WICHITA FALLS, Texas – Midwestern State takes on Texas A&M-Kingsville on Homecoming Saturday night at Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
 
HOMECOMING HISTORY
Midwestern State had a nine-game run of victorious Homecoming games snapped in a classic last season against No. 8 Tarleton State. The Mustangs scored in the final minute of regulation to force overtime on a 23-yard strike from Layton Rabb to Juwan Johnson. After Tarleton State scored a touchdown and converted a PAT on the opening possession in OT, MSU answered with a 9-yard TD connection from Rabb to Xavier Land but botched the PAT on a bobbled snap to take a hard loss. Midwestern State is 14-3 in Homecoming games during the Bill Maskill era (starting in 2002), 20-11 since bring back football in 1988 and 23-18-1 all time. Here are Homecoming results during Maskill's tenure as head coach:
 

Date	Score
10/27/18	Tarleton State 35, Midwestern State 34 (OT)
10/21/17	Midwestern State 45, West Texas A&M 3
10/29/16	Midwestern State 76, UT Permian Basin 21
10/31/15	Midwestern State 49, Texas A&M-Kingsville 41
10/25/14	Midwestern State 40, Texas A&M-Commerce 37 (OT)
10/19/13	Midwestern State 45, West Alabama 21
10/13/12	Midwestern State 35, Angelo State 28
10/22/11	Midwestern State 70, Abilene Christian 28
10/30/10	Midwestern State 31, Tarleton State 26
11/24/09	Midwestern State 43, Central Oklahoma 16
10/11/08	Tarleton State 37, Midwestern State 16
10/20/07	Midwestern State 73, Texas A&M-Kingsville 6
10/28/06	Midwestern State 33, Southeastern Oklahoma 23
10/22/05	Midwestern State 42, East Central (Okla.) 31
10/9/04	Midwestern State 26, Texas A&M-Commerce 23
10/18/03	Midwestern State 24, Eastern New Mexico 14
10/26/02	Abilene Christian 21, Midwestern State 20

SERIES HISTORY (vs. Texas A&M-Kingsville)
Midwestern State owns a 14-6 in the overall series which dates back to the 1997 season. The Mustangs have won the last eight games and 13 of the last 14 meetings going back to 2005. The only Javelina victory during the run came by a 27-7 score in 2010. MSU has won seven consecutive meetings against Javelinas at Memorial Stadium with TAMUK's last victory coming in 2003 which is the Hoggies' lone win in Wichita Falls. Midwestern State is 13-4 against Texas A&M-Kingsville since Bill Maskill became head coach prior to the 2002 season. Here are the results of the last 10 games of the series:
 

Date	Score	Location
10/13/18	Midwestern State 69, Texas A&M-Kingsville 14	Kingsville
9/16/17	Midwestern State 35, Texas A&M-Kingsville 13	Wichita Falls
9/17/16	Midwestern State 32, Texas A&M-Kingsville 30	Kingsville
10/31/15	Midwestern State 49, Texas A&M-Kingsville 41	Wichita Falls
11/1/14	Midwestern State 48, Texas A&M-Kingsville 7	Kingsville
10/5/13	Midwestern State 43, Texas A&M-Kingsville 10	Wichita Falls
9/22/12	Midwestern State 45, Texas A&M-Kingsville 28	Kingsville
9/24/11	Midwestern State 44, Texas A&M-Kingsville 38	Wichita Falls
11/6/10	Texas A&M-Kingsville 27, Midwestern State 7	Kingsville
10/17/09	Midwestern State 38, Texas A&M-Kingsville 7	Wichita Falls

