Clutch City Eagles (1-1) at 11/12 Hardin-Simmons (2-0)
Saturday, Sept. 19 - 1 p.m.
Shelton Stadium - Abilene, Texas
Full Game Notes | Tickets | Broadcast
Opening Kickoff
Hardin-Simmons returns home for an exhibition game against Clutch City Prep. The game is slated for 1 p.m. at Shelton Stadium. HSU is coming off a 28-20 road win at No. 12 UW-La Crosse. It was the Cowboys' fourth straight road win in Wisconsin and pushed the all-time record against the WIAC to 8-2.
FLOCollege
The American Southwest Conference has entered into an agreement with FloCollege to stream conference athletic contests. While this represents a change and will require a subscription, FloCollege has made a significant investment in its technology and production capabilities to provide fans with a first-class viewing experience. FloCollege is available through the web, mobile apps for iOS and Android, and smart TV platforms including Roku, Samsung, Fire TV, Google TV, Apple TV, LG and VIZIO. This partnership will also allow HSU Athletics to reach more viewers and provide our fans with greater access to Cowboy and Cowgirl contests. We encourage you to sign up for your subscription before the first games of the season.
On The Air
Hardin-Simmons' games will be broadcast on FloCollege this season. All home games and ASC conference road games will be on Flo. Al Pickett is in his 22nd season in the Cowboys' play-by-play chair and 23rd overall on the broadcast team. Former Cowboy quarterback and basketball player Cody Coil, a veteran sports reporter, will be the color commentator for this season.
HSU Vs. Clutch City
This will be the first game for the Cowboys against Clutch City Eagles, a junior college prep school out of Houston. Clutch City lost 59-15 at Howard Payne last week.
In The Polls
Hardin-Simmons jumped in the rankings and is now ranked No. 11 in the D3football.com poll and No. 12 in the American Football Coaches Association poll. The Cowboys have been ranked for 117 consecutive weeks, including 73 weeks in the top 10.
Up Next
HSU will take an opportunity week next with no game and then will return to action on Oct. 3 at home against the University of Fort Lauderdale at Shelton Stadium at 1 p.m.
Last Week
The Cowboys dominated on the line of scrimmage to beat UW-La Crosse in Wisconsin, 28-20. HSU had three turnovers on offense and also muffed a punt resulting in another score. Offensively, the Cowboys only had the ball nine times on the day and scored four touchdowns, ended three drives on turnovers and punted twice (one with :19 left in the game). The Cowboys went 15-of-21 on third-down in the contest and averaged 6.4 yards per play. Defensively, the Cowboys allowed just 317 total yards, including 41 on the ground. HSU came up with four sacks for the second straight week and pressured quarterback with seven more quarterback hurries. UWL threw the ball 51 times in the contest, but averaged just 5.4 yards per pass.
Knockout Punches
Your best players have to step up in your biggest games and
Wes Douglas had a fourth quarter to remember in a road win against a ranked team. Douglas went over a defender to haul in an 8-yard touchdown catch that gave the Cowboys a 21-10 lead with 7:19 to play. After a UWL FG, and facing a third down at their own 29-yard line where a punt would give UWL the ball back with a chance to tie the game, the Cowboys essentially put the game away. After throwing several screens on the inside throughout the game with varying degrees of success, coach Whitehead called up the fake out of the same look and Douglas was wide open and raced 71 yards for a touchdown to make the score 28-13 with 2:32 to play. He finished the day with six catches for 130 yards, which was his fourth career 100-yard effort.
Stop The Run, Attack The Quarterback
HSU has totally shut down the running game of its first two opponents, and both had been traditionally running teams in the past. HSU has allowed just 80 total yards on the year on the ground and are allowing just 1.7 yards per rush. Once teams have become one-dimensional, the pass rush has been an all out assault with eight sacks over the first two games. By contrast, HSU had just 20 sacks in 11 games last year. Not only have the sacks come but the Cowboys have also counted 15 quarterback hits on plays that didn't result in sacks. The two opponents have thrown for 559 yards in two games, but have averaged just 6.2 yards per attempt. Seven players have at least a half-sack on the year and freshman
Tyett Morris leads with two sacks and four quarterback hurries.
Next Man Up
The Cowboys were prepared to use a running back by committee approach, but
J.T. Washington jumped to the top of the list and had 84 yards and a touchdown in the first game of the season. Unfortunately, he suffered a knee injury last week in practice and is out. Transfer
Cayden Jones stepped up big at UWL and carried the ball 26 times for 131 yards and a score.
Guy Powell and
Aidan Rios also had carries at running back and talented freshmen
Tank Scott and
Jay Hall are waiting in the wings.
Thompson Continues To Impress
Ty Thompson had a very similar stat line to week one. He was very efficient, going 21-of-29 for 256 yards and had three touchdown passes. He also made plays with his feet and went for 62 yards on 12 carries. He ranks 22nd nationally in total offense at 315.3 yards per game, his 72.1 completion percentage ranks 20th and he is 23rd with 511 passing yards.
Let's Get Rowdy
Rowdy Rowan had a solid game at UWL with nine tackles and was named the ASC defensive player of the week. The grad student is playing corner for the first time this season. He played as a receiver his first three years and was also a standout on QRF. He switched to corner two springs ago and was in contention for the starting spot when he injured his knee in fall camp and missed the season. He is back and starting at corner and is tied for the team lead with
Kaiden Roden (who was his high school teammate at Quinlan Ford) in tackles.
First Downs, Turn Into Touchdowns
The Cowboys rank 11th nationally in third-down conversions on the season at 59.5 percent. The Cowboys went 15-for-21 last week at UWL and under
Jesse Burleson, HSU is 56-0 when they convert more than 50 percent of its first downs in a game. Thompson has completed eight third-down passes for first downs and ran for three more over the first two games.
We Don't Want To Use Him - But He's Clutch When We Do
Kaden Turner is one of the top punters in the country and brings an added element for the Cowboys. The goal is to never punt but he came through clutch on both of his kicks on Saturday. On the first drive of the second half, the Cowboys had a three-and-out and were backed inside their own 20 when he nailed a 50-yarder to flip the field. UWL then went three-and-out. The only other punt came with :17 to play. HSU had the ball at the UWL 43 with a fourth-and-three and decided to punt. He had a high hanger that was fielded at the 10 and returned just one yard, essentially ending the game. He is averaging 47 yards on his five punts this season and three have been 50+. He has also put two inside the 20.
About Clutch City
Clutch City was outgained 566-286 against Howard Payne last week in Brownwood. Quarterback Marcus Turner was 16-of-33 for 220 yards with a touchdown an interception. Isaiah Sowell had six catches for 82 yards and Jamarr O'Neal added five catches for 84 yards. The Eagles only had 66 yards rushing in the contest with Greg Earl 32 on 10 carries and Turner 29 on 10 carries. Mike Guillory led the Eagles with 10 tackles and Caleb Smith added nine.
Head Coach Jesse Burleson
Jesse Burleson is in his 16th season as head coach of the Cowboys. HSU is coming off four consecutive NCAA Division III playoff appearances and three straight American Southwest Conference championships. Burleson enters the season with a 118-36 record at Hardin-Simmons. His 118 victories rank 16th among active Division III coaches.
