COMMERCE, Texas – Midwestern State looks to snap a two-game slide against rival Texas A&M-Commerce Saturday night at Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.
 
TELEVISION TIME
Midwestern State and Texas A&M-Commerce stream as the NCAA Division II Game of the Week on Watch ESPN (ESPN3). The broadcast crew includes play-by-play voice Darren Goldwater and analyst Trai Essex. ESPN3 is accessible on computers via ESPN.com and on smartphones, tablets and streaming devices through the ESPN app. The network is available nationwide at no additional cost to fans who receive their high-speed internet connection or video subscription from an affiliated service provider. It also is available at no cost to U.S. college students and U.S.-based military personnel via computers, smartphones and tablets connected to on-campus educational and on-base military broadband and Wi-Fi networks.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Texas A&M-Commerce leads the overall series 13-11 and claimed a 20-19 win in a game played at two different sites over and spanned 20 hours last season. The last four meetings and six of the last seven were decided by six-or-fewer points. This is the ninth consecutive matchup that at least one side is carrying a national ranking. The Mustangs have won seven of the last nine meetings against Texas A&M-Commerce and are 10-3 against the Lions during the Bill Maskill era. The last 10 meetings between Midwestern State and Texas A&M-Commerce:
 

Date	Score	Location
10/6/18	#9 Texas A&M-Commerce 20, #4 Midwestern State 19	Denton, Texas
10/7/17	#10 Midwestern State 47, #2 Texas A&M-Commerce 42	Wichita Falls
10/8/16	#7 Midwestern State 26, #4 Texas A&M-Commerce 25	Commerce
11/14/15	#10 Midwestern State 37, #11 Texas A&M-Commerce 33	Commerce
10/24/15	#11 Texas A&M-Commerce 27, #10 Midwestern State 14	Commerce
10/25/14	Midwestern State 40, #22 Texas A&M-Commerce 37 (OT)	Wichita Falls
9/28/13	#23 Midwestern State 30, Texas A&M-Commerce 24	Commerce
9/13/12	#16 Midwestern State 65, Texas A&M-Commerce 14	Arlington, Texas
9/17/11	Midwestern State 63, Texas A&M-Commerce 17	Arlington, Texas
9/10/05	Texas A&M-Commerce 27, Midwestern State 25	Commerce

  
MORE ABOUT LAST YEAR'S MEETING
Midwestern State and Texas A&M-Commerce endured two lightning delays in a game which spanned two sites and two days last season. The first delay was prior kickoff forcing the game to begin at 7:31 p.m. at Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls. The teams played to a 10-10 tied before a lightning delay was announced at the conclusion of the half. Storms rolled on until after midnight in Wichita Falls. A cancellation of the game was announced before the teams agreed to waive Midwestern State's home field advantage and conclude the contest at UNT's Apogee Stadium in Denton the following day. The game was eventually decided by a missed 30-yard field goal by Midwestern State on the final play of the game. Eventually, the game was counted as a neutral site game in the final NCAA Division II Super Region Four Rankings giving the Mustangs a 4-1 D2 Record on the Road which is a primary category for rating purposes. Midwestern State missed out on its fourth consecutive trip to the NCAA Division II playoffs despite a pair of one-point losses to playoff qualifiers – Tarleton State and Texas A&M-Commerce.
 
CRAZY ENDINGS
Midwestern State produced its share of dramatic endings claiming improbable wins over Texas A&M-Commerce over the last five seasons.
 
2014: Midwestern State overcomes 31-14 deficit with 10:04 to play to win on a 4-yard TD run by Chauncey Harris in overtime. Harris scores three times in fourth quarter and overtime finishing the game with 169 yards on 25 carries in the Homecoming victory.
 
2015: Hagen Hutchinson hit Arsenio Phillips on a 30-yard TD following a Texas A&M-Commerce fumble with 6:29 to go, then Harold Wills picked off screen pass for a 4-yard score on next play from scrimmage for a 37-33 win in the Lone Star Conference Postseason title game. MSU trailed 30-17 midway through third quarter.
 
