War Hawks Game Day

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ABILENE, Texas – McMurry University football will takes its first official steps into the world of NCAA Division II on Saturday (6 p.m.) when it travels across town to Shotwell Stadium to face local rival Abilene Christian University. The meeting will be the 40th meeting between the schools…after a gap of 40-seasons since the last contest.

In the last face-off, ACU scored a 53-20 victory. The series was uninterrupted from 1930 through 1971, (minus the World War II years of 1943-45 when no teams were fielded). ACU enters Saturday's renewal with a three-game winning streak.

McMurry's last win versus ACU came in 1969 by a 30-2 score.

A lot of water has passed under the bridge since the War Hawks (then nicknamed the Indians) took on the Wildcats. To put it into perspective, when these teams last faced each other:  gas was 40-cents a gallon; a first class stamp was eight cents; China was first admitted to the United Nations; the 26th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified (lowering the U.S. voting age to18); Disney World opened; Mariah Carey was born; Richard Nixon was president; and popular songs included “Knock Three Times (Tony Orlando and Dawn), “Maggie Mae (Rod Stewart) and “Brown Sugar” (Rolling Stones).

Additionally, the renewal of the series has seemed to rekindles memories of McM vs. ACU game alumni from both schools.

“We have a pretty good game coming up this weekend,” McM head coach Hal Mumme said matter-of-factly. “What a great privilege to be able to coach in this game and to reinstitute this game after all of these years; to think of all of the great players who have played in that game. (To think of) some of the great coaches who have coached in the game – Wally Bullington, Grant Teaff and Buddy Fornes – it's just a real honor on my part to coach in the game.

The ACU Wildcats enter the 2012 season opener ranked pre-season No. 9 in nation for NCAA II by D2football.com, as well as receiving a No. 10 ranking in the American Football Coaches Association Division II Pre-season Coaches' Poll.

Conversely, McMurry is coming off of what was arguably its most successful season in 2011 as it closed out its run in NCAA Division III with a 9-3 record and the school's first-ever trip to the NCAA playoffs (advancing to the second round).

The game will also feature two of the nation's most productive passing quarterbacks returning from 2011. Last year, ACU senior Mitchell Gale threw for 3,832 yards and 23 touchdowns as a junior. McMurry's senior QB Jake Mullin amassed a War Hawks' school record 3,371 yards through the air, good for 29 TDs.

Gale has 9,127 yards and 76 TDs in his Wildcats' career, while Mullin has rolled up 8,979 yards and 89 TDs in his previous three seasons for the War Hawks.

Both Gale and Mullin are pre-season All-Americans.

“They're a formidable group, “ Mumme said of the Wildcats' offense. “For our young defense it's a huge challenge. We're going to start a freshman at free safety – and he's a great player – but he's still a freshman. Mitchell Gale's going to have a few reps on him.

“We'll have to really play well to win the game. It's going to be a war. It's just going to be a war. They're going to play hard.”

The clash between two-thirds of Abilene's college's on the football field is something which Mumme believes is good for the community. In spite of the fact that ACU has announced its move to NCAA Division I status, Mumme would like to see the rivalry continue.

“I hope we can keep it going,” Mumme said of the series against ACU, which is also contracted for 2013. “We always play some Division I schools anyway and it would be nice to see it continue.

“I'm just looking forward to it Saturday and just getting out there at Shotwell (Stadium). Hopefully we'll have a real good crowd and a real good ball game.”