GAME DAY CENTRAL
ABILENE, Texas - McMurry's 2010 season has had its ups and downs, and the football team will look to build on Saturday's 51-19 victory over Howard Payne in Alpine Saturday at 1 p.m. when it visits Sul Ross State. McMurry will take its 3-2 overall record and 1-2 league record to face the Lobos, who enter with a 1-2 overall mark and a 1-1 record in the American Southwest Conference.
After taking two non-conference wins to begin the season, McMurry dropped two straight contests to No. 5-ranked Mary Hardin-Baylor at home and to East Texas Baptist on the road. However, McMurry kept its slim playoff hopes alive with the 32-point victory over the Yellow Jackets in Abilene Saturday night.
Now, the next challenge becomes beating the Lobos in Alpine, a feat that McMurry hasn't accomplished since the 2005 season.
“Great teams can travel well, and I think we're on the road to get to that level. Whether it's home or away we're going to have to execute,” said sophomore wide receiver
Eric Shaffer. “Whether it's three hours, seven hours or 10 hours we've got to go out and do the same thing. I think with the coaches and players we have it's not going to be a problem at all.”
Alpine is approximately five and-a-half hours by bus and 319 miles southwest of Abilene.
“I think the one thing about this is not to let the trip beat you and I think that happens to a lot of people when you go out there,” said McMurry head coach Hal Mumme.
The Lobos defeated Howard Payne Sept. 18 for their only win of the season, a league win at home. Sul Ross fell to NAIA Western New Mexico 35-32 and Texas Lutheran took a 28-11 victory over the Lobos Saturday in Seguin. However, Mumme said that the Lobos will be a stronger unit on offense than what McMurry saw last year.
“They're more explosive on offense. They're a lot more productive on offense than they have been in the past,” Mumme said. “On defense they're a scrappy group, and they'll play a lot of different types of zone coverages, and you just have to try and not make too many mistakes.“
With two losses on the hook already for McMurry in the conference schedule, likely the only possibility for McMurry to reach its goal of making the NCAA playoffs for the first time would be to win out. Shaffer, along with the rest of his team, realizes the importance of the cliché of one game at a time.
“Sul Ross is a great program and they're a good team, and just like anyone in our conference every game is important.,” Shaffer said. “Whether it's Sul Ross or Hardin-Simmons, it doesn't matter we have to go out and take care of business like it's the biggest game of the year, and that's what we're doing.”
McMurry sends the No. 7 defense in the country and the No. 22 offense in the nation to face the Lobos, and will look to bring home its second-consecutive ASC victory.
“The one thing about this team is they always fight, they always stay in the fight, and that's probably the most important thing is to be persistent and don't worry as much about your mistakes as you do your effort,” said Mumme of his team.
McMurry fans can listen locally to the broadcast beginning with the pre-game show at 12:45 p.m. on KZQQ 1560 AM Fox Sports Radio. The game will also be available with live video and audio at mcmurrysports.com/showcase.