2016: Quade Coward hit Breion Evans for two scores in the final 3:22 to lead the Mustangs to a 26-25 win.
 
2018: Jaron Imbriani missed a 30-yard field goal at buzzer as Midwestern State fell 20-19.
 
IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
Midwestern State dropped out of the American Football Coaches' Association Division II Poll for the first time since 2014 following the Angelo State loss. It snapped a streak of 52 consecutive reporting periods that MSU received a national ranking. Following a 27-24 loss to Eastern New Mexico last week, the Mustangs failed to receive a vote in the poll for the first time in 57 reporting periods. MSU Texas has carried a national ranking at some point in each of the last 13 seasons going back to 2006. Midwestern State faces its first nationally ranked opponent this season Saturday at No. 20 Texas A&M-Commerce.
 
LAST WEEK
Midwestern State erupted for 21 third-quarter points before falling to Eastern New Mexico 27-24 Saturday at Memorial Stadium. Sophomore quarterback Triston Williams connected on 8-of-9 passes for 146 yards in the quarter allowing the Mustangs to turn a 17-3 halftime deficit into a 24-17 edge heading into the fourth quarter. The ENMU defense held the Mustangs to (minus)-2 yards of offense in the fourth quarter and forced a turnover on MSU's 9-yard line to reclaim the lead scoring the final 10 points of the game. MSU Texas senior running back Quinton Childs churned out his third 100-yard rushing performance of the season with 165 yards on 23 carries.
 
LAST TIME AGAINST TEXAS A&M-COMMERCE (10/6/18-10/7/18)
Midwestern State's Vincent Johnson polished off seven-play, 80-yard drive with a 9-yard rushing touchdown to give the Mustangs a 17-10 lead with 8:12 to play in the third quarter in a game moved from Wichita Falls on Saturday to Apogee Stadium in Denton on Sunday due to a lightning delay. Texas A&M-Commerce regained the lead on a 4-yard TD run by Kane Wilson with 11:22 to play. The Mustangs had a 38-yard field goal attempt blocked with 2:55 to play then missed a 30-yarder at the horn to take their first loss of the season. MSU's Layton Rabb threw for 234 yards on 22-of-47 passing, while Vincent Johnson ran for 108 yards on 17 carries. Juwan Johnson made six catches for 106 yards, while Xavier Land logged 10 catches for 96 yards.
 
FAST START
Midwestern State got off to a 3-0 start for the sixth consecutive year and for the 12th time in the last 14. During that time, MSU Texas started with 10 wins once, nine wins once, seven wins once, six wins once, five wins four times, four wins twice and three wins once.
 
LOSING STREAKS FOREIGN
Midwestern State has lost its last two games falling 28-6 at Angelo State and 27-24 to Eastern New Mexico to suffer to straight losses for the first time since the end of the 2016 season when the Mustangs dropped the regular season finale to Eastern New Mexico (30-28) and the first round playoff game at Ferris State (65-34). It's MSU Texas' first two-game regular season slide since the 2014 team lost LSC postseason games to Angelo State (41-36) and Tarleton State (44-41). Midwestern has not lost three consecutive games since losing at Angelo State (30-29), to West Texas A&M (47-44) and at Tarleton State (37-7) in consecutive weeks in 2005. The 2005 team bounced back to win its last five games starting with a 41-14 trouncing of No. 6 Texas A&M-Kingsville on Oct. 15, 2005.
 
LEGEND OF BILL MASKILL
Bill Maskill posted winning ledgers in each of his first 19 seasons as a collegiate head football coach. He entered the 2019 season as the eighth winningest active coach in NCAA Division II and now has an overall record of 153-59 (.721). His 153 wins ranks as the fifth most amongst active Division II coaches and is 23rd on the winningest all-time coaches' list amongst coaches with a minimum of 50 wins plus 10 years as a head coach at a D2 institution. Maskill has led the Mustangs to 17 consecutive winning campaigns while leading the program to eight NCAA Division II playoff qualifications and a bowl appearance while posting a 140-51 (.733) in his 18th year at MSU. His 140 wins at Midwestern State are not only tops in program coaching history, but represent 57 percent of the program's all-time win total.
 
