WAXAHACHIE – Southwestern Assemblies of God University (SAGU) announces the resignation of head football coach, Ryan Smith, who has indicated a desire to pursue other coaching opportunities. In the previous four years, SAGU football holds an 18-21 record and finished 9-3 in 2021 while winning the National Christian College Athletic Association’s Victory Bowl.

SAGU will begin the process of finding a new head coach immediately. SAGU Athletics has a mission to pursue spiritual formation in student-athletes, prepare student-athletes to be servant leaders, and provide an atmosphere of athletic excellence.

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RICHARDSON, Texas – The Lone Star Conference has released its 2022 football conference schedule, which features a 10-team, nine-game single round robin format.

The slate has LSC games predominantly in weeks 3-11, with two league contests in week two.  The first full week of league play will take place on October 1.

The LSC welcomes Central Washington, Simon Fraser, and Western Oregon as affiliate members in football in 2022.  The trio joins Angelo State, Eastern New Mexico, Midwestern State, Texas A&M-Kingsville, UT Permian Basin, West Texas A&M, and Western New Mexico for the 10-team conference in 2022.

In 2021, Midwestern State claimed the LSC football title for the fourth time, while Angelo State and Central Washington were selected for the NCAA Division II Football Championship.

The schedule is below:

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SAN ANGELO, Texas – The Angelo State football team advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division II National Championship on Saturday, defeating No. 21 Nebraska – Kearney 20-7 at LeGrand Stadium at 1^st Community Credit Union Field.
 
With the victory, the Rams have now won seven games in a row, setting a new consecutive win streak in the Division II era as they improve to 11-2 overall on the season.
 
After a scoreless quarter and a half of play, the Rams got on the board first as Alfred Grear took off for a 63-yard touchdown run with 7:48 to play in the first half. Grear finished as the leading rusher in the game, totaling 152 yards rushing while averaging 9.5 yards per carry.
 
Asa Fuller finished the second quarter with two field goals, hitting one from 24 yards and another from 45 yards with time expiring as the Rams took a 13-0 lead into the halftime break.
 
ASU defense held the fifth-best rushing offense in the country to 117 yards and the 10^th best offense to only 203 yards of total offense. UNK’s quarterback TJ Davis ended with 86 yards passing and 12 yards rushing on the day.
 
Hunter Kyle was the leading tackler for the Rams with nine tackles on the day while Daron Allman finished with six tackles and 2.5 sacks while Weston Bauer collected seven tackles, 3.5 tackles for a loss, and a sack.
 
Angelo State extended their lead in the third quarter as the Rams drove 75 yards on nine plays before Zach Bronkhorst completed a five-yard touchdown pass to Dagen Dunham to go up 20-0.
 
Bronkhorst finished with 172 yards on 15-of-30 attempts while adding 21 yards on the ground. CJ Odom carried the ball for 48 yards on the ground while Kel Williams was the top receiver for ASU with three catches for 71 yards.
 
After an interception gave UNK the ball deep in ASU territory, the Lopers scored their lone touchdown of the game off a five-yard run with 6:21 to go in the third quarter.
 
UNK nearly scored again in the fourth before ASU’s defense stepped up once again, forcing a turnover on days to seal the win.
 
G’Karri McCoy, Leddy French II, and Darrick Dickerson Jr., each finished with five tackles while Josh Quinton added four tackles with 1.5 tackles for a loss.
 
The Rams will travel for the quarterfinal round as they take on top-seeded Colorado School of Mines on Saturday, Dec. 4, with a kickoff time to be announced.

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SAN ANGELO, Texas – The Angelo State football team jumped up in the NCAA Division II Regional Rankings on Monday, landing at No. 2 in Super Region Four.
 
The Rams held the fifth spot heading into their game against Texas A&M – Commerce, winning 30-3 to jump three spots in the rankings. The top seven teams at the end of the season will advance to the playoffs with the two through four spots hosting in the first round.
 
Colorado School of Mines holds the No. 1 spot while Augustana (SD) sits at No. 3 followed by Bemidji State at No. 4. Western Colorado, Central Washington, and Minnesota Duluth round out the top seven.

