Game Notes
ABILENE, Texas – McMurry's football season escalates Saturday in Pineville, La. as the War Hawks (6-2, 5-1) take on No. 20 Louisiana College (7-1, 5-1) with NCAA Division III playoff hopes on the line. Neither American Southwest Conference team has made the national playoffs since joining Division III, and likely a loss for either team with two games to spare would hold them out.
The Wildcats have posted back-to-back 7-3 seasons entering the year under head coach Dennis Dunn. McMurry went from 0-10 in 2008, brought in head coach Hal Mumme in 2009 and went 4-6, then posted a 6-4 record in 2010. Both teams have just one loss in conference play, and it was to a common opponent in Mary Hardin-Baylor.
UMHB defeated LC 36-10 Oct. 1 while the Crusaders defeated McMurry 28-27 Sept. 17. The War Hawks have won five-straight games and are fresh off their first victory over cross-town rival Hardin-Simmons in 47 years defeating the Cowboys for the first time since 1963 Saturday, 24-14.
The Wildcats have won four-straight games with their most recent win Saturday over Texas Lutheran 36-16. Both teams are the top passing offenses in the ASC; McMurry leads with 362.5 yards per game while the Wildcats average 282.8 yards per contest.
McMurry senior linebacker
Kerry Gamble said getting to face the top quarterback in the ASC in
Jake Mullin every day in practice helps getting ready for a pass-heavy opponent.
“Their record shows that they are a good team; they are doing something right,” Gamble said. “They always have athletes, but our offense prepares us for any passing team in the nation .Every week practicing against Jake [Mullin] and Stephen [Warren] gets us ready for that.”
The Wildcats are very balanced team averaging 212.4 rushing yards, and LC boasts the No. 1 total offense average in the league at 495.1 yards per game. Gamble said he knows that McMurry will need a big effort in a road game Saturday and will have to be grounded after an emotional win over Hardin-Simmons.
“Every week's a playoff game, we know this is our biggest game of this week and it just happens to be the biggest game of the season,” Gamble said. “[The win over HSU] gave us all great confidence, we know that we have to leave Hardin-Simmons behind us, and this week we have to re-focus.”
The Wildcats defeated McMurry 55-13 in 2009 and 35-33 last season. However, LC has never faced McMurry's all-America quarterback in Mullin. Mullin missed the 2009 game in Pineville, La. because he was in the emergency room with the flu the night before the game. In 2010, Mullin separated his shoulder against Hardin-Simmons and missed the final two games of the season against LC and Mississippi College.
Mullin has passed for at least 2,500 yards in each of the last three seasons and enters with 21 touchdown passes and an average of 321.9 yards per contest through the air.
Mumme said that not withstanding the season opener against Stephen F. Austin, McMurry has been a good road team this year.
“We've traveled good all year. We've played well with the exception of the first game,” he said. “I want to get them in the same mode that we were in three weeks ago in Seguin, but a lot of that's not coaching it's the seniors, they understand the magnitude of everything and they understand paying attention to detail.”
McMurry lost by one point to UMHB on the road, defeated Division I-FCS UT-San Antonio 24-21 Sept. 10 and have road wins over Howard Payne (50-3 10/1) and Texas Lutheran (60-16 10/15).
The teams will kickoff at 1 p.m. and Abilene fans can hear the game on 1560 AM KZQQ and watch and listen online at mcmurrysports.com/showcase.