THE SHINING STAR
Midwestern State boasts 16 more wins than any other Lone Star Conference member since the start of the 2000 season. The Mustangs have averaged nearly eight wins a season since the start of the millennium which includes four 10-win campaigns. MSU Texas managed at least eight wins in 11 seasons since the start of the 2000 season which leads all league members. The Mustangs are trailed by West Texas A&M (8), Texas A&M-Kingsville (7), Tarleton State (7), Texas A&M-Commerce (5), Angelo State (3) and Eastern New Mexico (2).
 

Team	Record	Pct.
Midwestern State	154-59	.723
Tarleton State	138-78	.639
West Texas A&M	133-95	.583
Texas A&M-Commerce	110-105	.512
Texas A&M-Kingsville	107-103	.510
Angelo State	99-112	.469
Eastern New Mexico*	89-106	.456
*ENMU vacated 15 wins from 2008-12
Through games of Oct. 5, 2019.

    
GOING FOR 20
Midwestern State is in search of its 20th consecutive winning season in 2019. The Mustangs are one of just two Texas four-year football playing institutions actively sporting 19 straight winning seasons. And they are the only scholarship-granting program in the State of Texas with a current string of 19 consecutive winning seasons. Other current consecutive winning season streaks in the LSC: Texas A&M-Commerce (6), Tarleton State (1) and West Texas A&M (1).
 
MUSTANGS COACHING STAFF
- Alex Herron earned a promotion to Offensive Coordinator after serving the last six seasons as offensive line coach and running game coordinator. He retains his duties as offensive line coach.
- Ashton Aikens takes over as wide receiver coach after serving in the same capacity the past two years at Western Michigan. The former Northwestern wide receiver also served graduate assistantships at Trinity International and Northwestern before landing an assistant coaches role at Southern Illinois (2014-16).
- Skyler Mornhinweg begins his full-time coaching career mentoring quarterbacks at Midwestern State. He does so for the same coach -- Bill Maskill -- who gave his father his first full-time job. His father -- Marty Mornhinweg -- spent the last 25 years as an NFL coach including as head coach of the Detroit Lions (2001-02), while serving as an offensive coordinator of the San Francisco 49ers (1997-00), Philadelphia Eagles (2006-12), New York Jets (2013-14) and Baltimore Ravens (2016-18). Skyler Mornhinweg served as a graduate assistant for running backs at Ohio State last season following his collegiate playing career as a quarterback at the University of Florida and Columbia.
- Nick Sanchez takes over defensive back coaching duties at MSU Texas after serving the same role last season at Western Michigan. The former four-year standout cornerback at Stanford also gained valuable experience as associate head coach and defensive coordinator at Ave Maria (Fla.) (2012-15) and advanced to assistant defensive coordinator duties at UAlbany (2016-17).
 
CAPTAINS
Senior lineman Austan Davis and junior quarterback Zach Purcell are the offensive captains this season, while senior cornerbacks DaMarcus Wilson and Jaydon Cunigan are the defensive leaders.
 
OFFENSIVE TEAM NOTES
Midwestern State ranks ninth in the Lone Star Conference and 113th in NCAA Division II in total offense averaging 331.8 yards per game... The Mustangs rank 79th nationally and seventh in the league in passing offense at 212.4 yards per game… MSU Texas ranks eighth in the LSC and 113th nationally rushing for 119.4 yards per game…  The Mustangs are ninth in the LSC scoring 21.0 points per game… The Mustangs produced their 16th consecutive regular season game with at least 400 yards of total offense with 425 yards in an opening week win at Northwestern State, but haven't broken the 400-yard barrier in the last four weeks with 336 yards at Lindenwood, 337 yards against UT Permian Basin, 214 yards at Angelo State and 343 against Eastern New Mexico…
 
RECEIVING TRIO LEAVING MARK
Midwestern State's receiving corps of Juwan Johnson, Xavier Land and Tyrique Edwards give the Mustangs three active members in the program's top 10. The trio has combined for 4,134 yards and 34 touchdowns. Johnson earned Don Hansen Football Gazette All-America honors and was the LSC Receiver of the Year in 2018 setting program single-season mark with 1,215 yards and nine touchdowns. He comes into this season as the league's preseason offensive player of the year. Land enjoyed a breakout campaign as a junior in 2018 making 57 catches for 728 yards and five touchdowns. Edwards was the team's leading in 2018 with 48 catches for 680 yards and eight touchdowns.
 

