NO. 11 MIDWESTERN STATE vs CENTRAL WASHINGTON

Saturday, Oct. 2 -- 8 p.m. (Central Time)
Tomlinson Stadium (Ellensburg, Wash.)
All-Time Series: First meeting

ELLENSBURG, Wash. -- No. 11 Midwestern State hits the road to take on Central Washington Saturday night at Tomlinson Stadium. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. (Central Time).

The game is available via streaming through SWX at the attached link. A free audio stream featuring the Voice of the Mustangs -- Pete Stein -- is also available on the Lone Star Conference Digital Network at MSUMustangs.com/streaming.

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW

1 |  Midwestern State aims to improve to 5-0 for the 10th time in program history Saturday night against Central Washington. MSU has started eight of Bill Maskill's 20 seasons at the helm with five straight wins to start the season. The Mustangs last enjoyed a 5-0 start in 2018.

2 |  Midwestern State is 24-2 against non-conference NCAA Division II opponents during the regular season since the start of the 2002 campaign. The Mustangs had a 22-game winning streak against non-LSC foes snapped at Western Oregon in 2019. The only other non-league loss came at Nebraska-Omaha in 2002.

3 |  Midwestern State plays its fourth road game in the fifth week of the regular season Saturday in Ellensburg, Wash. At 1,860 miles (one-way), it is the second longest road trip in program history paling only to MSU's foray to Monmouth, Oregon in 2019 to face Western Oregon. That was 1,954 miles. In all, the Mustangs will travel nearly 6,600 round-trip miles this season. For perspective, that is the one-way distance from Wichita Falls to Seoul, South Korea in the west, to Baghdad, Iraq in the east and past the southern tip of South America in the south. 

4 |  Midwestern State moved up four spots to No. 11 in this week's American Football Coaches' Association Division II Poll. It is the Mustangs' highest ranking since carrying the No. 10 spot after improving to 6-1 with a 69-14 win at Texas A&M-Kingsville on Oct. 13, 2018. The Mustangs are one of 10 teams from Super Region Four to receive mention in the poll joining No. 5 Colorado School of Mines, No. 14 Augustana (S.D.), No. 17 Minnesota State and No. 22 Minnesota Duluth. Western Colorado, Colorado Mesa, Angelo State, Texas A&M-Commerce and Colorado State-Pueblo are receiving votes.

5 |  Midwestern State concluded a perfect run through September by surviving Eastern New Mexico 31-24 in overtime last weekend at Memorial Stadium. Since Bill Maskill took the reins of the program at the start of the 2002 season, the Mustangs have posted a 61-10 mark (.859) in the month of September. MSU has posted a 52-26 record (.667) in October during the same time period.

FIVE OFFENSIVE STORY LINES

1 |  Midwestern State senior Dillon Sterling-Cole is proving one of the top quarterbacks in NCAA Division II. The Arizona State transfer ranks second in the Lone Star Conference and 24th in NCAA Division II with 1,067 passing yards while leading the LSC rating sixth in the nation with 13 touchdown passes. His pass efficiency rating (160.9) is second in the league and 21st nationally. Sterling-Cole earned LSC Offensive Player of the Week honors after throwing for 391 yards and five touchdowns in a 35-17 win two weeks ago at Angelo State.

2 |  Midwestern State senior Kylan Harrison earned Lone Star Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors after making five catches for 116 yards with two touchdowns. He broke for a career-long 80-yard score in the first quarter, then snared the game winning score on a 10-yard catch in overtime to help the Mustangs to a 31-24 win over Eastern New Mexico. Harrison has scored in each of MSU's four games this season topping the LSC and ranking 12th in NCAA Division II with five TD receptions. Harrison ranks third on MSU's all-time TD receptions list with 18 and needs three to move past David Little (19 from 2008-11) and Andy Tanner (20 from 2006-09) to claim sole possession of the all-time lead in the category. Harrison also ranks third in the LSC and 95th nationally averaging 69.2 receiving yards per game.

