HSU travels to Sul Ross State

By MARK WILSON / Staff Writer

ALPINE - One week after escaping with an overtime win over cross-town rival McMurry University, the Hardin-Simmons University football team must contend with another surprising upstart in the American Southwest Conference.

The seventh-ranked Cowboys will travel to Alpine for a contest with Sul Ross State, which is coming off a 27-23 loss to nationally ranked Howard Payne.

The loss snapped the Lobos' three-game winning streak, but HSU head coach Jimmie Keeling knows the Cowboys are in for another tough battle against a team that may not have far to go to reach the elite level within the ASC.

"It looks like to me they're kind of there," said Keeling, whose Cowboys beat Sul Ross 33-7 in a non-conference meeting in Abilene on Oct. 5. "They are extremely good at running and throwing. We've got to stop the run or we don't have a chance - and the passing game is good, too. Their quarterback performs well, and their receivers and defense performs well."

Sul Ross, 4-4 overall and 1-1 in league play, is averaging 25 points a game this season, compared with just 13.3 a year ago. Running back Jesse Lynch took over the ASC rushing lead for the first time last Saturday, and punter Charlie Bunch continues to lead all NAIA Division II punters with an average of 42.97 yards per kick.

But Lynch will be facing the fourth-best rushing defense in the nation. HSU has given up an average of just 89.25 yards a game on the ground.

The Lobos held a 23-14 lead over Howard Payne with five minutes left in the game, and completed a pass to the Yellow Jacket 5-yard line in the final seconds before time expired.

With the help of quarterback Jeff Lefevre, the Lobos have a more balanced offensive attack. Last season Sul Ross had 1,662 yards rushing and only 660 passing. This year, the Lobos have 1,603 passing and 1,594 rushing.

"We've got our hands full, obviously," Keeling said.

The Cowboys are still in first place in the ASC, at 2-0 with one more conference game left next week, at home against Austin College.

"The team realizes the situation," Keeling said. "(The Lobos are) really good athletes and they're tough. But I would be extremely disappointed if we didn't play really well, which we'll have to do."

Slotback Todd Bloom of HSU continues to lead the nation in pass receptions, averaging 10.13 per game.

HSU quarterback Todd Baumann is fifth in the nation in individual total offense, averaging 266.6 yards a game. In the 30-27 overtime win over McMurry, Baumann led the team in rushing with 80 yards on 13 carries, including a key 69-yard touchdown run. He is also ninth in the nation in passing, with an average of 247.1 yards.

Baumann has now thrown at least one touchdown pass in 17 consecutive games.

HSU's Jeff Whitley, whose rushing average led the ASC three weeks ago before a lower back injury sidelined him, is still listed as day-to-day. Whitley averages six yards per carry in relief of starting running back Jeff Callaway, who has taken over the team lead with 62.2 yards a game.

The Cowboys are leading the ASC in scoring offense, total offense, passing offense and rushing defense.

The Lobos are second in the league in total offense and rushing offense. HSU vs. Sul Ross St.

-- Where: Jackson Field, Alpine

-- When: 2 p.m.

-- Records: HSU 7-1, 2-0 in ASC; SRSU 4-4, 1-1 in ASC

-- Last week's scores: HSU 30, McMurry 27 (overtime); Howard Payne 27, SRSU 23.

-- Last year's score: First game - HSU 38, SRSU 23; second game - HSU 55, SRSU 7.

-- Key stat: HSU ranks No. 4 in the nation in rushing defense, allowing an average of just 89.25 yards a game.

-- Key injuries: HSU: RB Jeff Whitley (lower back), questionable; PK Brian Beddow (knee), out.

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