The Skyline Newspaper

Photo: Cole Tarleton tackles Westley Miller during a pre-season scrimmage. Photo by Uriaka Asing

Lobos Edge Texas Lutheran in Season Opener

Sul Ross survived five misconnections. Texas Lutheran University could not survive the connections of Austin Davidson to Joc Quise Brown.

Michael Van Wagner's 26-yard field goal with 7:52 left lifted the visiting Lobos (1-0) over the Bulldogs (0-1) Saturday (Sept. 1) at Seguin. Davidson (Hallsville)found Brown(Temple) 10 times for 256 yards, including touchdown strikes of 33, 41 and 31 yards.

Coach Steve Wright's Lobos, stung by a 92-yard touchdown return of the opening kickoff, regrouped and limited TLU to 198 yards from scrimmage, just 32 passing. Davidson finished with 23 completions for 454 yards. The offensive line allowed just one sack. Sophomore Homer Saenz (Mission Sharyland) added five grabs for 52 yards, including a nine-yard score.

"What a cool win," Wright said. "We probably could not have asked for a better type of first game. We won on the road against a quality opponent, we improved in a lot of areas between the first and second halves, we adjusted on the fly to an opponent who we had absolutely no idea what they were going to do in any phase of the game, and we came out of the contest in good health."

The road show continues this week as Sul Ross travels to Waxahachie Saturday (Sept. 8, noon) to meet Southwest Assembly of God. The Lions fell 35-21 at Austin College in their opener Saturday.

"It's important for us to stay focused," Wright emphasized. "We play our first three games on the road, and regardless of the level of competition, that puts us at a disadvantage. We need to continue to make adjustments in order to maintain the momentum from the first game win."

On Saturday, Brown proved to be the answer for three of the Bulldogs' scores. Anthony Smith shocked the Lobos with a 92-yard runback of the opening kickoff. After Van Wagner (Bandera) and Holt Storrie traded field goals, Davidson and Brown combined for a 33-yard strike with 5:20 left in the quarter and a 10-10 tie.

Brown and Saenz scored on second-quarter receptions of 41 and 9 yards to offset TLU touchdowns for a 24-24 halftime deadlock. An interception and 32-yard return by Andy Puryear set up a four-yard touchdown pass to Ty Palmer. A Davidson fumble later in the quarter set up Brown's 10-yard run. The turnovers led to two-play drives of eight and 13 yards, respectively.

Smith, added a 28-yard scamper 57 seconds into the second half, two plays after the Lobos fumbled the kickoff.

The Davidson-to-Brown combo clicked on a 31-yard score with 1:27 left in the quarter, but the Bulldogs blocked the extra point attempt to maintain a 31-30 edge.

Sul Ross tallied its winning points on the second series of the fourth quarter. Taking possession at their 21 after a TLU punt, Davidson hit successive passes of 12 and 56 yards to Brown and Jacob Warden (Bandera), respectively. After TJ Barber (Midland High) gained two yards to the Bulldog nine, two passes fell incomplete.

Van Wagner entered and drilled a 26-yard field goal for the eventual winning points.

TLU controlled the ball for nearly five minutes and moved to the Lobo 24 after the ensuing kickoff, before a pair of costly penalties stalled the drive. Sul Ross forced a punt and started from their 16 with 3:01 left. On fourth down at the Lobo 22, freshman punter and backup quarterback Carlo Dominguez (Ramondville) bolted 27 yards on a fake punt. Barber and Davidson combined for another first down, and Sul Ross ran out the clock.

Barber finished with 70 yards in 18 carries and caught two passes for 28 more. Jarrett Dickerson (Willis) added four catches for 53 yards and Warden snared three for 77. Dominguez completed his only pass attempt for 12 yards and averaged 47 yards on three punts.

Milo Garza (Pharr North) led the defense with nine tackles, while Fernie Acosta (El Paso Americas) had eight stops. Nate Graham (Odessa Permian) recorded a sack and Jamal Johnson (Odessa Permian) broke up two passes and intercepted another.

Freshman linebacker Randy Enriquez (Pharr North), along with Van Wagner and Brown, not to mention the Lobo fans, drew praise from Wright. "Randy probably improved as much in a single game as I have ever seen, and Joc Quise had as good a game as a receiver as I have witnessed," Wright said. "Mike made some important kicks and just missed a 53-yarder.

"The crowd was listed at a little over 1,000 and I'll bet we had more than 600 of that group," Wright said. "That is impressive support and it was the hidden factor in the Lobos hanging in there. In fact, it may have been the determining factor."

