MONMOUTH, Oregon – Midwestern State steps out of conference to take on Western Oregon Saturday afternoon at McArthur Field. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. (Central Time).
 
HISTORICALLY AGAINST THE GNAC
Midwestern State and Western Oregon meet for the first time Saturday afternoon at McArthur Field. It will also be the first time an MSU Texas squad hits the road to face an opponent from the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC). The Mustangs own two wins over former GNAC football member Humboldt State, which discontinued its program following the 2018 season. Midwestern State beat Humboldt State 35-10 in a battle of unbeatens at Oct. 17, 2015, then beat the 'Jacks 55-12 in the 2018 season. Both games were played at Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls.
 

Date	Score	Location
9/1/18	Midwestern State 55, Humboldt State 12	Wichita Falls
10/17/15	Midwestern State 35, #10 Humboldt State 10	Wichita Falls

 
MUSTANGS NEAR PERFECT IN REGULAR SEASON NON-CONFERENCE MATCHUPS
Midwestern State extended its winning streak against non-conference NCAA Division II opponents to 21 straight games during the regular season. The Mustangs are 22-1 under since the start of the Bill Maskill era in 2002. The streak includes wins over four nationally ranked opponents as the Mustangs have won their last nine road games against non-conference Division II foes during the regular season. The last loss came at Nebraska-Omaha in 2002. The Mavericks disbanded their football program following the 2010 season. Midwestern's last loss against an existing non-conference D2 opponent came in the 1998 season opener against Northwest Missouri State.
 

Date	Score	Location
9/14/19	Midwestern State 28, Lindenwood 27	St. Charles, Mo.
9/8/18	Midwestern State 38, #2 West Florida 17	Wichita Falls
9/1/18	Midwestern State 55, Humboldt State 12	Wichita Falls
8/31/17	Midwestern State 53, Quincy (Ill.) 6	Wichita Falls
9/3/16	Midwestern State 31, Truman State 19	Kirksville, Mo.
9/12/15	Midwestern State 16, Colorado Mesa 13 (OT)	Grand Junction, Colo.
9/5/15	Midwestern State 31, Truman State 3	Wichita Falls
9/13/14	Midwestern State 40, Missouri S&T 23	Wichita Falls
10/19/13	Midwestern State 45, #8 West Alabama 21	Wichita Falls
10/12/13	Midwestern State 66, McMurry 20	Wichita Falls
9/21/13	Midwestern State 38, West Georgia 28	Carrollton, Ga.
11/10/12	Midwestern State 35, West Georgia 17	Wichita Falls
10/4/12	Midwestern State 42, #18 West Alabama 27	Livingston, Ala.
11/12/11	Midwestern State 37, Northeastern State 34	Tahlequah, Okla.
9/10/11	Midwestern State 41, Missouri S&T 0	Rolla, Mo.
9/2/10	Midwestern State 52, New Mexico Highlands 6	Las Vegas, N.M.
8/29/09	Midwestern State 41, New Mexico Highlands 0	Wichita Falls
9/20/08	Midwestern State 24, #21 Newberry (S.C.) 10	Wichita Falls
8/25/07	Midwestern State 41, Adams State (Colo.) 15	Alamosa, Colo.
9/2/06	Midwestern State 34, Langston (Okla.) 26	Wichita Falls
8/28/03	Midwestern State 27, Arkansas Tech 12	Wichita Falls
9/14/02	Nebraska-Omaha 45, Midwestern State 23	Omaha, Neb.
8/31/02	Midwestern State 35, Southern Arkansas 26	Wichita Falls

   
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.
 
LAST WEEK
Triston Williams matched a school record throwing for six touchdown passes in a 70-35 win over Texas A&M-Kingsville last Saturday at Memorial Stadium. The sophomore from Andrews, Texas connected on 13-of-21 passes for 354 yards which was good for 27.2 yards per completion as the Mustangs rolled up a season-high 606 yards of offense. Sophomore Kylan Harrison made three receptions for 119 yards including scores from 40 and 24 yards out, while senior Xavier Land made four catches for 104 yards including a 64-yard TD reception. Fellow senior Tyrique Edwards (3 rec., 49 yards) caught the first two TDs of the game. Sophomore Lazarus Fisher bolted for a 75-yard scoring run, while Justin Jones rushed for a 59-yard score – both in the third quarter. The 70 points were the most since the Mustangs beat UT Permian Basin 76-21 on Oct. 29, 2016.
 