Rank	Player	Yards	Years
1	Bryan Gilmore	2,722	1996-99
2	David Little	2,222	2008-11
3	Kendrick Gibson	1,736	2000-01
4	Andy Tanner	1,716	2006-09
5	Statron Jones	1,703	2013-16
6	DelJuan Lee	1,655	2006-07
7	Xavier Land	1,537	2015-19
8	Demetrius Galban	1,486	1992, 95-96
9	Juwan Johnson	1,320	2018-19
10	Tyrique Edwards	1,277	2015-19

 
THROW UP THE X
Senior Xavier Land delivered his fourth career 100-yard receiving effort finishing six receptions for 111 yards and a touchdown last week against Eastern New Mexico. It was his second consecutive 100-yard performance. He amassed with 11 catches for 114 yards the previous week at Angelo State. The 11 receptions matched the second most in a single game in program history and were the most since Andy Tanner grabbed 11 passes against West Texas A&M in 2009. With his 11 receptions against Angelo State, Land moved past Andre Kelsick (113 rec./2001-05), Statron Jones (115 rec./2013-16) and Andy Tanner (120 rec./2006-09) into third on MSU's all-time receptions list. With 130 career receptions, Land trails only Bryan Gilmore (155 rec./1996-99) and David Little (169 rec./2008-11). Land is currently seventh on the all-time receiving yards list with 1,537 needing 119 yards to pass DelJuan Lee (1,655 yards/2006-07/6th), 167 yards to pass Statron Jones (1,703 yards/2013-16/5th), 181 to pass Andy Tanner (1,716 yards/2006-09/4th) and 202 yards to pass Kendrick Gibson (1,736 yards/2000-01).
 
HOT CHILDS IN THE CITY… RUNNING WILD
Senior Quinton Childs has excelled in his transition from wide receiver into his first season at running back. The 5-10, 180-pound senior from El Paso produced consecutive 100-yard performances in wins over Lindenwood and UT Permian Basin. Childs rushed for a career-high 174 yards against UTPB on Sept. 21 after rolling up 135 yards and three touchdowns against Lindenwood on Sept. 14. Childs added a third 100-yard effort going for 165 yards on 23 carries against Eastern New Mexico. He leads the Mustangs with 497 rushing yards, while making 12 catches for 97 yards out of the backfield. Childs is third in the Lone Star Conference averaging 99.4 rushing yards per game.
 
O-LINE GAINING EXPERIENCE
Juniors Nick Gonzalez (center) and Caleb Brown (right guard) are the lone linemen to start all five games for the Mustangs this season. Last week against Eastern New Mexico, senior Keith Domino made his first start at right guard, redshirt-freshman Trey Hempstead started for the first time at left guard and sophomore Corbin Scarber started for the second time at left tackle. Redshirt-freshmen Zach Zamora, Errin Davis and Caleb Gill have all made starts at guard this season, while junior Dallas Reins made three starts at left tackle.
 
WINNING THE RED ZONE
Midwestern State has scored on 13 of its 15 excursions into the red zone this season with 10 touchdowns. Meanwhile, the Mustangs' defense limited the opposition to 10 scores in 20 trips inside the 20-yard line this season – including seven touchdowns – which ranks third in NCAA Division II and leads the LSC allowing points on 50 percent of red zone opportunities.
 
