Game Notes | Broadcast

No. 8 Hardin-Simmons (0-0) vs. Albright College (0-0) 
Friday, Sept. 1, 2023 | 7 p.m. | Shelton Stadium | Abilene, Texas

The Teams 
Hardin-Simmons is coming off a 9-2 season that ended in the NCAA Playoffs for the first time since 2018. Albright is coming off an 0-10 record last season and is on a 17-game losing streak. The Lions played five games last year that were decided by one score or less. 

The Coaches 
Jesse Burleson is in his 13th season as the head coach for the Cowboys and has posted an 88-31 record at HSU. The Lions are coached by Isaac Collins, who is in his second season at Albright. He has previously been a head coach at Division III Widener and Division II Seton Hill. 

In The Polls 
The Cowboys come into the season ranked No. 8 in the D3football.com poll. The AFCA poll does not begin until week three of the season. The Cowboys have been ranked for 80 straight weeks and in the top 10 for 53 of those weeks. 

Broadcasts
HSU will be broadcasting home games only this season on www.hsuathletics,com. Al Pickett is back for his 19th season as HSU's play-by-play man and he will be joined in the booth by former Cowboy offensive lineman Ty Crain. 

Tickets
All tickets can be purchased at www.hsuathletics.com. Just click tickets and you can pick out your seat and pay with your credit card. 

Quick Hits 
? Hardin-Simmons begins its 86th season of football and has an all-time record of 500-276-35. HSU claimed its 500th win in the last game of the regular season at Texas Lutheran and at halftime of Friday's game a video will be played in honor of the 500 wins. 
?The Cowboys are looking for their ninth straight win in a season opener. 
?HSU beat Wayland Baptist 79-14 in the season opener a year ago in Plainview. 
?The Cowboys are 57-24-4 all-time in the season opener. 
?HSU is 24-9 in season openers since bringing back football. 
?Under Jesse Burleson, the Cowboys have gone 9-3 in season openers. 
 
Last Time Out 
HSU fell 14-7 in the NCAA Division III playoffs at Trinity. The game was played in the cold and rain and Trinity won the game with a 38-yard touchdown pass with 2:18 to play in the fourth quarter. 

The Schedule 
Coming up with a schedule was a difficult task and thankfully we had a last minute addition to play at Endicott College to fill the schedule. It will be the first time HSU has taken two flight trips in the regular season in the same year. Endicott went 10-0 last season and lost 17-14 in the first round of the playoffs. 

Back To Wisconsin 
The Cowboys are going back to Wisconsin this season for a game with UW – La Crosse and it looks to be a marquee matchup as UW-L is ranked No. 12 in the preseason D3football.com poll and have been ranked as high as No. 5 in some of the preseason magazines. They tied UW-Whitewater for the WIAC crown last year and lost 14-6 in the first round of the playoffs to Wartburg. HSU won 41-0 last season at UW-Platteville. 

HSU Captains 
LB Matt Mitchell (4-time captain) 
DE Jordan Hammonds (became an all-region selection his first season as starter) 
QB Gaylon Glynn (second-year as starter and captain)
OL Miguel Valdez (sixth season in the program) 
P Cody Harral (4.0 Pre-Med Major)

Back in the Saddle 
Gaylon Glynn is back as the Cowboys' starting quarterback after a solid season in his first year as QB1. He completed 160 of 263 passes for 2,206 yards and 20 touchdowns with just five interceptions on the year. He also ran for 327 yards and two more scores. He became more and more comfortable each game during the season and coaches are expecting a big season out of Glynn. 

Stable of Backs 
The Cowboys have three running backs that are as good as anyone and all three bring something different to the table. Noah Garcia was pretty dominant in the games he played last season. Injuries limited him last season to 55 touches. He scored seven touchdowns on those 55 touches and averaged almost 8.0 yards per touch. He will be a big part of the offense. Colton Marshall averaged 6.2 yards per carry and was a beast in the red zone with 13 touchdowns. Myles Featherston had the most carries on the team with 105 and had 558 yards and five touchdowns. 

