The 2022 American Southwest Conference campaign begins Saturday, Sept. 17, at Wilford Moore Stadium for the McMurry University War Hawks.
Kickoff against the Tigers of East Texas Baptist is 1 p.m. ETBU has won seven of the last 10 versus McMurry including a narrow 24-15 decision in Marshall last fall where the home team needed a final period field goal to hold off a fast-charging War Hawks crew. The last two meetings have been decided by 10-points-or-less.
This preview is presented by First Financial Bank.
PRESEASON POINTS TO PONDER: The ASC ranked McMurry seventh in a poll of the league's head coaches and sports information directors. The War Hawks were projected to finish fourth in the Dave Campbell's Texas Football Magazine preseason poll.
In the league poll, reigning national champion Mary Hardin-Baylor was picked to defend its title with 15 of 18 first place votes and 159 points. Last year's runner-up Hardin-Simmons was picked second with the other three first place votes and 146 points. Howard Payne (118) sits third in the poll, followed closely by East Texas Baptist (104). Southwestern (84) rounds out the top half, followed by Texas Lutheran (78), McMurry (62), Sul Ross State (37) and Austin College (31).
In the DCTF poll, the top two teams were flipped with HSU predicted to win and UMHB picked to finish second. The rest of the poll, in order, included Howard Payne, McMurry, Southwestern, ETBU, Texas Lutheran, Austin College and Sul Ross.
TUNE IN TO THE WAR HAWKS: Fans can view a live videocast at https://mcmurrysports.com/sports/2019/8/28/video.aspx. Live statistics are also accessible at https://mcmurrysports.com/sidearmstats/football/summary.
HOME OPENER: Newcomer quarterback Andrew McBride (Katy, Tex.) fired a touchdown pass for a second straight game, as third-year head coach Jordan Neal's McMurry University War Hawks battled Southern Athletic Association foe Millsaps College Sept. 10.
McBride threw for better than 250 yards during his first outing on the FieldTurf of Wilford Moore Stadium. His 17-of-49 afternoon for 262 included a 13-yard scoring toss to sophomore wide receiver Reed Hughes (Abilene, Tex.). McBride did share the aerial wealth hitting eight different receivers. Junior Kristopher Martin (El Paso, Tex.) wound up the top target with three receptions for 75 yards.
McMurry kept the visiting Majors in their sights throughout the first 30 minutes, trailing only 14-10 at the break. Special teams turned the tide to the visitors, as Millsaps blocked a punt for a touchdown and converted two field goal tries to help hold off their hosts 27-13.
Senior defensive lineman Devin Nixon (Vidor, Tex.) guided the defense with 11 tackles. Sophomore linebacker Herman Lee (Prosper, Tex.) continued to impress with six tackles and a pair of sacks. Fellow Class of 2025 member Timothy Leatherman (Ingram, Tex.) made things difficult on Millsaps' aerial attack with four pass break-ups.
NIXON TOPS ASC DEFENSIVE MARKS: In the wake of McMurry's home-opening clash with Southern Athletic Association member Millsaps College Sept. 10, Nixon received weekly accolades from the ASC.
The team's leading tackler, he was tabbed the league's Defensive Player of the Week. He tallied seven solo and four assisted tackles and also produced a quarterback hurry to aid the War Hawks defensive unit.
NEAL'S NOTES: "There were so many great things to take away from the game against Millsaps," the War Hawks leader noted. "Devin's play was phenomenal on the defensive side, as he seemed to be right at the ball on nearly every play. I was very proud of the entire defensive unit for standing tall against an offense that was nearly a polar opposite of the team we played in week one - throwing the ball all over the stadium compared to running on nearly every play like Birmingham Southern did."
"We are so close to getting over the hump," he added. "An extremely youthful offense is beginning to buy into our processes, as Andrew is gaining more and more confidence at quarterback. We also feel we have a receiving corps that is capable of turning a game around every time they get the ball in space. It's true we still have bumps to figure out here and there, but, as any coach would tell you, you always look for your best leap from game one to two, and there was promise. We do need to shore up our special teams in some areas, but the bottom line is the culture of this program continues to rise upward every minute of every day."
ON THE ROAD: A trip to Georgetown, Tex., awaits the War Hawks Saturday, Sept. 24, for a match-up against Southwestern University in league play.
