MSU Football

SATURDAY... Midwestern State opens up its 13th season under head coach Bill Maskill when the Mustangs play host to the Missouri S&T Miners. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Memorial Stadium/Joe Golding Field in Wichita Falls.  It's Military Appreciation Day and all active duty or retired military members with a valid military ID get free admission


WHERE TO FIND THE GAME…

95.5 ESPN: The broadcast features the play-by-play voice of two-time Lone Star Conference Broadcaster of the Year Bill Powers. He is joined by KAUZ TV-6 anchorman Chris Horgen, who serves as color analyst.

ON THE WEB: The ESPN-Midwestern State Sports Network audio broadcast is simulcast on MSUMustangs.com. LINK

VIDEO WEBCAST: The game will be video streamed FREE via MSUMustangs.com and Stretch Internet. LINK

LIVE STATS: Live stats are available courtesy of the Midwestern State Athletic Communications Office. LINK

GAME NOTES:  Courtesy the Midwestern State Athletic Communications Office. LINK

SCOUTING THE MINERS…

Missouri S&T enters the game with a record of 0-1 overall, 0-0 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference after falling at Chadron State (Neb.) 42-25 in non-conference play last Saturday.

The Miners are under the command of head coach Tyler Fenwick, who sports a 6-6 record in his second year at MST. With a 6-5 season last year, Fenwick was the first to lead the Miners to a winning season in his first year as head coach since 1914.

The Miners rolled up 486 yards of total offense in their season debut at Chadron, collecting 380 yards in the air and 106 on the ground. MST is led by sophomore quarterback Kason Key of Owasso, Okla., who transfered to MST from Northeastern Oklahoma A&M.  He threw for 380 yards at Chadron, completing 30-of-55 passes with one interception and three touchdowns. His favorite target is senior wide receiver Melvin Stovall of Los Angeles, Calif./Lancaster who hauled in 10 receptions for 127 yards and two touchdowns against the Eagles. Senior Leon Moody of St. Louis, Mo./DeSmet Jesuit snared eight passes for 83 yards, while senior receiver Nick Taylor of Wichita, Kan./Southeast, caught seven passes for 91 yards and a touchdown.

On the ground, junior Zenel Hudson of Bayshore, N.Y./Milford Academy, ran for 57 yards on 19 carries with a touchdown.

Defensively, senior linebacker Nick Kruse of Cuba, Mo., piled up 10 stops against Chadron. Free safety Dawan Ferguson, a senior from St. Louis, Mo./Riverview Gardens, posted nine tackles. Sophomore linebacker Rob Cidlik of Eureka, Mo. added six tackles, including 1.5 tackles for losses of seven yards. Senior defensive end Daleroy Davey of Kansas City, Kan./Turner recorded 2.5 tackles for losses of nine yards against Chadron, including the only sack for the Miners (-5 yards).


All-Time Series: Midwestern State leads the series 1-0 after defeating Missouri S&T 41-0 in Rolla, Mo., to open the season on Sept. 10, 2011.

NOTEWORTHY

• Midwestern State is coming off last season's 7-3 campaign, where they were third in the Lone Star Conference with a 3-3 record.
• MSU is not ranked in this week's AFCA Division II poll, but is receiving votes in the poll.
• MSU has  received votes in 98 of the last 99 polls.
• The Mustangs are opening the season at home for the first time in this decade.  MSU last opened the season at Memorial Stadium on Aug. 29, 2009, when the Mustangs beat New Mexico Highlands 41-0.
• MSU is 16-10 in season opening games since resuming football in 1988.  However, Midwestern has dropped its last two season openers, Lone Star Conference games to Tarleton State, to open 2012 and 2013.
• The Mustangs sport an 11-1 record in home openers under Coach Bill Maskill, including a string of nine straight.  MSU is 18-8 in home openers since 1988.
• Coach Bill Maskill starts his 13th year at MSU, sporting a 95-37 record.  It's his 15th season as a head coach with a 108-45 record overall.
• Calll it Maroon September for the Mustangs in the Bill Maskill era.  MSU sports a 37-9 record in 12 previous Septembers and has a 41-9 record if you add in the four August games that MSU has played
• Midwestern State has done well in non-conference regular season play under Bill Maskill.  Midwestern has a 16-3 overall record and a 14-1 mark against NCAA Division II non-conference foes during the regular season.  Since joining the LSC in 1997, the Mustangs are 19-8 against non-league competition.  MSU is 0-5 against NCAA Division I FCS teams, 14-1 against NCAA Division II squads, 1-0 versus NCAA Division III teams and 2-0 against NAIA teams.
• The Mustangs return the top defense in the Lone Star Conference from last season, ranking first in scoring defense (23.9 points per game), total defense (341.7 yards per game), pass defense (188.5 yards a game), pass efficiency defense (109.33 rating) and turnover margin (+1.5 per game).