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ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Angelo State football team overcame adversity on the road, climbing back late against Central Washington to defeat the Wildcats 14-9 with a last-minute touchdown on Saturday night in Tomlinson Stadium.

With the win, the Rams improve to 3-1 overall on the season while Central Washington drops to 2-2.

Down 9-7, Nathaniel Omayebu III collected the ball one yard out of the end zone before pushing his way through for a score to take the lead with 48 seconds remaining in the ball game.

Angelo State’s defense controlled the game throughout the night, holding the Wildcats out of the end zone while allowing only 202 total yards off offense including 88 yards on the ground. The Rams have yet to give up a 100-yards rushing in their first four games of the season.

After a scoreless first quarter of play, the Wildcats got on the board first, hitting a 21-yard field goal to go up 3-0 after the Rams held CWU on a goal-line stand.

Late in the second quarter, the Rams drove 55 yards on nine plays to score their first touchdown of the night as Austin Landry took a direct snap before running five yards to give the Rams their first lead of the night.

Omayebu led the Rams rushing on the night, collecting 100 yards off 24 attempts with a score. Kason Phillips shared the load in his second game for ASU, rushing for 36 yards while Landry finished with 13 yards and a touchdown.

The Rams stepped up again on defense in the third quarter, forcing three straight incompletions to inside the 12-yard line as the Wildcats kicked another field goal to make it a one-point game.

In his first ASU start, Hagen Garvin finished with nine completions for 130 yards with no interceptions while Landry finished with a team-high 38 receiving yards off two catches. Kellen Pachot added three catches for 35 yards and Phillips added 23 yards receiving.

The Wildcats took the lead with their third field goal of the game, hitting a 40-yard field goal to start the fourth quarter of play.

In ASU’s final drive of the night, Garvin completed a 14-yard pass to Rasheen Green before connecting on a 31-yard pass to Pachot at Central Washington’s two-yard line to set up the game-winning score.

Central Washington threw a final hail marry attempt that was picked off by ASU’s Andrew Pitts to close out the game.

Josh Quinton led the Rams in total tackles with nine followed by Leddy French II with eight. Darrick Dickerson Jr.and Hunter Kyle each tallied seven tackles. Simon Maxey and Quinton each collected a sack while Devin Washington added an interception.

The Rams will return home next weekend as they welcome in Western New Mexico for a Lone Star Conference matchup on Saturday, Oct. 2 at LeGrand Stadium at 1st Community Credit Union Field.

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COMMERCE – In the anticipated rematch of the 2017 NCAA Division II National Championship, the No. 1 West Florida Argonauts defeated the No. 13 Texas A&M University-Commerce football team, 35-17, at Memorial Stadium in front of 8,269 fans on Saturday evening.
 
The Argonauts picked up their first win over the Lions and remain undefeated, 3-0, on the year. The Lions fall to 1-2 on the season.
 
Chance Cooper (Leander – Rouse) opened up the scoring on a seven-yard catch from Jaiave Magalei (Tacoma, Wash.). Cooper has now caught a touchdown pass in two games in a row and led the team with 64 yards on five catches. Magalei went 14 for 23 in the passing game for 159 yards, a touchdown pass, and an interception.
 
West Florida tied the game just four minutes later, on a 33-yard catch by Larry Rembert.
 
The Lions took the lead once again in the first quarter on a four-yard rush by E.J. Thompson (Cy Ranch), who led all Lions’ rushers with 43 yards on 12 carries. He also caught a pass for 13 yards.  
 
Anthony Johnson Jr. tied it once again with a seven-yard run with 11 minutes left in the second quarter.
 
A&M-Commerce went into the locker room with a 17-14 lead thanks to a 33-yard field goal with four seconds left in the half by Jake Viquez (Rockwall), who went 1 for 2 in field goal attempts.
 
The Argonauts shut out the Lions in the second half. They took the lead on an eight-yard run by Jervon Newton and extended it to 11 on the first play of the fourth quarter with a 19-yard touchdown reception by David Durden. West Florida quarterback Austin Reed threw for 274 yards on 18 for 32 passing and also threw two touchdowns.
 
Shomari Mason punched it in from the one-yard line in the fourth to give West Florida a 35-14 lead.
 