DEFENSIVE NOTES
Midwestern State ranks fifth in the Lone Star Conference and 81st in NCAA Division II in total defense allowing 366.8 yards per game. The Mustangs also rate third in the league and 43rd nationally conceding 19.4 points per game. The Mustangs rank eighth in the LSC and 113th in NCAA Division II allowing 177.6 rushing yards per game. MSU Texas is third in the LSC and 52nd nationally allowing 189.2 passing yards per game.
 
GETTING OFF THE FIELD
Midwestern State ranks fourth the Lone Star Conference and ranks 51st in NCAA Division II in third down conversion percentage defense limiting the opposition to a 33.7-percent success rate (29-for-86). The Mustangs held Northwestern State to 3-of-17 in the opener, Lindenwood to 5-of-16 and UT Permian Basin to 4-of-19 on third down. The Mustangs have forced three-and-outs on 21 of 70 defensive possessions this season (30 percent).
 
OWENS RACKING UP SACKS
Sophomore Melik Owens ranks second in NCAA Division II with six sacks over the first four games of the season. The lanky defensive end from Houston earned LSC Defensive Player of the Week honors after making seven tackles including 2.5 for loss and 1.5 sacks in a season opening win at Northwestern State. Then had an even better effort in MSU's victory at Lindenwood going for nine tackles with three for loss and two more sacks. His sack of Lindenwood's Cade Brister late in the third quarter resulted in a 66-yard fumble return by Zach Edwards to set up a Midwestern State touchdown. He then had four tackles with three stops for loss and a pair of sacks at Angelo State. Owens also tops the LSC and ranks third in NCAA D2 making 2.6 tackles for loss per game.
 
CHIEF THIEF STRIKES AGAIN
Senior cornerback DaMarcus Wilson returned a game-changing interception for 42 yards when he jumped an out-route with 13 left in the first half at Northwestern State. The pick led to a 32-yard touchdown pass from Zach Purcell to Juwan Johnson on the last play of the half to give the Mustangs a 26-7 advantage. It was Wilson's eighth career interception placing him in a tie for third on MSU Texas' all-time list with Marcus Stenix (2002-04), Herman "Winky" Walker (2005-08) and Micah Hill (2008-09). Only Bruce Logan (21 interceptions from 1988-91) and Neiko Conway (15 interceptions from 2010-13) have intercepted more passes for the Maroon & Gold. Wilson ranks sixth in the Lone Star Conference with one pass defense per game.
 
IMBRIANI GETS OFF TO QUICK START
Senior place kicker Jaron Imbriani garnered LSC Special Teams Player of the Week honors for the first time in his career helping the Mustangs to a win over FCS Northwestern State last week in Natchitoches, La. The San Bernardino, Calif. Native connected on field goals of 28 and 25 yards in the second quarter and converted both of his point-after attempts. For the season, Imbriani connected on two of his four field goal attempts and is a perfect 8-for-8 on point-after attempts. He has produced nine touchbacks on 20 kickoff attempts.
 
SPEARS COMING ON
Sophomore punter Dylan Spears enjoyed his best game of the 2019 season by averaging 43.5 yards on six punts placing two inside the 20-yard line with a long of 57 yards against UT Permian Basin. He punted a school single-game record 12 times for an average of 35.2 yards placing two inside the 20-yard line at Angelo State. Spears ranks seventh in the Lone Star Conference and 86th in NCAA Division II with a 37.5 yard punting average.
 
REJECTION NOTICE
Midwestern State set a program record by blocking three kicks in a 28-27 win at Lindenwood (9/14). The three blocks top the LSC and are second only to West Alabama (four blocks). Sophomore defensive end Michael McDonald and junior cornerback Khalil Finley blocked field goal attempts from 32 and 25 yards out against the Lions before sophomore defensive lineman A'quan Randolph bolted through the middle to block a point-after attempt midway through the fourth quarter allowing the Mustangs to maintain a 28-27 lead. The Mustangs are tied with Angelo State for the Lone Star Conference lead with four blocked kicks this season which rates eighth in NCAA Division II.
 
UP NEXT
Midwestern State takes on Texas A&M-Kingsville for a Cinematic Homecoming on Saturday, Oct. 19th at Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.