Broadcast | Full Game Notes

No. 5/5 Hardin-Simmons (2-0) at Endicott (2-1)
Friday, Sept. 22, 2023 | 6 p.m. (CST) | Hempstead Stadium | Beverly, Mass.

The Teams
The Cowboys did not play last week and are 2-0 on the year after beating No. 11 UW-La Crosse on Sept. 9. Endicott College is 2-1 after a 27-0 win over the U.S Maritime Academy. Endicott is in Beverly, Mass., which is just outside of Boston and basically right on the water. Both teams were NCAA playoff teams a year ago.
 
The Coaches
Jesse Burleson is in his 13th season as the head coach for the Cowboys and has posted a 90-31 record at HSU. Paul McGonagle is in his sixth season with the Eagles (the Commonwealth Coast Conference) did not play games during the COVID year.
 
In The Polls
The Cowboys are ranked fifth in both the D3football.com poll and the American Football Coaches Association poll which came out for the first time this season on Monday. Endicott is receiving votes in both polls but are outside the top 25. The Cowboys have been ranked for 83 straight weeks and in the top 10 for 56 of those weeks.
 
On the Road Again
The Cowboys are making their second straight out-of-state trip. It will be the Cowboys' first trip to the Eastern time zone since a NAIA playoff game 30 years ago at Westminster (Pa.) in 1993. HSU has not won a game in the Eastern time zone since Nov. 12, 1959. That game was a 35-20 win over the University of Cincinnati and was in the first season under head coach Sammy Baugh. Prior to this year, HSU had not played a team from the Eastern time zone since playing Western Maryland in the 2000 playoffs. They have now played Albright from Pennsylvania and Endicott from Massachusetts this year. The game with Endicott came together late in the summer when the Cowboys were still looking for a game and Endicott had a slot come open. It will be a home-and-home series. HSU is leaving around noon on Thursday and will return home after the game on Friday.
 
Friday Night Lights
HSU is playing on Friday night for the second time this season, after opening the season with a home game against Albright. The Cowboys have never played a Friday night game before and don't prefer it but travel arrangements have made it necessary both times this season.
 
Last Time Out
Hardin-Simmons trailed 21-14 at halftime but the Cowboys shut out UW-La Crosse in the second half and rallied for a 28-21 win. The defense forced turnovers on all three fourth-quarter possessions by the Eagles. Endicott held U.S. Maritime to 175 yards on the day and won 27-0.
 
Next Up
The Cowboys will open American Southwest Conference play against the only other undefeated team in the league when it hosts Howard Payne for a 1 p.m. game at Shelton Stadium. The Yellow Jackets are 3-0 and beat Lyon College 85-0 last week in Brownwood.
 
A Cowboy Win Would
? Be the 503rd win in school history.
? Give Jesse Burleson win No. 91 as the Cowboys' head coach.
? Be the first win in the Eastern time zone since 1959.
? Mark the second straight win on the road against a team receiving votes in the national polls.
? Push its regular-season non-conference winning streak to 19 in a row.
 
Pound The Rock
HSU was able to line up and run the ball at the Wisconsin-La Crosse defense. The Cowboys had 217 rushing yards and averaged 5.2 yards per carry against the Eagles. Noah Garcia had 132 yards and two touchdowns and Colton Marshall had 11 carries for 59 yards and two more scores. HSU had 15 carries for 146 yards in the third quarter alone when they went from down a touchdown to up a touchdown. HSU ranks 19th nationally with 236 yards per game on the ground.
 
Flipping The Switch
UWL was able to control the clock and grind it out in the first half against the Cowboys and outgained the Cowboys 241 to 165 in the first half, thanks in most part to a 75-yard touchdown pass. The Eagles led 21-14 at halftime. In the third quarter, the Cowboys dominated on both sides of the ball. HSU had 213 yards of offense in the third quarter, including 146 on the ground. Noah Garcia had 88 yards rushing on just six carries in the quarter including a 56-yard touchdown. UWL had just 49 yards in the third period. 
 
