By: Jeff Johnston
ACU’s football playoff run did not end the way anyone wanted it to, but the season was an unforgettable one. The Wildcats went undefeated in the Lone Star Conference, defeating multiple highly-ranked opponents that included West Texas A&M and Texas A&M Kingsville.
The Wildcats were able to crush most of their season opponents, with an average win margin of 21.8 points per game. There were a few games, however, that came down to the wire. The ACU Homecoming game against Midwestern State University was probably the most memorable of those games for the Wildcat fans. ACU pulled off a come-from-behind thriller, defeating MSU 31-28.
Head Coach Chris Thomsen called it, “a game to remember, and a game that couldn’t have been won without the fans.”
There have been thoughts for decades that fans at football games are sort of like a “twelfth man” for the team they support. Their enthusiasm and rowdiness seems to have an effect of inspiration and adrenaline for the players.
Freshman Zack Agnew stated, “Having home field advantage and a good fan support can definitely be a determining factor in a close game. I think the Homecoming game was a good example of that.”
The Wildcats never seemed to be short on fan support this season as they ranked twelfth in Division II football for the highest attendance at home games with an average of 8,387 fans per game. Players and coaches both agreed that this was definitely a contributing factor to their season’s success.
“The fans this season were great,” Coach Thomsen said. “We could always count on them to get us excited and help us capture the momentum of the game when we would make a big play. They definitely contributed to some of our wins and our overall success on the season.”
The Wildcats are now in their offseason and beginning their preparations for next fall’s season. They’re hoping they can repeat their success from this past season and make a deep run into the playoffs.
“We didn’t end our 2010 season the way we wanted to, but we are moving past that now,” Coach Thomsen stated. “Our focus is on the 2011 season and we are going to make sure we are ready for it when it gets here.”