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 ended its first three-game slide with a convincing 70-35 rout of Texas A&M-Kingsville on Oct. 19 at Memorial Stadium. It was MSU's first three-game slide since the Mustangs lost 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 154-60 (.720). His 154 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 141-52 (.731) in his 18th year at MSU. His 141 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	155-60	.721
Tarleton State	140-78	.642
West Texas A&M	134-96	.583
Texas A&M-Commerce	111-106	.512
Texas A&M-Kingsville	107-105	.505
Angelo State	101-112	.474
Eastern New Mexico*	90-107	.457
*ENMU vacated 15 wins from 2008-12
Through games of Oct. 19, 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 seventh in the Lone Star Conference and 75th in NCAA Division II in total offense averaging 380.7 yards per game... The Mustangs rank 42nd nationally and fourth in the league in passing offense at 246.0 yards per game… MSU Texas ranks seventh in the LSC and 102nd nationally rushing for 134.7 yards per game…  The Mustangs are sixth in the LSC and 67th nationally scoring 29.0 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, 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… The Mustangs rolled up a season-high 606 yards in a 70-35 win over Texas A&M-Kingsville last week which were the most yards since piling up 654 yards in a 57-36 victory over Angelo State (9/22/18)…
 
RECEIVING DUO LEAVING MARK
Midwestern State's receiving duo of Xavier Land and Tyrique Edwards gives the Mustangs two active members in the program's top 10. The duo has combined for 3,070 yards and 27 touchdowns. 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	Xavier Land	1,693	2015-19
7	DelJuan Lee	1,655	2006-07
8	Demetrius Galban	1,486	1992, 95-96
9	Tyrique Edwards	1,415	2015-19
10	-Juwan Johnson	1,320	2018-19

 
THROW UP THE X
Senior Xavier Land delivered his fifth career 100-yard receiving effort finishing with 104 yards on four receptions including a touchdown against Texas A&M-Kingsville (10/19). He had 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 137 career receptions, Land trails only Bryan Gilmore (155 rec./1996-99) and David Little (169 rec./2008-11). Land is currently sixth on the all-time receiving yards list with 1,693 needing 11 yards to pass Statron Jones (1,703 yards/2013-16/5th), 24 to pass Andy Tanner (1,716 yards/2006-09/4th) and 44 yards to pass Kendrick Gibson (1,736 yards/2000-01).
 
WILLIAMS MOVES INTO STARTING QB ROLE
Sophomore Triston Williams earned Lone Star Conference Offensive Player of the Week after leading the Mustangs to a 70-35 Homecoming win over Texas A&M-Kingsville (10/19). The Andrews native connected on 13-of-21 passes for a career-high 354 yards connecting for a program record tying six touchdowns. Williams' performance netted the second-best passing efficiency rating in NCAA Division II this season at 297.8 which is also the best ever for a an MSU quarterback. It was the third time a Midwestern State quarterback accounted for six touchdown passes in a single game joining Zack Eskridge – six against Eastern New Mexico in 2008 – and Layton Rabb – six against Eastern New Mexico in 2017. Williams has thrown for 935 yards and 11 touchdowns over four games and three starts since Zach Purcell went down an injury at Angelo State. He has thrown for 300 yards in each of his last two appearance after passing for 306 yards against Texas A&M-Commerce (10/12).
 
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 593 rushing yards, while making 14 catches for 146 yards out of the backfield. Childs is fourth in the Lone Star Conference and 40th in NCAA Division II averaging 84.7 rushing yards per game.
 
WINNING THE RED ZONE
Midwestern State has scored on 18 of its 22 excursions into the red zone this season with 15 touchdowns. Meanwhile, the Mustangs' defense limited the opposition to 19 scores in 32 trips inside the 20-yard line this season – including 15 touchdowns – which ranks nine in NCAA Division II and tops in the LSC allowing points on 59.4 percent of red zone opportunities.
 
DEFENSIVE NOTES
Midwestern State ranks sixth in the Lone Star Conference and 106th in NCAA Division II in total defense allowing 391.1 yards per game. The Mustangs also rate fourth in the league and 78th nationally conceding 26.6 points per game. The Mustangs rank eighth in the LSC and 133rd in NCAA Division II allowing 205.7 rushing yards per game. MSU Texas is second in the LSC and 48th nationally allowing 185.4 passing yards per game.
 
GETTING OFF THE FIELD
Midwestern State ranks fourth the Lone Star Conference and ranks 53rd in NCAA Division II in third down conversion percentage defense limiting the opposition to a 34.2-percent success rate (39-for-114). 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 27 of 102 defensive possessions this season (26.5 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.
 
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 averaged 43.4 yards per punt placing two inside the 20-yard line while booming a pair of 50 yarders against Texas A&M-Kingsville. Spears 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 fifth in the Lone Star Conference and 63rd in NCAA Division II with a 38.9 yard punting average.
 
REYES REMAINS PERFECT
Redshirt freshman Payton Reyes successfully converted each of his 17 point-after attempts since taking over primary place kicking duties against Eastern New Mexico. He made his only field attempt which came from 35 yards out against Eastern New Mexico.
 
UP NEXT
Midwestern State takes on rival Tarleton State next Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Stephenville. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m.