Football 9/28/2017 2:55:00 AM Brian Kortz

Football Brings Nation’s Leading Passing Attack on the Road at No. 12 Midwestern State

VIDEO

STATS

WICHITA FALLS, Texas – With the first two games of the Lone Star Conference schedule going right down to the wire, the Western New Mexico University football team will place their first road league game this Saturday when they play a night game at No. 12 Midwestern State University. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Central Time.

WNMU (0-4, 0-2 LSC) continues to put together one of the most lethal passing attacks in the nation, moving to No. 1 after throwing for nearly 500 yards against the Falcons. The Mustangs average 413.3 yards per game and off of that have the 21^st ranked total offense at 472.3 per game.

Redshirt senior Javia Hall (Dallas, TX/Skyline) has thrown for 1,653 yards and 13 touchdowns, completing 124-218. He leads the nation in passing yards, passing yards per game and total offense at 410.3 per game. He is fourth in passing touchdowns, completions per game (31), fifth in points responsible for (84) and seventh in points responsible for per game (21).

With all of the passing yards, several receivers have cashed in and had big season thus far. Redshirt senior D'Angelo Bowie (Virginia Beach, VA/Landstown) leads the team with 43 catches for 622 yards and six touchdowns. He is near the top of the national leaderboard in a multitude of categories including second in receiving touchdowns and receiving yards. He is third in both receiving yards per game (155.5) and receptions per game (10.8).

Senior Evan Beebe (Chula Vista, CA/Mater Dei Catholic) is second on the team with 22 receptions for 314 yards and two touchdowns. Freshman Elijah Jones (Gilbert, AZ/Campo Verde) has added 15 receptions for 255 yards and two scores, while freshman Sean North (Corona, CA/Santiago) has 15 catches for 141 yards and is second on the team with three touchdowns. Beebe is third in the conference in receiving touchdowns and fourth in receiving yards, receiving yards per game (78.5) and receptions per game (5.5). Jones is sixth in the conference in both receiving yards and receiving yards per game (63.8), while North is third in the LSC in receiving touchdowns.

The ground attack has shown signs of life at times over the past few games, with senior Justin Harris (Temecula, CA/Chaparral) leading the way at 50 carries for 199 yards and a score. He has shown his versatility catching 15 passes for 126 yards. Sophomore DeAndre Williams (Tucson, AZ/Tucson Magnet) has 23 carries for 70 yards.

On special teams, junior defensive back Collin Grady (Glendora, CA/Glendora) has done a terrific job having to handle the kicking and punting duties this year. He has averaged 37.55 yards per punt, with two inside the 20 and two over 50 yards. His 72-yard punt earlier this year against Eastern New Mexico is the longest in the conference this season. His punting ranks second in the conference and 24^th nationally.

On defense, redshirt senior Dominic Barry (Moreno Valley, CA/Vista Del Lago) leads the team with 44 tackles, 12 solo, along with 3.5 tackles for loss and five quarterback hurries. Senior Ian Davis (Grass Valley, CA/Nevada Union) is second on the team with 32 tackles and leads the team with 19 solo stops. Junior Joe Tito (Las Vegas, NV/Cimarron-Memorial) leads the team with two sacks, while redshirt sophomore James Lee (Bayard, NM/Cobre) has the other one. Barry is fourth in the conference and 21^st nationally in tackles per game at 10.5. Davis is sixth in the conference in solo tackles per game at 5.0.

As a team, WNMU ranks high nationally in several other categories including 24^th in third down defense, with opponents only converting 29.8 percent, 39^th in first downs allowed on defense with 67, ninth in first downs picked up on offense with 98, 12^th in kickoff return defense giving up just 15.75 yards per return and 47^th in passing yards allowed on defense at 184.0 per game.

Hall and Bowie have some of the top single game performances in the nation this year. Hall has the third best game in both total offensive yards (512) and passing yards (496). He has the most completions in a game with 42. Bowie has the most receptions in a game with 19, which set a new LSC mark in the game against San Diego. He also has the third best receiving yards in a game (263).

The matchup with the other Mustangs in the conference will certainly be a tough task, as Midwestern State is 2-0 and 1-0 in the conference and come in ranked 12^th in the latest AFCA Poll. They were off last week for a bye and have only played once in the past three weeks with a 35-13 win over Texas A&M-Kingsville on Sep. 16 and the week before that was cancelled against West Florida due to Hurricane Irma.

Layton Rabb leads the offense as he has completed 24-35 for 317 yards and two scores. Tyrique Edwards has caught four passes for 98 yards. While they don't have the passing numbers WNMU has, they rely on the ground attack as they have chewed up 625 yards and tallied nine touchdowns. Adrian Seales has rushed 30 times for 326 yards and two scores. Vincent Johnson adds 18 carries for 198 yards and a team-best five scores.

On defense, Alec Divalerio leads the team with 15 tackles, along with three tackles for loss and two sacks. Sejam Robinson and Deandra Stevenson also have two sacks, while Marcus Wilkerson has the only interception.

Midwestern State took last year's matchup in Silver City, 43-22.

Midwestern State spent this past week remembering the life of Robert Grays who passed away after making a tackle in a game against the Javelinas. To find out more about 24Strong, which was Grays' number, please click here.

Live video and stats will be available for the game.

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

#9 Dominic Barry: LB; 6' 0"; Redshirt Senior

#8 Evan Beebe: WR; 6' 2"; Redshirt Junior

#1 D'Angelo Bowie: WR; 5' 11"; Redshirt Senior

#23 Ian Davis: S; 6' 3"; Senior

#20 Collin Grady: DB; 5' 10"; Junior

#25 Justin Harris: RB; 5' 10"; Redshirt Junior

#82 Elijah Jones: WR/DB; 5' 11"; Redshirt Freshman

#2 James Lee: DL; 6' 4"; Redshirt Sophomore

#13 Joe Tito: ATH; 6' 3"; Junior

#21 DeAndre Williams: RB/DB; 5' 9"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#9 Dominic Barry
: 6' 0"; Redshirt Senior
: LB

#8 Evan Beebe
: 6' 2"; Redshirt Junior
: WR

#1 D'Angelo Bowie
: 5' 11"; Redshirt Senior
: WR

#23 Ian Davis
: 6' 3"; Senior
: S

#20 Collin Grady
: 5' 10"; Junior
: DB

#25 Justin Harris
: 5' 10"; Redshirt Junior
: RB

#82 Elijah Jones
: 5' 11"; Redshirt Freshman
: WR/DB

#2 James Lee
: 6' 4"; Redshirt Sophomore
: DL

#13 Joe Tito
: 6' 3"; Junior
: ATH

#21 DeAndre Williams
: 5' 9"; Sophomore
: RB/DB