The Lions leading tackler on defense was Dominique Ramsey (Converse – Judson) with eight total tackles. He also had 126 return yards. His longest punt return was 45 and longest kick return was 35.
 
D’Angelo Ellis (Cy Ridge) broke up three passes and also had four tackles. Kader Kohou (Euless – Trinity) had five tackles, one for loss and a broken up pass.
 
The Lions look to keep the Chennault Cup in their possession when they travel to Kingsville to take on Texas A&M-Kingsville on Saturday, September 25 at 7 p.m.

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ABILENE, Texas – The Louisiana College football team took a big step up in competition, facing off against NCAA Division I foe Abilene Christian University, and the home-standing Wildcats proved to be too much for the visiting Wildcats from Pineville as ACU knocked off LC, 62-7, Saturday night at Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium. 

LC found itself down quickly as ACU put up 27 points in the first quarter that included the Wildcats stuffing an ACU two-point attempt from the one-yard line. 

After falling behind 34-0 in the second quarter, LC put together its one scoring drive as the Wildcats slowly moved down the field while getting some assistance from four major penalties that helped set LC up right against the goalline. The Wildcats made the mistakes hurt as James Powell, Jr. pushed in from one-yard out for the touchdown to cut the deficit to 34-7. 

From there, however, it was all Abilene Christian as ACU added another score in the second quarter, one more touchdown in the third, and two more in the fourth for the game’s final score. 

Markaylin Milburn has the best night for the Wildcat offense, turning six rush attempts into 63 yards, 40 of which came on one rush alone. James Powell, Jr. had nine rushes for 16 yards, including the one-yard touchdown plunge. 

River Thompson made his LC debut as he entered late in the contest and finished as the top passer, going five-of-nine for 35 yards. 

D’Mario Weathersby led the defense with eight total tackles. Tyren Young had six total tackles, 2.5 were behind the loss for a loss of yards, including one sack for an 18-yard loss. 

The Wildcats (0-3, 0-1 SAC) head even further west next week for the longest trip of the season to start the final stretch of eight-straight Sooner Athletic Conference games, this one against No. 15 Arizona Christian. Kickoff of Saturday’s game against the Firestorm (1-1, 0-1 SAC) is set for 11 a.m.. MST, 1 p.m.. CDT at the ACU Football Field in Glendale, Ariz. 

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PINEVILLE, La. – The Louisiana College football team had itself in position to come out of its first ever Sooner Athletic Conference contest with a victory, but saw it slip away late as Southwestern Assemblies of God University scored a touchdown with five seconds left to drop the Wildcats in the SAC opener 20-13 to the Lions Saturday night at Wildcat Field. 

The name of the game for most of the contest was defense as both teams struggled to get moving offensively. The Wildcats struck first in the second quarter as LC took advantage of an 18-yard punt that set the Wildcats up on SAGU’s side of the field, moving into the red zone before calling on Hunter Martensson from 36 yards out, which he converted to give LC a 3-0 lead. 

But just about five minutes later, a SAGU offense that had been stymied for most of the first half hit on one big play, a 44-yard touchdown pass to take the lead with 8:30 to go before halftime, even as Gerald Burton blocked the point after attempt to keep the score at 6-3, which would be the halftime score. 

Midway through the third quarter, the Wildcats knotted the game back up. Canaan Leon took an handoff on an end around play and ran for 43 yards to set up the Wildcats inside the Lion red zone again. However, the drive would stall and Martensson drilled a field goal attempt from 30 yards to even the score at 6-6. 

With the game tied and now in the final 15 minutes, the Wildcats took the advantage first. After a quick three-and-out by the Lions deep in their own territory, a 29-yard punt set up LC at the SAGU 37. And all it took was one play for Devin Briscoe to get around the right edge, break two tackles, and stroll into the end zone to make it 13-6 LC with 11:42 left in the game. 

But on the Lions first offensive play following the Briscoe score, SAGU connected on a 32-yard pass to begin a seven-play drive that ended with a 22-yard touchdown pass to even the score back up at 13-13 with just more than eight minutes left in regulation. 

