Tarleton celebrates a score during a 58-28 win over West Texas A&M on Saturday. [Kurt Mogonye/ For Press Pass Sports]
The opening weekend of Lone Star Conference weekend is in the books, and if one thing was made clear, fans are in for an exciting season of a league of this caliber.
Here’s what we learned from the first matchup of LSC games.
Tarleton is a beast
The No. 4-ranked Texans flexed their muscle in a 58-28 route of West Texas A&M at Memorial Stadium in front of a record setting crowd of 10,691 fans.
Tarleton (3-0, 1-0) blew it open with a 25-point first quarter. In the second quarter, Tarleton continues the offensive explosion pouring on 26 more points taking a 51-0 route to halftime. The Texans were so dominant they outgained the Buffs 312 to 10 in total yard at intermission.
Lions make roaring statement
Texas A&M-Commerce coach David Baintliff earned his first LSC win in an impressive fashion as his No. 12 Lions roared past Eastern New Mexico, 45-27. In what was expected to be the game of the night in the league, TAMC (3-0, 1-0) took total control of the contest in the first half with a commanding 27-6 lead, and never looking back. The Lions defense forced three fumbles, recovered two while making life miserable for ENMU QB Wyatt Strand.
Mustangs survive scare in LSC opener
It wasn’t the LSC opener coach Bill Maskill expected when his MSU-Texas Mustangs had to survive a home scare from UT Permian Basin, 14-8 at Memorial Stadium on Saturday night. The heavily favored Mustangs (3-0, 1-0) showed inconsistency on offense, losing two fumbles, throwing an interception, and going 5 of 15 on third downs. Credit the MSU-Texas defense. It limited UTPB to 279 total yards and kept the Falcons out of the endzone. The Falcons kicked two field goals and got a safety for their points.
ASU keeps piling up points
The Rams seem to be for real. Angelo State pummeled Texas A&M-Kingsville, 44-7, for its third straight one-sided victory on Saturday night at Javelina Stadium. ASU has now won seven straight games in the rivalry, but more importantly continues to keep its extremely impressive offensive numbers at high rate. Through the first three victories, the Rams are averaging an LSC-best 52.3 points a game. In the win against TAMK, ASU racked up 408 yards of offense, 370 of which came by air.
FILE— Angelo State receiver runs past a defender earlier this year. Chism had a career-high 194 yards receiving with two touchdowns against Texas A&M-Kingsville on Saturday. [Provided by ASU athletics]
LSC stars of week 3
Keke Chism, Angelo State, Jr. WR
The 6-foot-4 sure handed receiver led the 44-7 offensive onslaught over the Javelinas pulling down nine catches for a career-best 194 yards with two touchdowns
Daniel McCants, Tarleton, RB. Sr.
McCants paced the juggernaut that was the Texans offense in the blowout against WT. The speedy back ran for a game-high 106 yards on 14 carries with a touchdown.
Miklo Sims, Texas A&M-Commerce, QB. So.
It was a coming out party for the redshirt sophomore during a 45-27 win over ENMU. Sims was near perfect, going 12 of 14 for 235 yards with four touchdown passes in the victory.
Marcus Wilkerson, MSU-Texas, Sr. DB
Wilkerson led a charged defensive effort that forced the Falcons into three turnovers, and kept them out of the endzone. The talented defensive back made a team-high 10 tackles, one for a loss with a forced fumble.
LSC Standings
Team LSC Overall
Tarleton 1-0 3-0
MSU-Texas 1-0 3-0
E. New Mexico 0-1 2-1
A&M-Commerce. 1-0 3-0
West Texas A&M 0-1 2-1
Angelo State 1-0 3-0
UTPB 0-1 2-1
A&M-Kingsville. 0-1 1-2
W. New Mexico 0-0 0-2
Week 3 results
Tarleton 58, West Texas A&M 28
MSU Texas 14, UT Permian Basin 8
A&M-Commerce 45, ENMU 27
Angelo State 44, A&M-Kingsville 7
Central Washington 36, W. New Mexico 27