MIDWESTERN STATE vs QUINCY
Saturday, September 4 -- 1 p.m.
QU Stadium (Quincy, Ill.)
All-Time Series: MSU leads 1-0

QUINCY, Ill. -- Midwestern State opens its 44th season of football against Quincy University at QU Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.

The game is available on streaming video courtesy of QUHawks.com or listen to the call of the Voice of the Mustangs -- Pete Stein -- via a free streaming audio at MSUMustangs.com/streaming.
 

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW

1 |  Midwestern State was picked to finish tied for fourth in the Lone Star Conference Preseason Poll. It was the Mustangs' lowest preseason prognostication since MSU was slated for fourth in 2014. Midwestern finished second at the close of the season.

2 |  Midwestern State had 19-year run of winning seasons snapped after posting a 5-6 record during the 2019 campaign. The Mustangs also finished sixth in the Lone Star Conference with a 3-5 league mark. It was the Mustangs' lowest finish since taking seventh in 2008. It was the first losing campaign in 20 years as a head coach for Bill Maskill. MSU went 1-2 in a pandemic-shortening season this spring.

3 |  Midwestern State is 31-12 all-time in season openers since becoming a four-year institution in 1947. The Mustangs have played two eras of football during that time including a run from 1946-56 before placing a moratorium on the program. The school brought back football in 1988. Since that time, the Mustangs are 23-10 in season openers including a 17-2 mark since Bill Maskill took over as head coach for the 2002 season. Midwestern has won their last seven lid lifters.

4 |  Midwestern State has won 17 more games than any other active Lone Star Conference program since the start of the 2000 season. The Mustangs are 157-65 over the timeframe and are averaging nearly eight wins a season. MSU managed at least eight wins in 11 seasons since the start of the 2000 campaign. The Mustangs are trailed by West Texas A&M (114-100/.583), Texas A&M-Commerce (117-107/.522), Texas A&M-Kingsville (108-110/.495), Angelo State (105-116/.475) and Eastern New Mexico (93-109/.460).

5 |  Bill Maskill begins his 20th season as head coach of the Mustangs coaching his 201st game at Midwestern State.
 

FIVE OFFENSIVE STORY LINES

1 |  Midwestern State returns 14 letter winners and six starters off an offense which averaged 364.1 yards and 25.8 points per game in 2019.

2 |  Senior transfer Dillon Sterling-Cole earned the starting nod at quarterback. He saw action in 15 games over four seasons at Arizona State from 2016-19 serving a redshirt year in 2017. He played in 11 games in 2016 becoming just the fifth true freshman to start a game at quarterback for Sun Devils. He completed 21-of-38 passes for 302 yards with a touchdown while rushing for 23 yards and another TD against at Oregon on Oct. 29, 2016. Sterling-Cole rated as a four-star recruit by multiple publications coming out of Westfield High where he threw for 7,130 yards and 78 touchdowns during his career. He also rushed for 913 yards and 21 TDs.

3 |   Senior Kylan Harrison leads the receiving corps as a big play threat. He averaged 22.8 yards per catch making 22 receptions for 502 yards with seven touchdowns in 2019. He continued the success by making nine catches for 199 yards and two TDs in three games during the spring schedule. Sophomore wideout Ja'Marzeyea Arvie broke out this spring making 21 catches for 199 yards and a touchdown. He produced an eight-catch, 92-yard performance against Texas A&M-Kingsville, then had 11 receptions for 95 yards at UT Permian Basin.

4 |  Junior transfer K'Vonte Jackson took over primary rushing duties in the spring going for 171 yards on 48 carries with four touchdowns. Jackson tops the depth chart for a much improved running back room which includes senior Justin Jones, junior Trenton Kennedy and freshman Jalen March.

5 |  Senior Caleb Brown leads a group of returning linemen who logged a combined 44 starts in 2019. MSU's starting right tackle earned second-team All-Lone Star Conference honors in 2019 after garnering honorable mention in each of the previous two seasons. Brown, who was named the 2020 LSC Performance Athlete of the Year, is joined in the starting lineup by senior center Nick Gonzalez (10 starts in 2019), junior right guard Caleb Gill (4 starts in 2019), junior left guard Charles Hempstead III (2 starts in 2019) and senior left tackle Austan Davis (10 starts in 2018).
 

