PINEVILLE, La. – McMurry University football will draw the curtain on the 2015 season this coming Saturday when it travels to Louisiana College for a 1 p.m. kickoff at Wildcats Field. The War Hawks (4-5) will be trying to reach the .500 plateau in a season for the first time since the 2012 season, when the take on the Wildcats (2-6).
 
Saturday will also be the final game for the 12 seniors on the War Hawks' roster. The group includes: Tyreace House, Derek Baldeschwiler, Paxton Grayer, David McHugh, Art Schoonover, Charles Agugua,
Demonte Byrd, Andrew Sanchez, Calvin Middlebrooks, Ashton Hooks, Chase Franklin, Desmond Guy.
 
This is the 15th meeting between the teams. The Wildcats hold a 9-5 lead in the all-time series with McMurry. The teams first met in 1962 and 1963. They did not play again until the 2000 season, meeting for 12-consecutive years after that. While McM won the last meeting (in 2011), Louisiana College has taken four of the last five bouts between these two teams.
 
McM upset the #20-ranked LC team, 49-28, in 2011 in Pineville. In that game, Jake Mullin was 25-for-39 for 446 yards and 4 TDs. Delfonte Diamond had six catches for 145 yards receiving.  Will Morris had 10 tackles.
 
LC and McMurry have had a total of three common opponents in 2015:  East Texas Baptist University, Sul Ross State University and Belhaven University.  The Wildcats lost to ETBU (44-34), while McM won its game versus the Tigers (49-22); LC topped SRSU (38-28) and McM lost to the Lobos (13-7); both school defeated Belhaven (LC by a 38-28 count and McM by a 14-10 margin).
 
Louisiana College has had "streaky" results in 2015.  The Wildcats lost its first three games of the year - to Huntingdon College, Texas Lutheran University and East Texas Baptist University - before notching its two wins of the year in successive weeks versus Sul Ross State Belhaven. Since then, Louisiana College has lost three in a row: Mary Hardin-Baylor, Kentucky Wesleyan College and Howard Payne University.
 
The Wildcats average 25.4 points per game, but have given up an average of 39.4 p.p.g. to its foes. LC has rolled up an average of 363.1 yards per game of total offense, but its opponents have averaged 509.6 y.p.g.  LC has been vulnerable if its opponents get into the "red zone," with foes scoring an average of 91% (29-32). The Wildcats have also permitted 37 sacks on the year (while making 17 sacks of their own).
 
Louisiana College has had its best efforts out of the blocks, outscoring its opponents 55-53 in the first quarter.  However, LC has been out-scored in each of the final three segments: 2nd- 104-44; 3rd- 77-47; 4th- 81-57. Individually, Aurren Cooksey has rushed for a total of 867 yards (an average of 108.4 y.p.g.). Quarterback Easton Melancon has completed 119-222 passes for 1,370 yards and 16 touchdowns.  Ladarius Gardner has 33 receptions for 491 yards and five TDs. On defense, Orel Ledet Jr. has 64 tackles and Trent Hall 50 tackles.
 
 
The War Hawks picked up their first home victory of 2015 last week over Belhaven University, 14-10. The win snapped a three-game skid for McM. Four of McMurry's five losses this year have been by a combined total of 11 points, including a pair of one-point setbacks.
 
Freshman running back Dontrell Dock has emerged as a force in the War Hawks' offensive backfield since the injury to Paxton Grayer. Dock had his first-ever career 100-yard rushing game on Oct. 24 at Sul Ross State, when he carried 18 times for 110 yards. Last week versus Belhaven, he narrowly missed the "century mark," with 92 yards on 21 carries and one touchdown.
 
Junior quarterback Matthew McHugh will enter the game versus Louisiana College with the opportunity to reach a personal milestone.  McHugh – who currently rank's fifth on McM's career passing yardage list with 3,749 yards – can also become just the fifth player to reach 4,000 passing yards in a career.  He would join Mullin (12,457), Braxton Shaver (8,721), Kurt Ashmore (4,361) and Jordan Neuman (4,245) as the only QB's in school history to hit that plateau.
 
In 2015, McHugh has completed 149-of-258 passes for 2,063 yards and 15 TDs. He is averaging 229.22 yards per game, thus far.
 
Defensively, as a team, McMurry has amassed 18 interceptions in 2015. Junior defensive back Ryan Williams leads McM with four interceptions in 2015. Among those was a 23-yard "Pick 6" versus Lincoln University (Oct. 3). Williams has 9 career interceptions.
 
J.R. Arroyo, Decorian Johnson and Desmond Guy each have three picks. Opponents have picked off the War Hawks 12 times.
 
Linebacker Marlon Jackson has been a force, rolling up 80 total tackles (38 solo). He also has a pair of sacks and two pass break-ups.  Williams and linebacker Chase Franklin both have 69 tackles. Franklin has a team-best 5.5 sacks and 9.0 tackles for loss.