Both teams started to struggle moving the ball again as a light rain fell over Wildcat Field. But field position became a big ally to SAGU as a personal foul penalty following a punt backed up the Wildcats deep. A quick three-and-out and a 16-yard punt set up the Lions deep in LC territory with less than a minute left. And SAGU took advantage of the opportunity, going on a three-play drive that ended with a 15-yard touchdown pass with just five seconds left in the game to snatch the victory in the contest. 

Devin Briscoe led LC’s attack on the ground with 16 rush attempts for 107 yards and a score. Canaan Leon had three rushes for 64 yards. The Wildcats as a team rushed for 244 yards in the contest. 

It wasn’t the best of games through the air for the Wildcats as Sal Palermo III went six of 19 for 59 yards and an interception before leaving the game in the third quarter. James Powell, Jr. came in and went two of 12 for 46 yards. Canaan Leon added two receptions for 22 yards to his rushing and special teams totals to finish the night with 87 all-purpose yards. Tayvien Cole had a 42-yard reception to make him the top receiver in terms of yards gained. 

Cole Jones was all over the place for the Wildcats defense, finishing the contest with 13 total tackles, seven solo and six assisted. 2.5 of his tackles happened behind the Lions line of scrimmage for a loss of yards, recovered a fumble, and broke up a pass. D’Mario Weathersby had five tackles, one for loss. Tyren Young forced the fumble that Jones recovered, and Bennie Clark III picked off the Lions QB. 

The Wildcats (0-2, 0-1 SAC) head on the road for the first time in 2021 for their final non-conference contest of the season, a date with NCAA D-I FCS team Abilene Christian. Kickoff between the LC Wildcats and ACU Wildcats (0-1) is set for 6:00 P.M. at Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium. 

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ST. CHARLES, Mo. – The Angelo State football team strung together an offensive showcase to open the 2021 season, defeating 21^st-ranked Lindenwood 40-20 on the road on Thursday night.
 
The Rams improve to 1-0 to start the season for the fifth consecutive time, winning the opening game of the year since the 2017 campaign.
 
Just under six minutes into the contest, the Rams scored their first points of the night on defense as Donavyn Jackson tackles a Lion’s rusher for a three-yard loss and a safety to go up 2-0.
 
In the third drive of the game, the Rams earned the first touchdown of the season as a 69-yard pass from Zach Bronkhorst to Zorhan Rideaux set up a two-yard touchdown run for Nathaniel Omayebu III to go up 9-0.
 
The Rams added to their lead moments later, once again scoring on the defensive side of the ball as Andrew Pitts intercepted Lindenwood’s Cade Brister for a 26-yard pick six to go up 16-0.
 
Lindenwood scored their first points in the closing minutes of the first quarter, connecting on a 35-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to nine points for ASU.
 
With just over six minutes to play in the first half, ASU’s CJ Odom broke away for a 20-yard gain, just inside LU’s 10-yard line, setting up another touchdown run from Omayebu, this time from eight yards out.
 
Odom finished with 127 rushing yards on the night to lead the Rams while Omayebu collected 64 yards and two scores off 18 attempts.
 
The Lions once again found a score in the closing minutes of the quarter as Lindenwood went into halftime down 23-14 after a 24-yard touchdown pass with seven seconds remaining gave them their second score of the night.
 
Angelo State finished the game with 460 yards of offense while holding the Lions to 267 yards including only 29 yards on the ground.
 
Odom got things going for the Rams in the second half, rushing out to another score with a 46-yard run for his longest of the day, giving ASU a 30-14 advantage.
 
Towards the end of the third quarter, Bronkhorst connected with Rideaux again, this time for seven yards and a touchdown to make it a three-possession game at 37-14.
 
Rideaux led the Rams’ receiving core with 86 yards from catches as a touchdown while Kellen Pachot finished with five receptions for 85 yards and Noah Massey collected 31 yards and three catches. Bronkhorst ended the game 19-of-33 with a touchdown and interception and 274 yards.
 
The Lions scored their final touchdown of the night on a two-yard run by the quarterback but couldn’t overcome the early push by the Rams.
 
With the game wrapped up, Asa Fuller scored the final points, hitting a 27-yard field goal to close out the game.
 
