ABILENE, Texas – McMurry Football will play its final game of the 2019 season on Saturday, as they hit the road to face Texas Lutheran on Saturday, Nov. 16 at 1 p.m. in Seguin, Texas.

McMurry (0-9, 0-8 American Southwest Conference) will look to end the season on a high note following a season-high 471 yards in a 49-36 shootout defeat against Louisiana College last Saturday.

Meanwhile, TLU (7-2, 7-1 ASC) just fell short at its conference championship bid with a 41-3 loss to No. 1 Mary Hardin-Baylor last weekend. The Bulldogs will be fighting to get in the playoffs in their regular season finale with the War Hawks.

This week, McMurry head coach Jordan Neal, senior wide receiver Eriel Dorsey and freshman linebacker Xavier Gayle took questions ahead of the regular season finale at the McMurry Athletics Annex on campus.

Gayle ranks sixth on the team in tackles as a starter, while Dorsey currently ranks fourth all time in career receptions and sixth in career receiving yards at McMurry. He needs only 13 yards to move into the top five receivers and 10 catches to move into third in career receptions.

Press Conference Video l Game Notes  l  Gameday Coverage

Below are some of the highlights from the press conference:

Coach Neal's opening statement

Thank you all for being here. We appreciate the coverage all year long. It's really neat to come in (the press conference room) and talk about our team. They are a fun group to talk about because they are a lot of fun to coach. Our guys have continued to work hard. Our motivational theme for this week has been "Fight, Finish, Faith" which comes from 2 Timothy 4 that says "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." We've placed an emphasis on continuing to battle, continuing to fight hard and believing in the things we set forth as our program goals and our mission as a program. Our guys have done all three of those things, and we're looking forward to a good contest against a really good Texas Lutheran team.

Coach Neal on freshman quarterback Carlos Garibay in his college debut last week

Carlos played a really good game. We felt like he gave us a winning effort. He's not had a lot of reps throughout the season, so the fact that he was able to come in and play the way he did says a lot. He's one of those guys that's always engaged, always locked in during meetings. You can see the way he was preparing for practice, even though all he was doing was scout team and throwing routes on air and seeing limited opportunities. He was still engaged, which showed maturity on his part.

He has an eagerness to learn, and he's coachable. You tell Carlos, "make this read" or "execute this play," he's a "yes sir" kid and he does the very best he can. It was a little bit of a wild card to throw him out there and see how he would do, but I felt like he gave us a winning effort.

Coach Neal on bringing back a lot of experienced players for next season

I'm very excited about the future. I catch myself doing it all the time, thinking about who all we have and counting up guys, you know, look at the roster and assess where we're at…the overwhelming majority of our team that has taken meaningful snaps are freshmen. There are a handful of sophomores, a handful of juniors and a couple of seniors. We're kind of in a "not yet" phase, which is how we feel, and I hate that for (seniors) Kevin Hurley Jr. and Eriel Dosey because they aren't getting to experience the wins that are coming. We've talked a lot about them leaving a legacy and starting something and passing the torch. These guys have done a great job of showing the way, showing these freshmen guys how to handle your business, "this is how you play," and "this is how you lead in a positive way." That's been really good to see, and the future is really bright. I think X (Xavier Gayle) is one of 20 or 30 guys that I think are representative of a potential new generation of kids that are going to make this program really special.

Coach Neal on players like Eriel Dorsey leading the first year of the new era

Eriel is one of several, but he's sitting here right now. This guy is a model. He is exactly what you want from a senior. He is a great player, he works extremely hard, he leads in a positive way and he makes his teammates better. Not only that, but he's a good student and we kind of jokingly say that he's Mr. McMurry. He loves this school and he's involved in so many different things, such as hurricane relief. He cares about his family back home (in Louisiana). He's going to be hard to replace and will be missed dearly. I think the example that he has set for these guys will live on way past the time he's gone from McMurry.    

Coach Neal scouting TLU

Defensively, they stop the run and they are going to try and force you to make the hard throw on the perimeter. We feel like we have some good matchups out there with Kevin Hurley Jr. and Eriel Dorsey being big keys out there (at outside receiver). They have a lot of experience on defense. I've played and coached against a lot of these guys in 2017 and 2018 when they had a lot of juniors, sophomores and freshmen playing, so they have a lot of experience over there…a lot of guys I'm ready to see graduate.  

Xavier Gayle on the excitement surrounding the future of the program

This year, I feel like I came into a real nice program. All around, it's seemed like everyone is bought in. As the years go by, we are going to continue to work to become a better team, and we'll grow…we have a lot of young guys on the team. There's not a lot of seniors, but a lot of veteran leadership with the juniors and sophomores, and they really help me get better. It's going to be real nice to see them all come back next year.

Xavier Gayle on moving to the down-safety position

It's been something different, but I like the diversity. When I was first told I would be moving to STUD, I was like "OK" and decided I would give it my all. To me, it's all about doing what you can to help the team, and if that's where they want me, that's where I'll be.

Xavier Gayle on TLU's offense

Their offense is nice. They have a pretty good team, and I know that on defense we have to be ready. As long as everyone is doing their assignment and their roles, then we will be fine. They have a good quarterback that can make plays, and we just have to be careful in containing him.

Eriel Dorsey on the program's growth this season compared to past years

This is my fourth year. I've seen two different head coaches and three (offensive coordinators) and just a lot of changes of the last four years. This year, our record doesn't show all the small things that have went into (building our program). The hard work, the team comradery, the change of culture that Coach Neal has brought here. It's really going to help build this program the next couple of years and the years past that…the team is really bonding and caring for each other. Whether it's in the classroom or community service, putting God first, all those things will add up to the future of this team.

Eriel Dorsey on playing his final game this weekend

There's not really a lot of sadness, but joy, to see what I've been through with this program. I just want to have fun in my last game and just really put all of my energy into my team and into the freshmen. I can't wait to have one last ride with the team.

Eriel Dorsey on his legacy as a player

Hopefully, I pass down passion (to the freshmen) and just how to be a leader and how to do the small things as far as work ethic and handling business. I want them to hopefully grow up and be team captains, but also leaders in this world.  

Eriel Dorsey on coming to McMurry from Louisiana Tech four years ago

Leaving my home place was a big change as far as the culture, the food, and all the small things. But after my first two years here, it just became a home to me with the people here and the teachers here and all the coaches. It made my change really smooth.   

Eriel Dorsey on the TLU's stingy defense

They are going to try and pack the box and make us throw the ball to the outside. They are going to try to make us play deep, so we are going to go out and try to make them change schemes so we can get comfortable running our style of offense.

Eriel Dorsey's final statement to the media

I just want to say thank you to you all (the media) and thank you to this program and this school. I also want to thank Coach Neal for trusting me and giving me a chance to play the game that I love to play.