Headlines
Hardin-Simmons will go across town for the third straight season to face McMurry in the Wilford Moore Trophy game. The Cowboys have dominated the series, 33-4 all-time and have gone 23-1 since they started playing for the trophy. Last year, the Cowboys won in overtime, 19-16. HSU has won nine straight games in the series.
 
HSU is up to fifth in both national polls. HSU has been fifth on several different occasions, which is the high-water mark for the Cowboys in the polls since being ranked third in 2004. McMurry is unranked and not receiving votes in either poll. HSU has been ranked for 96 straight weeks and in the top 10 for 59 of those weeks.
 
HSU won back-to-back games against ranked opponents in the regular season for the first time in school history. The Cowboys 44-21 win over Mary Hardin-Baylor was the first for the Cowboys in Belton since 2004 and the 44 points scored were the most by HSU in the series since that 49-22 win in 2004. HSU's win was just the sixth for an opponent at Crusader Stadium since it opened in 2013 and was the first by any team from the American Southwest Conference.
 
The Opening Kickoff
Hardin-Simmons will square off with another opponent with a good record as the War Hawks come into the game at 4-1 and winners of four games in a row. It is the final non-conference game of the season for the Cowboys. Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m., just the second night kickoff of the season for HSU.
 
Up Next
HSU will be at home next weekend to face East Texas Baptist for homecoming. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. It will be the first of three straight home games for the Cowboys.
 
A Cowboy Win Would
?Be the 515th in school history.
?Be the 10th straight in the series with the War Hawks and the Cowboys would retain the Wilford Moore Trophy for the 24th time in 25 meetings for the trophy.
?Give HSU another win over a conference leader. McMurry is in first-place in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference.
 
Pick Party
The Cowboys intercepted four passes in the first half against Mary Hardin-Baylor. Freshman Micah Henderson had two, including one he returned for a touchdown. Harrison Foster and Tre Allen also added picks in the first half. HSU limited UMHB to 1-of-13 passing in the first half for just seven yards. Henderson was named to the D3football.com team of the week for his performance.
 
What Can Brown Do For You?
Junior quarterback Kyle Brown continued his excellent play against the Cru. He had his first 300-yard passing effort for the Cowboys as he went for 307 yards and four touchdowns in the win. He also did a great job moving around in the pocket and avoiding a heavy pass rush. He was hit late twice for roughing the passer penalties and he took several shots as he was delivering the ball, but got up each time. For the year, he is 92-of-122 for 1,219 yards and 14 TDs with just one interception. He ranks fourth nationally in completion percentage at 75.4 and is fifth in the nation in passing efficiency at 195.6. He was named the ASC offensive player of the week for the second straight week.
 
Foster Earns ASC Honor
Harrison Foster earned ASC defensive player of the week honors with his 10-tackle performance on Saturday. He also had one of the interceptions. He leads the ASC in tackles with 45 and also is tied for the league lead with two interceptions.
 
Flea Flicked
Jeff Whitehead picked the perfect time to pull out the flea flicker against the Cru. Brown had just converted a third-and-long to Wes Douglas with a 21-yard connection. The Cru had done a good job against the run early in the game but on 1st-and-10 HSU handed off to Noah Garcia and he pitched back to Brown who had his choice of three wide open receivers. He threw to Douglas again for a 38-yard touchdown.
 
Pick Your Poison
The Cowboys have a bevy of talented receivers and they have made big plays down the field. The Cru paid special attention to Tailon Garrett last week and it opened things up for others. Kris Sims had two catches for 119 yards, including an 82-yard touchdown. Dozie Ifeadi had five catches for 78 yards and two scores and Wes Douglas, Shemar Davis and Brock Gibson all had two catches. For the year, HSU has five players in double figures in receptions. Garrett has 20 catches for 267 yards and three scores, Ifeadi had 15 catches for 195 yards and four scores, Sims has 15 catches for 292 yards and two scores, Noah Garcia has 14 catches and Douglas has 12 catches for 130 yards and two scores.
 
Patterson Goes Double Digits
Senior transfer linebacker Charlie Patterson had his biggest game as a Cowboy with 10 tackles on Saturday. He had a pair of tackles for loss and had the hit of the game that was initially ruled targeting in the second quarter. It was overturned on review at halftime allowing him to come back for the second half.
 
Bearden Moves Up The Charts
Grayson Bearden had a 33-yard field goal on the first drive of the game, and it was the longest make of his career. Bearden continues to climb the record charts. He now has made 111 PATs in his career which ranks fourth at HSU and his 11 career field goals has him ranked sixth and he will move to fifth on his next make. His 144 career points ranks fourth all-time in kicking points scored at HSU.
 
Kicking Weapon
Freshman kicker Ethan Brumgard has been a weapon on kickoffs this season. He has 23 touchbacks on 46 kickoffs this season. The rest of the ASC has four total touchbacks on the season. Opponents are averaging just 20.7 yards per return on the year. He also has allowed just two of his 15 punts to be returned this season and opponents have -1 yards on those two returns. 
 
Around The ASC
The Cowboys lead the conference in scoring offense and defense, rank second in total offense and first in total defense. HSU leads the league in punt returns, kick returns, field goals and net punting. Noah Garcia leads the league with 10 touchdowns, Dameon Gomes leads the league in kick returns (37.2) and punt returns (22.7).
 
Crosstown Showdown
As expected, both teams have a strong Abilene presence on their rosters with a combined 26 players from the two schools listing Abilene as their hometown. HSU has six players in the two-deep from Abilene and McMurry has four.
 
Game Within the Game
The Cowboys come into the game ranked third nationally in scoring offense and 23 in total offense and McMurry is 23rd overall nationally in total defense and 16th in scoring defense. HSU ranks 23rd nationally in rushing offense with 204.8 yards per game and McMurry ranks 25th nationally against the run, allowing just 76.8 yards per game.
 
About The War Hawks
McMurry comes into the game with a 4-1 record and have won eight of their last nine games. They won six games last year which was the first time since coming back to Division III in 2015 that the War Hawks recorded a winning record. Head coach Jordan Neal was a Cowboy quarterback for six seasons. McMurry averages 32.2 points per game and is allowing just 11.8. Quarterback Jess Hoel has completed 101-of-153 passes for 1,291 yards and 12 touchdowns with four interceptions. Kristopher Martin is their top threat at receiver with 491 yards and three touchdowns. Defensive end Kane Strohman leads the nation tackles for loss with 15 and he has seven sacks. He leads the way with 39 tackles. Timothy Leatherman has 26 tackles and three interceptions.   
 

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