ABILENE, Texas – McMurry University Football has many positives to build on from its season opener last weekend at Howard Payne and will look to turn those into a victory this Saturday, as the War Hawks face East Texas Baptist on Sept. 18 at 6 p.m. in Marshall, Texas.
This preview is presented by First Financial Bank.
The War Hawks fell in a 42-36 shootout to Howard Payne during last week's season opener at Wilford Moore Stadium, but added an element to its game that had been missing for awhile – passing offense. McMurry threw for 461 yards – the most in a single game since 2013 – with 415 of those from sophomore Ritchie Luna.
The McMurry defense also took away some positives with a fumble recovery in the red zone, an interception and a pair of timely stops at the goal line. This week, the team will look to put it all together.
"It's disappointing we didn't come out on the right end of it last week, but I was really proud of the effort our players put forth," said third year head coach Jordan Neal. "We've made tremendous strides, but were not anywhere close to where we want to be yet. However, there's a lot to be praised and a lot that we've done right but certainly plenty that we need to improve upon."
GAME DAY PROTOCOL:
Tickets are $15 for chair back reserved seating, $10 for reserved and $5 for standing room near the end zone. ETBU students with ID are granted free admission.
Masks are only required indoors at ETBU facilities.
To buy tickets, click here.
FOLLOW THE GAME:
ETBU will have a video stream and live stats this weekend.
This season, all McMurry Football radio broadcasts will exclusively air on Lonestar 1280 AM (KSLI). Fans can listen on the radio, on the web or on the Lonestar 1280 app – available free on your mobile app store and accessible anywhere, anytime with cell phone service.
Broadcasts will begin 20 minutes before each game.
Play-by-play announcer David Bacon and color analyst John Blackwell will be on the call.
All streaming, listening and live stat pages will be available each week at this link.
THE MATCHUP:
Saturday's game will be the 19th meeting between ETBU and McMurry. The Tigers – who are receiving votes in the D3football.com poll – hold a 14-4 lead in the series.
McMurry won the first-ever meeting back in 1948 with a 35-0 victory – led by Coach Wilford Moore in his second season. Since then, every meeting has happened post-Y2K. ETBU has won the last four meetings with McMurry's last victory coming in 2015. In 2016, the Tigers were ranked No. 17.
In 2019 – the last meeting – McMurry nearly shocked the Tigers at Ornelas Stadium before falling just short on the final drive, 21-19. Current senior running back Kameron Session had one of his best games on that day, rushing 18 times for 96 yards to lead the offense.
THE SCHEDULE:
With the cancellation of its non-conference game two weeks ago at Trinity, McMurry is currently playing a nine game schedule – all against American Southwest Conference opponents.
Below are the five home dates on the schedule:
- 9/11 at 1 PM vs. Howard Payne – L 42-36
- 9/25 at 4 PM vs. Southwestern – McMurry Hall of Honor Weekend
- 10/16 at 1 PM vs. Austin College – Homecoming Weekend
- 10/30 at 1 PM vs. Sul Ross State – Battle of I-20 Rivalry
- 11/13 at 1 PM vs. Mary Hardin-Baylor – Senior Day
SCOUTING THE WAR HAWKS:
Missing some key players for its season-opener, McMurry hopes to be back in full swing for Saturday's contests.
Despite being short-handed, McMurry thrived through the air with Ritchie Luna going 25-for-45 for 415 yards, three touchdowns and just one late interception. Seven players had receptions, led by junior Jermond Lovely with seven catches for 146 yards. Junior Zachary Wood also had a big game with two touchdown catches – one 69-yard reception and one 19-yard reception.
The run game was missing a step without Kameron Session available, but junior Dee Robinson continued playing the lead back roll with 15 carries for 54 yards and a score. McMurry hopes to have both rushers available this week.
Defensively, McMurry was led by senior Josh Smith with nine tackles – eight solo – two tackles for loss and a sack, while defensive linemen Xavier Nuells and Devin Nixon wreaked havoc with nine tackles each and three tackles for loss between the two of them. Freshman Zacchary Pomele, who made his debut Saturday, also had a forced fumble from the line.
Brenden Torrence made a splash in his McMurry debut this past weekend with an interception returned for 42 yards, just shy of scoring from midfield. He also added five tackles from his hybrid linebacker position. The War Hawks hope to have some key players returning this week to bolster the secondary.
SCOUTING THE TIGERS:
East Texas Baptist enters with a 1-1 record following a non-conference win over Wisconsin-Platteville (37-31) and a loss to No. 1 Mary Hardin-Baylor (14-34) in its conference opener last week. The Tigers will be at home for the first time this weekend.
Much like McMurry, ETBU has been a pass-first offense so far and averages 248.0 passing yards per game to 109.5 rushing yards. ETBU is led by quarterback Troy Yowman with 44-for-78 passing over two games for 407 yards, three touchdowns and one pick.
Cornelius Merchant is the primary rusher for ETBU, averaging an impressive 141.5 yards per game and 10.4 yards per carry on 27 attempts. Against UW-Platteville, the sophomore rushed 16 times for 187 yards and two touchdowns. He also had seven receptions for 56 yards in that game.
Six players have at least five receptions this season, led by Merchant with 10. Tariq Gray is the leading receiver with eight catches for 123 yards.
Defensively, Azaya Patrick led the team with 10 tackles last week against UMHB, while Chase Thompson recorded a defensive touchdown on an 86-yard fumble return.
PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTABLES:
Click here to view this week's press conference on BlueFrame, presented by First Financial Bank. Part of it is also available on Facebook Live at this link.
Today's press conference featured Coach Jordan Neal, senior offensive guard Ryan Miller and senior linebacker Micheas Garibaldi.
