TAYLOR GABRIEL INTERVIEW |
KEN COLLUMS INTERVIEW
COMMERCE – The oldest rivalry in the Lone Star Conference will play itself out Saturday at Memorial Stadium when the ACU Wildcats hook up with the Lions of Texas A&M-Commerce for the 69th and possibly final time.
The Wildcats lead the all-time series against Commerce 39-27-1 (2007 win by ACU was vacated because of NCAA?rules violations) and has won the last two meetings. Kickoff for Saturday's game is set for 2 p.m. can be heard locally on Mix 92.5 FM.
The series dates back to 1922 (ACU's fourth season of intercollegiate football) and was played continuously from 1972-2005. Perhaps the most memorable game in the series came in 2009 when the Wildcats beat the Lions, 20-14 in overtime, when Drew Cuffee returned an interception 85 yards for a touchdown on the first play of overtime at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.
After six straight trips to the NCAA?Division II playoffs, the Wildcats are playing for a winning season and perhaps a spot in the Lower Kanza Bowl in Topeka, Kan. ACU is 4-4 on the season and 2-4 in the LSC and needs to win out to secure a sixth straight season with at least seven wins.
Senior quarterback Mitchell Gale is also closing in on more LSC and ACU?history as he needs just 819 yards over the final three games to become only the second LSC player in history (along with former ACU?great Billy Malone) to pass for at least 12,000 yards in his career. He needs just 832 yards to pass Malone (12,012 yards from 2005-08) as the all-time leading passer in both LSC and ACU?history.
The Wildcats enter Saturday's contest riding their first two-game losing streak since they lost back-to-back games Oct. 17 and Oct. 24, 2009, when they lost at home to West Texas A&M?(31-21) and at Tarleton State (13-6), respectively.
The Lions have won just once in seven outings (knocking off Texas A&M-Kingsville on Sept. 29), but played well last week against Angelo State. Commerce led 13-0 at halftime, but saw the Rams storm back to take a 17-16 win, completing the comeback with a late fourth-quarter field goal to seal the win over the upset-minded Lions.
