WICHITA FALLS, Texas – Midwestern State aims to begin a sixth consecutive season with two wins Saturday night at Hunter Stadium against Lindenwood out of the Great Lakes Valley Conference. Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Midwestern State won the only meeting between the programs played just over 25 years ago at Hunter Stadium. MSU quarterback Andy Hrncir opened scoring with a 1-yard run in the first quarter and closed the ledger with a 5-yard scamper in the third to lift Midwestern to a 23-6 win on Sept. 3, 1994. Rodney Oatts paced MSU rushing for 140 yards and a touchdown, while David Goodwell ran for 100 yards on 16 carries to lead Lindenwood.
 
IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
Midwestern State moved ahead four spots to No. 16 in this week's American Football Coaches' Association Division II Poll. The Mustangs have carried an AFCA national ranking for each of the last 50 reporting periods dating back to the 2015 season. MSU Texas has carried a national ranking at some point in each of the last 13 seasons going back to 2006. The Mustangs are also ranked 16th in the D2Football.com Poll.
 
LAST WEEK
Junior quarterback Zach Purcell threw for 323 yards and three touchdowns to lead Midwestern State to a 33-7 win over FCS Northwestern State last week at Turpin Stadium in Natchitoches, La. It was the Mustangs' first win over Division I opponent and first meeting against an FCS foe since falling to Sam Houston State in 2004. Purcell accounted for all four of the Mustangs' touchdowns completing scoring tosses to three different receivers in the first half – Tyrique Edwards (30), Kylan Harrison (25) and Juwan Johnson (32). Lone Star Conference Defensive Player of the Week Melik Owens (2.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks) led a defensive effort in which the Mustangs held Northwestern State without a first down for the first 20 minutes of the game and held the Demons to 243 total yards.
 
GOING FOR 2 AND OH
Midwestern State improved to 31-12 all-time in season openers with a 33-7 win last weekend at Northwestern State. The Mustangs are now 16-2 in openers since Bill Maskill took over as head coach prior to the 2002 season and has won their last six lid lifters. The Mustangs started 11 of the last 13 seasons with at least two consecutive wins. 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.
 
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 anverall record of 151-57 (.726). His 151 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. His 138 wins at Midwestern State are not only tops in program coaching history, but represent 56 percent of the program's all-time win total.
 
THE SHINING STAR
Midwestern State boasts 18 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	152-57	.727
Tarleton State	134-78	.632
West Texas A&M	130-94	.580
Texas A&M-Kingsville	106-100	.515
Texas A&M-Commerce	107-104	.507
Angelo State	96-111	.464
Eastern New Mexico*	86-105	.450
*ENMU vacated 15 wins from 2008-12
Through games of Sept. 7, 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).
 
AGAINST CURRENT MEMBERS OF THE GLVC
Midwestern State is 6-1 against the current membership of the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) with the lone loss coming to UIndy in the opening round of the 2012 NCAA Division II Playoffs. All six wins have come in season opening games including in four consecutive years in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017.

Date	Opponent	Score
9/3/94	at Lindenwood	W, 23-6
9/10/11	at Missouri S&T	W, 41-0
11/17/12	at UIndy	L, 31-14
9/13/14	Missouri S&T	W, 40-23
9/5/15	Truman State	W, 31-3
9/3/16	at Truman State	W, 31-19
8/31/17	Quincy (Ill.)	W, 53-6

COACHING MOVES
- 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 NOTES
Midwestern State ranks second in the Lone Star Conference and 21st in NCAA Division II in total offense (425 yards) and 22nd nationally and second in the league in passing offense (323 yards)… The Mustangs are sixth in the LSC scoring 33 points in the opening against Northwestern State… The Mustangs produced their 16th consecutive regular season game with at least 400 yards of total offense with 425 yards last weekend at Northwestern State…
 