FIVE DEFENSIVE STORY LINES

1 |  Midwestern State returns 14 letter winners and three starters off of the No. 7 defense in the Lone Star Conference in 2019. The Mustangs ranked 128th in NCAA Division II yielding 425.1 yards per game including 223.7 rushing yards per game (7th in LSC/150th in D2) and 201.5 passing yards a contest (4th in LSC/67th in D2).

2 |  Senior defensive end Melik Owens was named to Dave Campbell's Texas Football's Preseason All-Texas Small College Team heading into the 2021 campaign. He garnered All-Lone Star Conference honorable mention in 2019 despite losing three games due to injury. Owens needed eight games to make 49 tackles in 2019 leading the team with 13.5 tackles for loss and seven sacks. He continued the strong play in the spring leading the Mustangs with 19 tackles including 5.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks -- all at UT Permian Basin.

3 |  Seniors Nathaniel Nicolas (17 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks) and Zach Trevino (39 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, 3 sacks) return as starters after big seasons in 2019, while senior defensive Jaylon Abdul-Karim returns to the gridiron after making 23 tackles with four tackles for loss and three sacks in 2018.

4 |  Senior Mason Montoya (26 tackles in 2019) earned the starting nod at middle linebacker joined by fellow seniors Rigoberto Carrillo (24 tackles in 2019) at linebacker and Lance Hardman (21 tackles in 2019) at rover.

5 |  The secondary is buoyed by a pair of senior transfers in free safety Malik Sonnier (Northeastern State) and cornerback Isaiah Butler (Sacramento State) and a pair of men making their first collegiate full-season starts in WHIP Tre Owens and cornerback  Dylan Davis.
 

THREE SPECIAL TEAMS STORY LINES

1 |  Senior punter Dylan Spears enjoyed a sensational spring averaging a career best 40.4 yards on 19 punts. He forced 10 fair catches while placing eight inside the 20-yard line booming two punts of 50-or-more yards.

2 |  Senior Jacob Rowland is MSU's lone returner with kicking experience. He connected on 1-of-2 field goals with a 35-yard make while converting each of his 12 point-after attempts. He has hit 20 of his 23 PAT attempts during his collegiate career.

3 |  Senior Kylan Harrison was electrifying on kickoff returns this spring averaging 41.8 yards per return including a 92-yard touchdown at Tarleton State.

HEAD COACH BILL MASKILL is the dean of the Lone Star Conference football coaching fraternity and stands as the all-time winningest coach in program history boasting a 143-57 mark since taking over the reins of the Midwestern State program in 2002. During that time, Maskill coached the Mustangs to three Lone Star Conference titles (2011, 2012, 2017), eight playoff showings and one bowl appearance. Overall, Maskill sports a 156-65 career coaching record (.711) including a 13-8 run during two seasons at Southeast Missouri State in 1988 and 1989.
 

THE SERIES WITH THE HAWKS

Adrian Seales only needed 17 carries to run for 243 yards to lead No. 24-ranked Midwestern State to a 53-6 win over Quincy in the 2017 season opener at Memorial Stadium. It's the only meeting between the teams. Powered by Seales' effort, the Mustangs chewed up 468 rushing yards including 137 yards and three touchdowns by Vincent Johnson. MSU pushed out to a 38-0 lead early in the fourth quarter. Josh Wydermyer and Alec DiValerio had eight tackles to pace the MSU defense which limited Quincy to 246 yards of total offense.

A Mustang win would...

- make Midwestern State 1-0 overall.
- make Midwestern State 2-0 all-time against Quincy.
- be Midwestern State's eighth consecutive season opening win.
- make Midwestern State 18-2 in season openers during the Bill Maskill era.
- be Midwestern State's first win in the Land of Lincoln in the Mustangs' first attempt.
- make Bill Maskill 144-57 at Midwestern State and 157-65 overall.

A Mustang loss would...

- make Midwestern State 0-1 overall.
- make Midwestern State 1-1 all-time against Quincy.
- snap a run of eight consecutive wins for Midwestern State in the season opener.
- be Midwestern State's first loss in a season opener since falling to Tarleton State (27-24) on Sept. 14, 2013 at AT&T Stadium.
- make Bill Maskill 143-58 at Midwestern State and 156-66 overall.