MIDWESTERN BROKE 2005 SLIDE AGAINST HOGGIES
Midwestern State improbably snapped its last three-game skid with a 41-14 win over No. 6 Texas A&M-Kingsville during the 2005 season. During the three-game slide, the Mustangs dropped games with unlikely scenarios. Angelo State outscored the Mustangs 23-9 in the fourth quarter scoring twice in the final 90 seconds including a game winning field goal at the buzzer to overcome a 16-point third quarter deficit to win, 30-29. A week later, West Texas A&M beat MSU – again on a game ending, game winning field goal – 47-44. Finally, in the third game of the skid, the Mustangs gave up seven turnovers in a 37-7 loss at Tarleton State to set up a showdown with Texas A&M-Kingsville. MSU scored the first 28 points of the game behind a 302-yard team rushing effort led by Ulysses Odom's 132-yard performance. In all, the Mustangs amassed 577 yards of total offense to start a season ending, four-game winning streak.
 
HOMECOMING ROMP
Midwestern State rolled up 600 yards of total offense and limited Texas A&M-Kingsville to 161 yards in a 73-6 rout for Homecoming on Oct. 20, 2007. It was the most lopsided loss in TAMUK's storied football history. The Mustangs raced out to a 45-0 halftime lead and churned out 426 rushing yards on the way to victory. Daniel Polk led the way with 113 yards and two touchdowns, while Marcus Mathis had 99 and a TD, BeeJay Mathis ad 71 yards and two TDs, Steven Harper had 70 yards and two TDs and Adrion Butler finished with 40 yards and another TD. The MSU defense limited the Hoggies to 20 rushing yards on 27 attempts and forced five turnovers.
 
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 surrendered the most points in a regular season game in the Bill Maskill era (starting in 2002) in a 54-28 loss at No. 20 Texas A&M-Commerce. The Lions pounded out 313 rushing yards paced by Antonio Lealiiee with 169 yards, while quarterback Miklo Smalls threw touchdowns to five different receivers. MSU sophomore signal caller Triston Williams connected on 19-of-40 passes for a career-high 306 yards with three touchdowns, while senior Tyrique Edwards paced the receiving corps with 89 yards on five receptions.
 
LAST TIME AGAINST TEXAS A&M-KINGSVILLE (10/13/18)
Midwestern State's Layton Rabb passed for 338 yards and five touchdowns to lead the 12th-ranked Mustangs to a 69-14 win at Texas A&M-Kingsville. Sophomore wideout Juwan Johnson posted a career-high nine receptions for 202 yards and four touchdowns, while Vincent Johnson raced for 77 yards and two scores on just five carries. Josh Wydermyer opened scoring for the Mustangs by returning a blocked field goal 75 yards for a first-quarter touchdown.
 
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 is in the midst of its first three-game slide 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 four games starting with a 41-14 trouncing of No. 6 Texas A&M-Kingsville on Oct. 15, 2005. MSU has not lost four straight games since the 1999 campaign – Harding (38-35 on 9/18), Central Oklahoma (42-14 on 9/25), Texas A&M-Commerce (10-7 on 10/2) and Abilene Christian (26-16 on 10/9). Ironically, Midwestern snapped that skid with a 10-7 win over – you guessed it – Texas A&M-Kingsville.
 
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 153-60 (.718). 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 140-52 (.729) 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 15 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	154-60	.720
Tarleton State	139-78	.641
West Texas A&M	134-95	.585
Texas A&M-Commerce	111-105	.514
Texas A&M-Kingsville	107-104	.507
Angelo State	100-112	.472
Eastern New Mexico*	89-107	.454
*ENMU vacated 15 wins from 2008-12
Through games of Oct. 12, 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 eighth in the Lone Star Conference and 103th in NCAA Division II in total offense averaging 343.2 yards per game... The Mustangs rank 58th nationally and fifth in the league in passing offense at 228.0 yards per game… MSU Texas ranks seventh in the LSC and 119th nationally rushing for 115.2 yards per game…  The Mustangs are ninth in the LSC scoring 22.2 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, then didn't break the 400-yard barrier in the next four games with 336 yards at Lindenwood, 337 yards against UT Permian Basin, 214 yards at Angelo State and 343 against Eastern New Mexico before amassing exactly 400 yards at Texas A&M-Commerce…
 