Brown Recognized by American Southwest Conference

Sul Ross State University junior wide receiver Joc Quise Brown, Temple, has been named American Southwest Conference Offensive Player of the Week after Sully's 33-31 win over Texas Lutheran on Saturday.

Brown snared 10 catches for 256 yards (20 yards shy of the American Southwest Conference record), including three touchdowns to lead the Lobos to the season opening non-conference victory over the Bulldogs.

Brown's long reception from quarterback Austin Davidson went for 41yards and the Lobos racked up 604 yards of total offense.

Flynt and SR Football: The "Wright" Fit

By Steve Lang
News and Publications

When pondering the question, "Why consider a 59-year-old candidate for a college football team?" head coach Steve Wright answered, "Why not?"

Thus, 59-year-old Mike Flynt, who last saw collegiate action in 1970, was given permission to return to the Sul Ross State University program and vie for a spot on the 2007 Lobo roster.

"My wife, Anita and I have raised our daughters to think outside the box, because folks are often limited by the perception of what cannot be done," Wright said. "This decision [to invite Flynt to compete] had nothing to do with publicity; it was just thinking outside the box.

"Our entire football program is structured a little differently than Football 101, and as far as this individual is concerned, he is on our roster at this time not as a coach or support personnel but as an active player."

Within the Lobo football team, life remains business as unusual, according to Wright.

"There are a lot of unusual things about this team, so Mike's a good fit. Our defensive secondary coach [Jeff Pendergraft] is an unpaid volunteer who is also an associate professor of Animal Science and the head of the Equine Science Department. Our graduate assistants are full-time position coaches and recruiters. We are creative with the resources we have available to us."

Flynt, a 1966 Odessa (TX) Permian High School graduate, has one season of eligibility remaining. He has been slowed by a minor muscle pull, but will continue to be evaluated when he returns to pads. He will not be on the traveling squad to the Lobos' season opener, Sept. 1 against Texas Lutheran University in Seguin.

Wright's assessment thus far: "Pound for pound, Mike is one of our strongest players. He is also a mentor and a positive influence to other players. We recognize that this might be considered a high risk situation, but if we did not think he could help the team, this scenario would not exist. Heck, our coaching staff is probably considered high risk; a lot of our students are probably considered high risk. We will think of the opportunities we have in education/athletics if you are working outside the norm.

"This is the beauty of [NCAA] Division III athletics," Wright added. "It's non-scholarship and possibly the only avenue where this could be done. We would like for our team to be competitive and have a good time at this student activity. I believe Mike can contribute in both categories."

Lady Lobos 1-3 in First Volleyball Tournament

After posting a 1-3 record against NAIA teams at Plainview last weekend, Sul Ross State University prepares for Friday's (Sept. 7, 5 p.m.) conference opener against McMurry University.

Coach Rick Garcia's team opens American Southwest Conference West Division play at the Gallego Center against McMurry. They have two more home matches Sept. 14-15, against Schreiner University and Texas Lutheran University, respectively.

The Lady Lobos competed in the Coca Cola Classic at Wayland Baptist University over the weekend. On Friday, Sul Ross fell 28-30, 17-30, 18-30 to Southwestern Assembly of God University and after winning the first game against Oklahoma Panhandle State University 30-23, dropped 30-20, 30-26, 30-22 decisions.

Sul Ross regrouped Saturday to blank St. Gregory's University 30-22, 30-15, 30-12, then dropped a four-game set to host Wayland Baptist (14-30, 13-30, 31-29, 20-30).

Stacy Macias (Fabens) reached double figures in kills in each contest, 49 total for the tournament. She recorded 13 kills and 12 digs in the win over St. Gregory's, then added 12 kills and 15 digs against Wayland Baptist.

Jennifer Harder (El Paso) added 10 kills and 11 digs against Wayland

Baptist and Melanie Valenciana (Odessa) recorded nine against Oklahoma Panhandle State and seven against St. Gregory's.

Blanca Espinoza (San Antonio) had 31 set assists in the Lady Lobos' win. Espinoza alternated at setter with Elfida Olivas (Presidio) throughout the tournament. They recorded 14 set assists each against Oklahoma Panhandle.

Espinoza added 15 set assists against Wayland Baptist and 10 against Southwestern Assembly of God. Olivas recorded nine, 13 and eight, respectively, against Wayland, Southwestern Assembly and St. Gregory's.

Lyndi Cypher (Monahans) recorded 15 digs against Wayland Baptist, 13 against Oklahoma Panhandle and 11 against St. Gregory's. Harder had a team-high 22 digs against Oklahoma Panhandle and Valenciana added 10 against St. Gregory's.