ABILENE, Texas – McMurry University Football is nearly three weeks removed from its season-opening victory over Sul Ross State on February 6 and is anxious to meet another rival this weekend, as crosstown foe Hardin-Simmons comes to Wilford Moore Stadium this Saturday at 1 p.m.
On Saturday, the War Hawks will seek their first 2-0 start since 2010. For the Cowboys, Saturday will be their season opener.
GAME DAY PROTOCOL:
McMurry will open Wilford Moore Stadium at a limited capacity. Each player and coach for both teams will be granted two tickets for select guests. Also, a limited number of tickets will be made available to McMurry students, faculty and staff. Unfortunately, no general admission tickets will be sold for Saturday's game.
For more information on Saturday's protocols, click here.
FOLLOW THE GAME:
McMurry will stream all home football games on the McMurry Sports Network via BlueFrame Technology on mcmurrysports.com. Play-by-play announcer David Bacon and color analyst John Blackwell will be on the call. Live stats will also be available.
The War Hawks will not have radio broadcasts for the spring season.
Each week, game day information will be posted at this link.
THE RIVALRY:
This will be the 34th meeting in the McMurry-HSU rivalry, with the first meeting coming in 1946. That game went beyond the start of a crosstown rivalry, as it was the first football game for McMurry following a three-year hiatus due to World War II from 1943-45. HSU won 31-0.
The rivalry was put on hold until the 1961 season, as the Abilene rivals met for just the second time ever. This time, McMurry earned the victory with a 27-14 win, starting a three-game win streak through 1963. The team was coached by College Football Hall of Famer Grant Teaff those seasons.
In the modern era, the War Hawks and Cowboys have played 29 times since 1990. The Cowboys are on a five-game win streak against McMurry, dating back to 2015.
McMurry will seek its first win in the rivalry since 2011, where the team won 24-14 that season. At the time, many thought this game would mark the end of the rivalry with McMurry changing NCAA divisions. That War Hawks team led the nation in passing behind the arm of former standout Jake Mullin.
This rivalry cannot be mentioned without Wilford Moore, who's been on both sides and is a member of both Hall of Honors. Moore played three seasons at HSU and earned a physical education degree there, but later came to McMurry as its head football coach from 1947-54. Moore owns the highest winning percentage in school history at .639 with a 46-29 record. In honor of his contributions to both programs, the rivalry is played for the Wilford Moore Trophy.
The football rivals will also play in the Dyess Cup rivalry, which commemorates both school's relationship with Abilene's Dyess Air Force Base. The Dyess Cup goes beyond the gridiron and into other sports, as the winner is based on all sports that both compete in.
HSU holds the advantage in the all-time football series with a 29-4 record.
THE SCHEDULE:
The War Hawks will play five games in a condensed spring slate. The American Southwest Conference has been split into two divisions for the spring – East and West – with five teams in each division.
McMurry plays in the West Division with Sul Ross State, Texas Lutheran, Howard Payne and Hardin-Simmons. The East includes Belhaven, East Texas Baptist, Louisiana College, Mary Hardin-Baylor and Southwestern.
The teams will each play four games within its division. After four games, the standings will be evaluated and will set-up the ASC Playoffs for March 27.
The playoff games will be cross-seeded based on divisional finishes, with the top team in each division playing for the conference championship. The other eight teams will play a team from the other division that has the same finish in the divisional standings.
McMurry's Schedule:
- Feb. 6 – vs. Sul Ross State (W, 17-14)
- Feb. 27 – vs. Hardin-Simmons
- March 6 – BYE WEEK
- March 13 – at Texas Lutheran (Time TBD)
- March 20 – at Howard Payne (Time TBD)
- March 27 – ASC Playoffs (Time and Location TBD)
SCOUTING THE WAR HAWKS:
With two years of "trusting the process" instilled into McMurry's football program, the team finally saw the fruit of its labors with a long-awaited 17-14 win over Sul Ross State on February 6. The win marked the first of the Jordan Neal era.
McMurry stole national headlines with this thrilling victory, winning its first game since Oct. 6 2018.
The War Hawks defense posted one of their best efforts in recent memory, limiting Sul Ross State to 239 total yards, the fewest yards allowed in a single game since the 2016 season. The effort was led by ASC West Defensive Player of the Week Colton Strickland with eight tackles, five solo, 3.5 tackles for loss, two QB hurries and 1.5 sacks.