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 4,275 yards and 35 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	1,589	2015-19
8	Demetrius Galban	1,486	1992, 95-96
9	Tyrique Edwards	1,366	2015-19
10	Juwan Johnson	1,320	2018-19

  
THROW UP THE X
Senior Xavier Land delivered his fourth career 100-yard receiving effort finishing six receptions for 111 yards and a touchdown against Eastern New Mexico (10/5). It was his second consecutive 100-yard performance. He amassed with 11 catches for 114 yards the previous week at Angelo State (9/28). 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. Now with 133 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 1,589 needing 67 yards to pass DelJuan Lee (1,655 yards/2006-07/6th), 115 yards to pass Statron Jones (1,703 yards/2013-16/5th), 128 to pass Andy Tanner (1,716 yards/2006-09/4th) and 148 yards to pass Kendrick Gibson (1,736 yards/2000-01).
 
WILLIAMS MOVES INTO STARTING QB ROLE
Sophomore signal caller Triston Williams made his first start against Eastern New Mexico (10/5) after Zach Purcell went down with injury just before halftime at Angelo State (9/28). Williams connected on 9-of-21 passes for 94 yards and a touchdown in the fourth quarter against the Rams to earn the start the next week. Against Eastern New Mexico, he led the Mustangs to three scoring drives in the third quarter as the team overcame a 17-3 halftime deficit to lead 24-17. He would finish with 181 yards on 13-of-23 passing with a touchdown. Last week, he threw for a career-high 306 yards and three touchdowns at  Texas A&M-Commerce.
 
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 (9/14) and UT Permian Basin (9/21). Childs rushed for a career-high 174 yards against UTPB (9/21) after rolling up 135 yards and three touchdowns against Lindenwood (9/14). Childs added a third 100-yard effort going for 165 yards on 23 carries against Eastern New Mexico (10/5). He leads the Mustangs with 565 rushing yards, while making 13 catches for 104 yards out of the backfield. Childs is third in the Lone Star Conference and 27th in NCAA Division II averaging 94.2 rushing yards per game.
 
O-LINE GAINING EXPERIENCE
Juniors Nick Gonzalez (center) and Caleb Brown (right guard) are the lone linemen to start all six games for the Mustangs this season. Two weeks ago 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. The same unit started against Texas A&M-Commerce. 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 15 of its 19 excursions into the red zone this season with 12 touchdowns. Meanwhile, the Mustangs' defense limited the opposition to 16 scores in 26 trips inside the 20-yard line this season – including 12 touchdowns – which ranks 62nd in NCAA Division II and fifth in the LSC allowing points on 61.5 percent of red zone opportunities.
 
DEFENSIVE NOTES
Midwestern State ranks sixth in the Lone Star Conference and 100th in NCAA Division II in total defense allowing 389.2 yards per game. The Mustangs also rate fourth in the league and 69th nationally conceding 25.2 points per game. The Mustangs rank eighth in the LSC and 125th in NCAA Division II allowing 200.5 rushing yards per game. MSU Texas is second in the LSC and 50th nationally allowing 188.7 passing yards per game.
 
GETTING OFF THE FIELD
Midwestern State ranks fifth the Lone Star Conference and ranks 62nd in NCAA Division II in third down conversion percentage defense limiting the opposition to a 35.4-percent success rate (35-for-99). 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 23 of 85 defensive possessions this season (27 percent).
 
OWENS RACKING UP SACKS
Sophomore Melik Owens ranked second in NCAA Division II with six sacks over the first four games of the season before missing the Eastern New Mexico and Texas A&M-Commerce games due to injury. 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 topped the LSC and ranked third in NCAA D2 making 2.6 tackles for loss per game prior to missing time.
 
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.
 
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 72nd in NCAA Division II with a 38.3 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 hits the road to face Western Oregon Saturday at McArthur Stadium in Monmouth, Ore. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. (Central Time).