Fresh off of its come-from-behind Homecoming Game win over Belhaven (42-30), the McMurry University football team will be looking to make it two in a row when it travels to Louisiana College. Kickoff at Wildcat Field is slated for 6 p.m.
 
The game is also Louisiana College's Homecoming and McM would like nothing more than to spoil the festivities. Even more so, because no less than 14 members of the War Hawks hail from "The Boot" state and will be having a personal homecoming of their own with family and friends.
 
But McMurry will have a tall order versus an LC team which has put up some big numbers against some of the American Southwest Conference's top teams. It is a statistic which does not necessarily translate to the Wildcats won-lost record.
 
The 2017 season started out in a big way for Louisiana College, as the team smacked NAIA foe Wayland Baptist University, 59-20, in Pineville. However, once the Wildcats got into ASC play, things have been tougher and resulted in a four-game skid. After the win over WBU, Louisiana College lost to nationally-ranked Hardin-Simmons (55-10), Southwestern University (37-34), Sul Ross State (34-31) and Texas Lutheran (47-30).
 
The Wildcats are averaging 422.6 yards per game on offense. But the team is also permitting its opponents an average of 529.8 yards of offense per outing, as well. The second quarter has been LC's Achilles Heel, where it has been out-scored, 71-33, in 2017.
 
Last week, LC lost to Texas Lutheran University, 47-30, on the road. TLU rolled up 538 total yards, 358 of which came on the ground.  The Wildcats managed 321 total offensive yards, but gained just 19 via the run. The Bulldogs had a 40:23 to 19:37 advantage in time of possession.
 
McMurry derailed a two-game slide with last Saturday's win over Belhaven.  The War Hawks lost their first two outings of 2017 to Oklahoma Panhandle State and Southwestern University, before picking up an American Southwest Conference win at home versus Howard Payne.  The squad then lost at Sul Ross State and at home against TLU, before topping Belhaven.
 
Last week, McM overcame a 23-7 halftime deficit against the Blazers with a second-half blitz, led by quarterback Kevin Hurley Jr. After missing the entire Texas Lutheran game and all but one snap of the first half versus Belhaven, Hurley took over the reins of the War Hawks fully to begin the second half. Hurley completed 11-of-14 passes for 245 yards and four touchdowns of 63, 10, 22 and 51 yards. His efforts earned Hurley the ASC's offensive Player of the Week award.
 
Defensively, linebackers Josh Smith and Jacob Ferguson each booked 10 tackles versus BU. McM defensive lineman Kristopher Vasquez swatted down a total of three Blazers' pass attempts on his own. In all, McM had seven pass break-ups and five QB pressures among the defensive unit.
 
On the defensive side of the ball for the season, Smith has amassed a team-leading 54 tackles (29 solo).  Ferguson and Michael Green Jr. each have 46 tackles on the year.
 
The game can be heard locally on KSLI 1280 AM, with the pre-game show beginning at 5:40 p.m. David Bacon and Cleve Hardman will bring you the call.  The game can also be heard via the internet by going to www.1280ksli.com or the links provided at www.mcmurrysports.com.