3 |  Midwestern State freshman Jalen March has led the Mustangs in rushing three times this season and has scored a touchdown in three of four games. He accounted for 70 yards of total offense twice this season including campaign-high 70 yards with two touchdowns in the season opener at Quincy. He caught two passes for 38 yards including a 30-yard TD, while rushing for 32 yards in a win over No. 17 Angelo State. March ran for 56 yards and a touchdown in last week's overtime victory over Eastern New Mexico.

4 |  Midwestern State boasts four receivers with at least 10 receptions through the first four weeks of the season. Sophomore Ja'Marzeyea Arvie leads with 15 receptions for 133 yards and a touchdown, while senior Kylan Harrison has made 13 catches for 277 yards with five touchdowns. Redshirt-freshman Ja'Juan Mason is second on the team in receiving yards with 222 on 10 catches for a team-best 22.2 yards per catch average. Senior Kandin Robertson has made 10 receptions for 127 yards with two touchdowns. Seven difference MSU receivers have scored on TD receptions.

5 |  Midwestern State remains a perfect 14-for-14 on Red Zone scoring opportunities with 12 touchdowns. The Mustangs have scored at least 31 points in each game this season to rank second in the LSC and 28th in NCAA Division II accounting for 36.2 points per game.

FIVE DEFENSIVE STORY LINES

1 |  Midwestern State leads all of NCAA Division II making 45 tackles for loss through the first four weeks of the season. The Mustangs have accounted for 14 stops for loss twice this season -- against Quincy in the opener and last week versus Eastern New Mexico. Senior defensive end Melik Owens leads the individual effort leading the LSC and ranking 23rd in NCAA Division II with 1.8 tackles for loss per game. Senior defensive end Jaylon Abdul-Karim adds 1.5 tackles for loss per game, while sophomore linebacker Justin Guillory contributes 1.2 stops behind the line of scrimmage per game.

2 |  Senior defensive end Melik Owens ranks second in the LSC and 46th in NCAA Division II with 0.88 sacks per game. He has accounted for 3.5 total sacks this season to move to third on the program's all-time sacks list with 14.5. He needs a half-sack to match Stephen Turner (15.0 sacks from 2006-09) and is 17.5 sacks behind all-time leader Russ Grissom (32.0 sacks from 1989-91).Fortunately, Owens has another year of eligibility beyond the 2021 season. As a team, the Mustangs also lead the Lone Star Conference and rank eighth nationally at 4.25 sacks per game.

3 |  Midwestern State has proven to be one of the most opportunistic defenses in NCAA Division II. The Mustangs lead the Lone Star Conference and rank 25th nationally with a plus-3 turnover margin. The defensive unit accounted for two interception returns for touchdowns in the opening weeks and has produced a 31-19 edge in points from turnovers in the first four weeks of the season. MSU also leads the LSC and ranks 17th in NCAA Division II with five fumble recoveries.

4 |  Midwestern State ranks eighth in the LSC and 123rd in NCAA Division II in total defense allowing 422.2 yards per game. The Mustangs defensive permitted a season-low 308 yards against Eastern New Mexico last week. MSU, however has allowed a back to go over 100 yards in each other last two weeks. Angelo State's Nathaniel Omayebu ran for 161 yards on 71 carries, while Eastern New Mexico's Isaiah Tate accounted for 132 yards on 27 carries last week. The Mustangs rank eighth in the LSC and 121st nationally in both run defense (175 yards per game) and passing yards allowed (247.2 yards per game).

5 |  Midwestern State sophomore cornerback Dylon Davis earned Lone Star Conference Defensive Player of the Week honors after returning an interception 70 yards for a touchdown and forcing a fumble which led to more points which help the Mustangs spin a 23-0 second-quarter deficit into a 31-30 win over No. 7 Texas A&M-Commerce. Davis also returned an interception 23 yards for a touchdown in MSU's season opening win at Quincy. 