The Rams will remain on the road next week as they travel to Chadron State on Saturday, Sept. 11, before opening their home and Lone Star Conference schedule on Sept. 18 against Midwestern State.

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PINEVILLE, La. – The Louisiana College football team had fought back from a 34-7 deficit to take the lead, but after North American University took a late lead the weather dealt a blow to LC’s biggest offensive weapon and the Wildcats dropped its first game as a NAIA member 42-41 to the Stallions Saturday evening at Wildcat Field. 

After the two teams traded turnovers to start the game, Louisiana College jumped out first, taking advantage of good field position near midfield after Cole Jones picked off the NAU QB on fourth down. Four plays later, Sal Palermo III passed out to Devin Briscoe out on the edge who raced 30 yards for the game’s opening score, putting LC up 7-0. 

But that was almost all of the offense the Wildcats could find in the opening half as the Stallions scored 34 straight points, taking a 14-7 lead into the second quarter and then busting that advantage open to 34-7 with just 32 seconds before halftime. 

However, one play seemed to turn the game on its head as Palermo found Zion Williams down the left sideline for a 60-yard gain to the one yard line. On the very next play, Devin Briscoe busted through the line to give LC some momentum heading into the half, even while trailing 34-14. 

The momentum started at the end of the first half propelled LC into a big third quarter that completely changed the game. After a quick NAU three-and-out and a shanked punt set up LC in Stallion territory, the Wildcats needed just four plays to traverse 72 yards with Palermo finding Micah Dunn for the final eight of them to cut the deficit down to 34-21. 

LC’s momentum grew further on NAU’s next offensive possession as the Wildcat D stuffed the Stallion quarterback on a fourth and one run attempt to turn the ball over on downs at the LC 34. On the very next play, Palermo found Dunn streaking behind the NAU D for a 66 yard pass and catch to make it a one-score game. 

The Wildcats were set up with great field position again as a bad snap on a punt following a three-and-out allowing LC to start at the NAU 19. This time, though, a penalty hurt the flow and LC was held to a 32-yard Hunter Martensson field goal that made it 34-31 NAU. 

After another Stallion punt, LC moved more methodically down the field, using 11 plays and four minutes to go 56 yards, including a pair of third and long conversions to Dunn and Canaan Leon. This drive ended with LC getting out the big hole that had been dug and when Briscoe powered in for his second two-yard touchdown of the game, LC was back on top at 38-34. 

LC even extended the lead to start the fourth quarter. After another fourth down stop by the defense, the Wildcats again went methodical, using ten plays and taking up nearly four more minutes off the clock before a holding penalty slowed the operation and Martensson had to place through a 27-yard field goal to make the score 41-34 Wildcats. 

But after getting a second chance thanks to a penalty that extended the drive following a failed third and long play, the Stallions for the rhythm that would push NAU back on top. The Stallions took the new life and marched down the field, and a 34-yard touchdown pass combined with a successful two-point conversion put NAU up 42-41. 

And that’s the point where an outer band of Hurricane Ida showed up, dumping rain on the Wildcats just as the passing offense that had gotten so prolific since right before halftime took the field. And the rain played a role on several key misses on pass plays during the last eight minutes of the contest, including several incompletions, an interception on an underthrown ball, and the play that locked up the result, a muffed punt with 30 seconds remaining in the contest. 

With the running game struggling, Sal Palermo III took on the mantle to get the team back in the game. He went 24 of 47 for 402 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. His favorite target was Micah Dunn, who had five catches for 121 yards and two scores, including on the 66-yard play. Zion Williams had three catches for 109 yards, including the 60-yard catch and run that turned the game right before halftime. While only gaining 17 yards on the ground, Devin Briscoe had 51 receiving yards and a touchdown through the air as well. 

Defensively, the Wildcats were led by Cole Jones & D’Mario Weathersby, who each had seven tackles in the contest while Jones also had the interception. 

The Wildcats (0-1, 0-0 SAC) hope going into Sooner Athletic Conference play for the first time will lead to their first win of the season when Southwestern Assemblies of God comes in on Saturday for the conference opener for both teams. Kickoff against the SAGU Lions (0-0, 0-0 SAC) is set for 6:00 P.M. at Wildcat Field.

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