Texas A&M-Commerce Lions to open Southland Conference football play
Oct. 8—After going 46-7 in their last seven seasons in the Lone Star Conference, the Texas A&M University-Commerce Lions will begin play in a new football conference on Saturday.
The Lions, who are 2-2 for the season, will take on the 3-2 Southeastern Louisiana Lions at 4 p.m. Saturday at Strawberry Stadium in Hammond, La. KETR-FM (88.9) will broadcast the game.
It will be the Lions' debut in the Southland Conference after they spent 90 years in the Lone Star Conference as a founding member.
They've played Southeastern nine times in the past but not since 2009, when Southeastern won 41-7 in Hammond. The series, which dates back to 1957, is tied at 4-4-1.
Southeastern is ranked in the top 20 of two NCAA Division I FCS ratings. The other Lions are No. 20 in the American Football Coaches Association rankings and No. 19 in the Stats FCS poll.
Southeastern opened the season with losses of 24-7 to Louisiana-Lafayette and 42-9 to Florida Atlantic but have beaten Central Connecticut State 70-6, Southland Conference member Incarnate Word 41-35 and Murray State of Kentucky 48-14.
The Lions have beaten Lincoln of California 52-7 and North American of South Texas 63-3, both at home, and have lost road games at Tennessee Tech (26-25) and Sam Houston (27-17).
A&M-Commerce coach David Bailiff said these Lions are a "resilient bunch."
"You see them keep working harder," he said. "You see them eliminating their mistakes as they go. We're gaining experience.
"Football's like anything else, it's about gaining experience. If you are determined by attitude to get better each week throughout the season that's exactly what you do."
The Lions have started three different quarterbacks this season: Jagger LaRoe, Eric Rodriguez and Zadock Dinkelmann. Dinklemann, in his second start at quarterback after switching over from tight end, went 20-of-25 passing against North American for 238 yards and three touchdowns. Dinklemann, a 6-3, 243-pound junior from Somerset, Texas, also ran for a 1-yard touchdown.
Dinklemann's touchdown throws went for 49, 42 and 5 yards to Andrew Armstrong, who finished with 119 yards receiving on just four catches. The 6-6 Armstrong is averaging 22.6 yards per catch for the season with 20 catches for 452 yards and seven TDs.
Running back/wide receiver J.T. Smith, who won the NCAA Division II national title in the 100-meter dash this past spring, showed his outstanding speed on touchdown runs of 48 and 55 yards against North American. Smith rushed for 106 yards on just three carries.
Southeastern has played two quarterbacks this season. Cephus Johnson III is 49-of-79 passing for 533 yards, four TDs and one interception. Eli Sawyer is 45-of-71 passing for 674 yards, five TDs and no interceptions.
Carlos Washington Jr. leads Southeastern in rushing with 316 yards and five TDs on 57 carries. Johnson has rushed for 200 yards and one score on 35 carries.
The other Lions' top receivers are Gage Larvadain (17-260, 1 TD) and C.J. Turner (15-250, 3 TDs).
