LSC FOOTBALL
This week features four Lone Star Conference games including Abilene Christian at West Texas A&M, which will be web streamed live on FoxSportsSouthwest.com. The Buffs top the conference at 4-0, followed by Midwestern State and Angelo State, who play this week in Wichita Falls, Texas.
At the halfway point of the 10-game GSC-LSC First and Ten Challenge, the Gulf South Conference leads the series 3-2, with visiting teams prevailing in each game so far. The average score has been 31-27.
LSC football teams are 25-26 overall this season. The squads are 2-3 combined versus the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, Great Lakes Valley Conference and Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference teams, which are also in NCAA Super Regional Four.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
OFFENSIVE
Keidrick Jackson, Midwestern State University, JR, RB, Arlington, Texas, Bowie HS
Jackson, the leader in rushing and scoring in the Lone Star Conference, set a new personal high as he recorded the seventh best rushing game in Midwestern history with 193 yards and three touchdowns on 21 carries to lead the Mustangs to a 42-27 win at then 18th ranked West Alabama in the GSC-LSC First and Ten Challenge. Jackson’s 193 yards against the NCAA Division II’s seventh ranked defense marked his third consecutive 150-plus rushing game. Jackson, who now has 2,087 yards in his career, became the fifth 2,000-yard rusher in MSU history and ranks fifth all-time at Midwestern. His three touchdown runs – all in the second half – keyed a 28-3 second half run by MSU. His final score was a tackle-breaking bounce out on fourth-and-one that gave MSU an eight-point lead in the fourth quarter. Jackson ranks second in NCAA Division II in scoring with 13.2 points a game.
DEFENSIVE
Curtis Slater, West Texas A&M University, JR, CB, Houston, Texas, Cy-Ridge HS
Slater had two interceptions including a 85-yard pick six as Angelo State was knocking at the door midway through the third quarter down 18-3. The pick six made it 25-3 and pretty much sealed the victory. On the ensuing ASU possession, Slater came up with his second pick of the game returning it 39 yards setting up a field goal for a 28-3 lead. It was the first pick six touchdown since Caleb Randolph returned an interception 97 yards last season versus Incarnate Word. It is the first two interception game for a player since Randolph had two versus Texas A&M-Commerce (Nov. 12) last season. It was Slater’s first interception return for a touchdown of his career and his second touchdown overall. He had four total tackles with three solo stops and one tackle for loss as the Buffalo Defense held ASU to just 49 yards rushing on 25 carries. Also, Slater’s pick six came in the red zone as WT held ASU to a 1 for 4 performance with two missed field goals and the Slater interception inside the 20.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Cade Stone, Abilene Christian University, FR, PR/KR, North Richland Hills, Texas, Fort Worth Christian HS
Stone set the tone early for the Wildcats in their 59-17 win over Eastern New Mexico by returning the game’s opening kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown. ... The touchdown return was Stone’s first collegiate touchdown. ... The 92-yard return was ACU’s first kickoff return for a touchdown since Nov. 14, 2009, when Dennis Campbell returned the opening kickoff 97 yards against Midwestern State in a first-round NCAA Division II playoff game in Wichita Falls. ... The return is the 13th-longest kickoff return in school history and 12th-longest kickoff return for a touchdown in school history.