No You Take It
The teams combined for four fourth-quarter turnovers in the UWL game. HSU had the ball and was driving when K.J. Peoples fumbled when trying to push for extra yardage and the ball was knocked away. On the ensuing possession, DeMarcus Coleman had an interception for the Cowboys. After an HSU punt, UWL had driven inside the Cowboys' 10-yard line when the Cowboys stripped away the ball from UWL quarterback Keyser Helterbrand at the 5-yard line and Torii Pullen recovered it. HSU's next drive stalled and UWL took over at the 50 with 1:13 to play in the game looking to tie but Cade Michna picked off another pass to seal the game.
 
Michna Earns Awards For Performance
Senior linebacker Cade Michna had another big game for the Cowboy defense with 13 tackles (12 solo). He also had a sack and an interception and was named the American Southwest Conference player of the week and was named to the D3football.com national team of the week. He leads the Cowboys with 31 tackles through the first two games of the season and he ranks fourth nationally in tackles per game at 15.5.
 
Peoples Sets Career High
After recording a career-best 103 yards against Albright in the opener, K.J. Peoples came back with a seven-catch 70-yard performance against UW-La Crosse. His seven catches were a new high for him as well.
 
Glynn Continues To Impress
Senior quarterback Gaylon Glynn completed 16-of-23 passes for 198 yards in the win over La Crosse. He ranks second nationally completing 76.6 percent of his passes on the season. He also ranks 10th nationally in passing efficiency with a 199.1 rating.
 
Moving Around Up Front
The Cowboys made some changes to the starting offensive line from week one to week two. Miguel Valdez moved back to right guard where he was all-ASC a year ago and Khalil Spivey moved from right guard to left guard. Bryce Hernandez moved up for his first career start at right tackle. Michael Callahan at center and James Sandifer at left tackle stayed in their same spot. HSU has plenty of depth on the offensive front and rotates several players into the game.  
 
Red Zone Conversions
HSU is 6-for-6 scoring touchdowns when they are in the red zone this year and are tied for the lead nationally in red-zone conversion percentage.
 
Total Offense
The Cowboys rank No. 11 in the nation in total offense at 521.5 yards per game.
 
Turnover Margin
HSU ranks No. 17 nationally in turnover margin. The Cowboys have forced six turnovers on the year and only have two of their own.
 
Special Teams
The Cowboys had a clean special teams game against UW-La Crosse. Cody Harral averaged 41 yards on five punts. He had a 47-yarder that flipped the field. Grayson Bearden was perfect on his four PATs and also added a pair of touchbacks on kickoffs. K.J. Peoples had a 32-yard kickoff return. Dylan Wiltcher was on the money with all of his snaps.  
 
Power of Persuasion
DeMarcus Coleman also got his chance to shine in big moments after Davonte Nephew went down with an injury. He intercepted his first career pass early in the fourth quarter and was also in on the stripping of the quarterback around the 5-yard line. His persuasion skills may have gained the Cowboys the possession as well. There was a question if the forward momentum had been stopped and the officials were discussing it. One official had said yes, but Coleman pointed out that the other official had thrown his bean bag indicating a fumble. That is when they gave the Cowboys the ball. Coleman finished the game with three tackles. 
 
About Endicott
The Gulls are 2-1 on the year and their loss was a 20-17 loss to nationally-ranked Ithaca. They have an efficient offense and stout defense that has recorded two shutouts on the season. The Gulls are allowing just 91 yards per game on the season through the air, which ranks seventh nationally. Overall, they have the No. 6 defense in the nation allowing just 192 yards per game. They are also No. 11 nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 6.7 points per contest. Offensively, they are converting 52.3 percent on third down which keeps the chains moving. Clayton Marengi is 45-of-69 for 441 yards and four touchdowns with just one interception. He also leads the team with 163 rushing yards. Shane Aylward leads the team with 12 receptions for 132 yards. Adam Goodfellow leads the team with 136 receiving yards on eight receptions. Ryan Smith is 4-of-7 on field goals on the year. Jackson DeAngelo leads the defense with 24 tackles and he also leads with 1.5 sacks. Joseph Pagett has a pair of interceptions.