ABILENE – McMurry launches the 2024 Football season Saturday at Southwestern in Georgetown. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
 
The War Hawks and Pirates meet for the first time since Southwestern took a 38-33 win in Georgetown in 2022. The Pirates lead the all-time series 12-9-4. The four ties were prior to the 1950s.
 
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SCOUTING THE PIRATES: Southwestern is picked seventh in the Southern Athletic Association under interim head coach, Bill Kriesel. The Pirates went 3-7 last season. Their leading rusher, Devan Phillips, passer, Jaylen Spriggs and pass catcher Samuel Johnson, are all back after their freshman seasons last year.
 
PICKED TO WIN: It is McMurry's first season in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference and the War Hawks were named the favorites in the preseason coaches' poll, released in August. That's pretty impressive, considering McMurry was 6-4 last season - its first winning campaign since 2012.
 
GETTING TO THE QB: The single-game and single-season sacks school record holders are on this year's defense. Kane Strohman had four sacks against Sul Ross State last November for the single-game record. Herman Lee had nine sacks in 2022 to set the single-season record.
 
ACCURATE: Jess Hoel set the school record last season when he completed 69.8 percent of his passes. He was 230-331 on the year. He passed for 2523 yards on the season, which skyrocketed him to 14th place on the all-time passing yards list in just one season. Hoel was 12th in the Division III last season in completion percentage and the team ranked 12th at 69.7.
 
ON THE RECEIVING END: Kristopher Martin had a team-leading 28 receptions for 355 yards last season. He moved up on the school-record list and now has 138 career receptions (8th) and 2,028 yards (6th). Martin was 15th in Division III last season with 101.5 receiving yards per game.
 
ACCOLADES: McMurry brings 12 All-Conference players from last season into its first year in the SCAC. Quarterback Jess Hoel, receiver Kristopher Martin and offensive lineman Kobe Moore were second-team All-ASC last season. Offensive linemen Donavan Valdez, Vern Angton III, running back Drew Hagler and receiver Karmelus Card were third-team on offense with defensive back Timothy Leatherman and defensive lineman Dorian LeBlanc joining on the third team. Honorable mention All-ASC players returning are receiver Thomas Chandler and defensive linemen Kane Strohman and Markeis Williams.
 
NEWCOMERS: While Noah Hatcher is the only freshman listed as a starter on the two-deep, there are plenty of new faces in secondary roles. Wide receiver Emery Allen, left tackle Wade Springfield, center Chase Osborne, right guard James Stevens and right tackle Zach Thomas are freshmen who could see action on offense. Defensively, cornerback Raymond Stanley, safeties Cole Riha and Jaxson Hoel, and linebacker Zachariah Mitchell could take the field on Saturday.
 
SEPERATOR: Kane Strohman forced three fumbles last season to lead the War Hawks. His 0.30 forced fumbles per game ranked him as 25th in Division III last season.
 
BEHIND THE CHAINS: McMurry was 11th in Division III in 2023 with 3.30 sacks per game. The War Hawks were 17th nationally with 8.1 tackles for loss per contest.
 
LAST CHANCE: McMurry ranked 19th last year on fourth-down defense. The War Hawks stopped the opponents' last chance 70 percent of the time.
 
NO TAKE BACKS: The War Hawks ranked seventh in NCAA Division III last season on kickoff return defense. McMurry's opponents averaged just 14.16 yards per kick return.
 
A DOZEN CAPTAINS: McMurry University announced its 2024 football captains, including 10 seniors. The 12 players will rotate gameday captain duties with four players representing the team each week. The senior captains are defensive backs Damon Dozier Jr. and Timothy Leatherman; wide receiver Kristopher Martin; linebackers Herman Lee, James White and Zachary Lambert; running backs Drew Hagler and Jack Ishmael; and defensive linemen Kane Strohman and Markeis Williams. Junior defensive lineman Dorian LeBlanc and sophomore quarterback Jess Hoel also serve this season.
 
MASSEY SAYS: The Massey Ratings, a computer-generated predictor, has the War Hawks going 8-2 this season, including a 7-1 mark in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference. McMurry and Texas Lutheran are picked by the computer to share the SCAC title this season. Massey also has the War Hawks winning at Southwestern this week, 31-24.
 
FOR OPENERS: The War Hawks have lost their last three season openers. The last win in a season opener was in the spring 2021 Covid season when McMurry beat Sul Ross State, 17-14.