As for the rest of the defense, six starters and four promising newcomers make up the starting lineup. Senior Josh Smith is the player to watch, as he ranks 10th on the all-time tackles list at McMurry with 268. He had seven tackles against SRSU in the season-opener. Sophomore Xavier Gayle and junior Micheas Garibaldi also had eight tackles from linebacker positions.
The pass defense also played a factor in the last game and will look to do so this week, led by last year's leading tackler Ke'Shaun Jnofinn and senior corner Cahlyl Rossin. On the other side, freshman Perry Wells had two pass breakups and a forced fumble to lead McMurry.
The offensive side of the ball will be engineered by sophomore quarterback Carlos Garibay, who completed 16-of-30 passes for 213 yards. His first career start came at HSU last year, where he threw for 171 yards and three touchdowns with zero interceptions.
The run game is led by sophomore running back Dee Robinson, who rushed 24 times for 67 yards and two scores in the season opener. Last season at HSU, Robinson had just nine carries, but made the most of them with 116 yards. Junior Kameron Session will also get touches, rushing eight times for 30 yards last game.
Four starters and one newcomer make up the offensive line, anchored in the middle by senior Daniel Zarzoza III. A young receiving core round out the skill positions, led by freshman Kristopher Martin with five catches for 100 yards and a two-point conversion score in the last game.
SCOUTING THE COWBOYS:
Hardin-Simmons will open its 83rd season of football on Saturday with an all-time record of 478-269-35. The Cowboys are 54-24-4 in season openers and are looking for their sixth straight 1-0 start.
Last season, HSU finished with an 8-2 record with its only blemishes coming against Texas Lutheran and on a heartbreaking 15-14 loss to Mary Hardin-Baylor. HSU has finished with either an 8-2 or 9-2 record in each of the last five seasons.
The team is led by preseason American Southwest Conference offensive player of the year Kevi Evans, who has 71 catches for 1396 yards and 17 touchdowns the last two seasons. The projected starting quarterback is Kyle Jones, who would be the 11th different season-opening starter at the position the last 11 years. Last year, he threw for 1,448 yards and 17 touchdowns and two interceptions in five starts.
The defense have some familiar faces on the depth chart, but only two players projected to start from the 2019 finale in junior linebacker Terrell Franklin and senior cornerback Jeffrey McCutcheon.
The Cowboys are led by Jesse Burleson in his tenth season. Under Burleson's tenure, HSU owns a 66-27 record and has made four NCAA playoff appearances. He, much like McMurry head coach Jordan Neal, was a four-year letterman at HSU.
OTHER NOTABLES:
RECORD WATCH – Senior linebacker Josh Smith ranks ninth in all-time career tackles with 268, tied with Toby Gerhart (1982-84). Smith needs nine tackles to move up to eight place past Desmond Guy (2012-2015). Only four players have recorded 300 career tackles in McMurry history, led by Chris Joseph (1982, 1984-86) with 379.
DOUBLE TROUBLE – Sophomore Dee Robinson and junior Kameron Session made quite the tandem last season at running back, combining for 1,092 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground. Robinson ranked fourth in the ASC with 65.6 rushing yards per game.
THE FINISHER – With injuries hampering the War Hawks at quarterback last year, sophomore Carlos Garibay stepped in for the final three games of the season and led the team with a 138.9 passer rating. He finished 53-for-94 for 696 yards, seven touchdowns and two interceptions. He has since moved into the starting role full time, leading McMurry in its season-opening win.
ASC 25th ANNIVERSARY – The American Southwest Conference enters its 25th year since forming in 1996. McMurry was part of the first ASC football season in 1996, naming nine players first team all-conference and four more second team all-conference. The War Hawks have had two stints in the ASC, with the first spanning from 1996-2011. McM returned to the ASC in 2016 and enters its fifth year back.
DISCIPLINE – The War Hawks took only 57 penalties last season, the second-fewest in the league behind Southwestern with 56. The team averaged 57.0 penalty yards per game, third best in the ASC behind UMHB (37.7) and Southwestern (46.2). McMurry was also the best at drawing penalties, as their opponents averaged a league-high 89.2 penalty yards per game.
ALL-TIME RECORD – In 95 seasons, McMurry has a 380-501-33 record for a .416 win percentage.