New Set Of Hogs 
At first glance the Cowboys have two positions that will be filled by less experienced faces. The Cowboys lost four starters on the offensive line to graduation but coach Burleson runs two full lines all the time and the new starters have all played significant snaps. Miguel Valdez will move back to tackle and anchor the line and several experienced players will step in with Michal Callahan, Khalil Spivey  The freshman offensive line class a year ago also had several Saturday players in it and they are expected to step right in. HSU must replace three-year starters Elias Berkel and Boomer Warren and two-year starters Kevin Lightfoot and Tyler Flores. 

Wide Receiver Turnover
The Cowboys lost its top five receivers from a year ago to graduation and it was a group that caught over 450 balls for 7,232 yards and 77 touchdowns. K.J. Peoples and Jahzair George are the two most experienced Cowboys. HSU has a handful of transfers that should step in and make big plays. 

Defense 
The Cowboys have been built around a stout defense the last several years and that will not change this season with eight returning starters from a unit that allowed just 273 yards and 15.5 points per game. HSU returns six of its front seven and has a bevy of experienced depth all over the unit. 

Mitchell Back Again 
Matt Mitchell is back for his fifth season with the Cowboys and fourth as the starter at middle linebacker. He also spent a year as a redshirt at Tarleton. He goes into the season with 35 games played and 25 starts. He has recorded 196 career tackles, 26.5 tackles for loss and has 6.5 sacks. He is the unquestioned leader and the Cowboys have experienced depth around him. Cade Michna and Tre' Allen have started and Zacobie Haverly, Cason Hanna, Brandon Boggs-Rushing, Ty Heironimus and Bryson Culton have all played quality snaps. 

Bujnoch and Nephew Lead The Secondary 
Davonte Nephew and Brock Bujnoch go into their fourth seasons as starters in the Cowboy secondary. Bujnoch had played in 26 games and has seven interceptions and 99 career tackles. He also has 10 pass break ups. Nephew has played in 25 games and has been one of the best safeties in the conference. He has 88 tackles and five interceptions in his career. DeMarcus Coleman, Jaymarcus Wilson Jay Black and Justin Bingham are all veterans with experience in the secondary. 

Up Front 
The Cowboys usually play 10-12 defensive linemen and for the most part the Cowboys have back everyone that was healthy a year ago. Jordan Hammonds, Jim Hitchcock, Colton Grimes, Torii Pullen, Jamion Shaw, Nathaniel Finch, Alex Tramell, Cayden Scott are all guys that played in the rotation last season. 

Just Kicking It 
Sophomore placekicker Grayson Bearden is back for his second season after going 8-for-13 on field goals. Cody Harral is back for a fifth season as the Cowboys' punter. He is the school's all-time leader in punting average and Dylan Wiltcher is also back as the deep snapper. 

Returning Starters
Offensive Starters (3) 
Gaylon Glynn (QB); Noah Garcia/Colton Marshall (RB); Miguel Valdez (Moving from guard to tackle) 

Defensive Starters (8) 
Jordan Hammonds (DE); Colton Grimes (DT); Jim Hitchcock (DT); Braden Hargrove/Nathaniel Finch (DE); Matt Mitchell (LB)
Cade Michna/Tre Allen (LB); Brock Bujnoch (CB); Davonte Nephew (Moving to FS from SS) 

Special Teams 
Dylan Wiltcher – DS; Cody Harral – P; Grayson Bearden – PK 

About Albright 
The Lions are coming off of an 0-10 season. The Lions will have a new quarterback as both listed players on the depth chart are freshmen. Running back Isaiah Shockley is back after rushing for 477 yards a year ago. Dahlir Adams ran fior 146 yards and three scores. Shocklley was also the leading receiver last year with 13 catches for 159 yards. Safety C.J. Partridge is the leading returning tackler with 39 stops in 2022. 

The Lions play in the Middle Atlantic Conference and Albright is located in Reading, Pa.