THREE SPECIAL TEAMS STORY LINES

1 |  Sophomore Fernando Piedra ranks fourth in the Lone Star Conference and 57th in NCAA Division II at 38.1 yards per punt. He has placed 10 of his 27 punt attempts inside the 20-yard line, forced five fair catches with two punts of 50-or-more yards with a long of 70. The kickoff specialist boasts seven touchbacks on 16 kickoffs. Piedra earned LSC Special Teams Player of the Week after averaging 43.5 yards on eight punts against Angelo State placing four inside the 20-yard line including a long of 70 yards which was downed at the 1. He also produced touchbacks on five of his six kickoffs against the Rams.

2 |  Freshman Ritse Vaes garnered Lone Star Conference Special Teams Player of the Week honors in his debut kicking a 40-yard field goal in MSU's 31-30 win over No. 7 Texas A&M-Commerce on Sept. 11 at Choctaw Stadium in Arlington. The Wichita Falls native also connected on a 37-yard field goal against Eastern New Mexico. Vaes remains a perfect 13-of-13 on his PAT attempts.

3 |  Senior Kylan Harrison ranks third in the Lone Star Conference and 43rd in NCAA Division II averaging 24 yards on six kickoff returns with a long of 32 yards. Redshirt-freshman Tre Owens is the top threat on punt returns averaging 13 yards on three returns with a long of 21, while fellow redshirt-freshman Ja'Juan Mason averages 9.7 yards on three returns with a long of 20.

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 147-57 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 160-65 career coaching record (.711) including a 13-8 run during two seasons at Southeast Missouri State in 1988 and 1989.

THE SERIES WITH THE WILDCATS

Midwestern State and Central Washington meet for the first time on the gridiron Saturday afternoon at Tomlinson Stadium in Ellensburg. It's just the third meeting between the institutions in any athletic competition. Both of the earlier meetings came in the second round of the NAIA National Tournament in Kansas City and MSU won both on the way to quarterfinal appearances. MSU's current Athletic Director Kyle Williams led the then-Indians to a 73-66 win over Central Washington on March 14, 1979, while All-America forward Tony Forch added 14 points and 10 rebounds. Fourteen years later, MSU sharpshooter Jason Paty led the way with 16 points to stave off an assault by CWU's Pepper brothers as Jason Pepper poured in 27 and Ryan Pepper had 22 as the Indians claimed a 78-74 win on March 18, 1993. It will be MSU's second opponent out of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference after falling at Western Oregon -- 37-22 -- in 2019. Washington will make the 20th state Midwestern State plays a competitive football game in the history of the program.

A Mustangs win would...

- make Midwestern State 5-0 overall.
- make Midwestern State 1-0 all-time against Central Washington.
- make Midwestern State 5-0 for the first time since 2018 and for the 10th time in program history.
- make Midwestern State 25-2 in non-conference regular season games against a Division II opponent since the start of the 2002 season.
- make Midwestern State 63-36 on the road during the Bill Maskill era (since 2002).
- make Midwestern State 53-36 in the month of October during the Bill Maskill era.
- make Bill Maskill 148-57 at Midwestern State and 161-65 overall.

A Mustangs loss would...

- make Midwestern State 4-1 overall.
- make Midwestern State 0-1 all-time against Central Washington.
- snap Midwestern State's four-game winning streak with first loss since fall at UT Permian Basin on March 27.
- make Midwestern State 24-3 in non-conference regular season games against a Division II opponent since the start of the 2002 season. Two of three losses against GNAC opponents (Western Oregon in 2019).
- make Midwestern State 62-37 on the road during the Bill Maskill era (since 2002).
- make Midwestern State 52-37 in the month of October during the Bill Maskill era.
- make Bill Maskill 147-58 at Midwestern State and 160-66 overall.