Leo Garcia

Football 9/23/2021 6:37:00 PM Jon Montoya, Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Information

Javelinas return home for Chennault Cup matchup against No. RV/24 A&M-Commerce

Kickoff set for 7 p.m. CT at Pepsi Field at Javelina Stadium for Family Fiesta Weekend presented by Radiology Associates

The Matchup

The Javelinas return to Pepsi Field at Javelina Stadium to host No. RV/24 A&M-Commerce
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. CT and will broadcast live on the Mendoza's Pharmacy Javelina Sports Network with a syndicated broadcast on KDF-TV channel 47.2 with Mark Inserra on the call
Saturday marks the 28th meeting between the teams for the Chennault Cup, which started back on October 10, 1992
TAMUK leads the overall series 35-28-1, though the Lions have won the last eight contests between the programs with two games having gone into overtime
A&M-C won the last meeting between the teams in the 2019 season, 33-9, in Kingsville
The Javelinas are 13-11 all-time in the Chennault Cup against A&M-Commerce

Scouting the Lions

A&M-Commerce has suffered two straight losses in 2021, with a 31-30 neutral-site loss to Midwestern State on September 11 and a 35-17 to the 2019 NCAA Division II National Champions No. 1 West Florida
The Lions won their first contest of 2021, 12-6, over No. 12 CSU-Pueblo
Jaiave Magalei leads the passing attack with 467 yards and four touchdowns on 39 completions in 79 attempts
Magalei has also thrown three interceptions so far in 2021
Chance Cooper has been the primary target with 12 catches for 187 yards and two scores
Antonio Leali'ie'e leads the ground game with 197 yards on 31 carries
The only touchdowns on the ground have come from E.J. Thompson, who has 29 carries for 130 yards, and Eric Rodriguez
The defensive unit is led by Michael Noble, who has a team-high 23 tackles
Elijah Earls owns a team-high 5.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 of which were sacks
The only other Lion with multiple sacks is Celestin Haba, who has 1.5
Both Alex Shillow and D'Angelo Ellis own three pass breakups, as Ellis has intercepted one of the three passes for the defense this year

Last Time Out

The Javelinas defeated Eastern New Mexico on the road to open the LSC schedule, 36-10
The Hog defense held ENMU to 124 total yards on offense, 66 through the air and 58 on the ground
TAMUK did not allow a point in the second half and did not give up an offensive touchdown
Gilbert Garza started the scoring with a 46-yard field goal in the first, while the Greyhounds struck back with a touchdown on the ensuing kickoff
Garza added another 40-yard boot later in the second quarter
Zadock Dinklemann connected with Ty Chisum for 43 yards later in the second to give the Hogs the lead for good
The Javelinas forced a safety early in the third, added rushing touchdowns from Christian Anderson and Shane Johnson, and recovered a fumble in the end zone to round out the scoring

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 184.3 yards on the ground through three games, 40th in the nation and third-best in the Lone Star Conference

Nationally Renowned

In addition to the top-50 ranking in the country in rushing offense, the Javelina defense has given up only 11 points per game, good for 10th in NCAA Division II and best in the LSC
The Hogs on defense have also allowed only 71.7 rushing yards per game, good for 17th in the country and third in the LSC
Kirkland Joseph is currently 60th in the country in tackles per game at 8.7, tied with UT Permian Basin's Donta Stuart for best in the league

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 hasn't allowed 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 16 plays over 20 yards, 10 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