15 catches for 295 yards and five scores, but trails Ja'Juan Mason who leads the team with 343 ayrds on 14 catches and two touchdowns
Jalen March anchors the ground game with 241 yards on 45 attempts without a single rush for loss, along with three touchdowns
The defense featured an NCAA-best 54 tackles for loss, led by Melik Owens who has eight along with 3.5 sacks

Last Time Out

The Javelinas fell to No. RV/24 A&M-Commerce on September 25 at home by a score of 35-10
A&M-C scored the first three touchdowns of the game, including a 73-yard score from Antonio Leali'ie'e on the second play from scrimmage, before a 22-yard boot from Gilbert Garza in the second quarter got the Hogs on the board
The Lions added two more touchdowns in the game while Christian Anderson scrambled for a four-yard run late in the third as the only time TAMUK found the back of the end zone
Anderson finished with 66 yards on the ground behind 15 carries
Ty Chisum led the receiving corps with three catches for 64 yards
Zadock Dinkelmann completed eight passes on 12 attempts for 91 yards
Cameron Cauthen led the defensive effort with nine total tackles, five solo and 0.5 for loss

The First Of Many

The 24-10 win over Western Oregon on September 11 was the first win for head coach Mike Salinas in his tenure as the Hogs' lead man
The 36-10 win over Eastern New Mexico on September 18 was the first league win for Salinas
Salinas took over the program in December 2019 as the 12th head coach and 11th full-time head coach of Javelina Football

Grind It Out

The Javelinas compiled 214 yards on the ground as a team in the 24-10 win over Western Oregon, most since October 19, 2019, when the program finished with 237 rushing yards
The 2019 season also featured 302 rushing yards against Sul Ross State on September 14
The Javelinas are averaging 170.2 yards on the ground through four games, 49th in the nation and third-best in the Lone Star Conference

Getting Stingy

The Javelina defense allowed only 58 rushing yards against Eastern New Mexico on September 18
It is the fourth time in the five games since Mike Salinas took over that the defense held its opponents to fewer than 70 rushing yards in the game, including the two games in the spring of 2021
The Javelina defense didn't allow more than 100 yards on the ground in any of the four contests since Salinas took over the program in December 2019
The 124 total yards of offense allowed against ENMU is also the fewest allowed against a Division II opponent since 2017 when the program held West Texas A&M to 187 total yards in a 37-9 win on October 7

I'm Not Over You Just Yet

The Javelina defense recorded three takeaways in the first two contests of 2021
TAMUK picked up a fumble and intercepted two passes against Saginaw Valley State on September 4
The Hogs added two fumbles and one interception in the win over Western Oregon on September 11
TAMUK had three games in 2019 with at least three takeaways

Break Me Off A Piece

Christian Anderson's 50-yard rushing touchdown against Western Oregon on September 11 is the longest offensive play for a touchdown so far in 2021
As a team, the Javelinas have 22 plays over 20 yards, 13 of which came on the offensive side of the ball
The longest play currently is a 58-yard punt return from Craig Clemons against SVSU on September 4
The longest pass play is a 43-yard connection from Zadock Dinklemann to Ty Chisum against ENMU that resulted in a touchdown
The longest defensive play is a 28-yard interception return against the Cardinals in the season opener

The First Time Since...

The 24-10 win over Western Oregon snapped a four-game losing streak as the Javelinas last defeated the Wolves in the NAIA Semifinals on November 29, 1975
The win over WOU was also the first win at home over a Division II foe since November 10, 2018, when the Hogs defeated UT Permian Basin 24-21 in the season finale
The 36-10 win over Eastern New Mexico was the first win to start conference play for the Javelinas since September 8, 2012, when the program defeated No. 9 Abilene Christian 16-13