SMASHING DEBUT
Junior quarterback Zach Purcell completed 26-of-40 passes for 323 yards and three touchdowns in last week's 33-7 win at Northwestern State. The 323 yards were the most by a Midwestern State signal caller making his first start since Cedric Jackson threw for 414 yards and three touchdowns against Southwestern Oklahoma State in 2001. Jackson, however, was playing in his 10th game that season. Purcell's three touchdowns were the most since Ryan Roberts connected for three scores in his starting debut against West Texas A&M in 2005. In comparison, MSU Texas' five Harlon Hill Trophy nominees:
 

Quarterback	Comp.-Att.-Int.	Yards	TD	Opponent	Year
Zach Purcell	26-40-0	323	3	Northwestern State	2019
Layton Rabb	7-13-0	87	0	Quincy	2017
Brandon Kelsey	8-12-0	68	0	Northeastern State	2010
Zack Eskridge	10-22-2	143	1	Southeastern Okla.	2008
Daniel Polk	7-19-0	80	0	Texas A&M-Commerce	2004
Phillip Boggs	10-20-0	155	1	West Texas A&M	2001

RECEIVING TRIO LEAVING MARK
Midwestern State's receiving corps of Juwan Johnson, Xavier Land and Tyrique Edwards are on the verge of giving the Mustangs three active members in the program's top 10. The trio has combined for 3,663 yards and 31 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	Demetrius Galban	1,486	1992, 95-96
8	Juwan Johnson	1,280	2018-19
9	Andre Kelsick	1,259	2001-05
10	Michael McDonald	1,232	1993-95
--	Xavier Land	1,209	2015-19
--	Tyrique Edwards	1,174	2015-19

 
REVAMPED OFFENSIVE LINE
Midwestern State put up 425 yards of total offensive in the opener against Northwestern State behind an offensive line unit which included three newly minted starters. Redshirt freshmen Zach Zamora (LG) and Caleb Gill (RG) took over the guard positions, while sophomore Corbin Scarber made his collegiate debut at left tackle. Junior Nick Gonzalez has taken over the center position after seeing time all over the line in his previous two campaigns, while junior Caleb Brown returns for his third season as a starter at right tackle.
 
DEFENSIVE NOTES
Midwestern State ranks second in the Lone Star Conference and 22nd in NCAA Division II in total defense allowing 243 yards, but the Mustangs lead the league and rate fourth nationally conceding seven points… The defensive unit allowed just 58 rushing yards last week against Northwestern State to rate second in the LSC and 23rd in NCAA Division… The Mustangs also limited the Demons to 185 passing yards to rate second in the league and 61st nationally… The Mustangs held FCS Northwestern State without a first down for the nearly the first 20 minutes last week in Natchitoches on the way to limiting the Demons to a 3-for-17 third-down conversion rate (17.6 percent) to rank first in the LSC and seventh in NCAA D2…
 
HOLD THE LINE
Midwestern State limited Northwestern State to 243 yards of total offense which were the fewest yards permitted since the Mustangs held West Texas A&M to 228 total offense yards in a 42-3 win in 2017. However, that game was called due to lightning with 5:07 to play in the fourth quarter. Taking that game out, the yardage output is the lowest permitted by an MSU defense since allowing 171 yards in a season opening 31-3 win over Truman State in 2015.
 
LONE STAR CONFERENCE DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Sophomore Melik Owens earned LSC Defensive Player of the Week after making seven tackles including 2.5 for loss and 1.5 sacks. The Houston Cypress Ridge High product had another sack nullified after he grazed Northwestern State reserve quarterback Bryce Rivers' facemask in the fourth quarter.
 
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.
 
LONE STAR CONFERENCE SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
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. Imbriani also reached the end zone on four of his six kickoffs with the other two returned from the 1- and 2-yard lines. He forced two touchbacks.
 
UP NEXT
Midwestern State takes on UT Permian Basin for Family Day in its home opener and Lone Star Conference lidlifter Saturday night at Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.