After a summer of waiting, college football is finally here. ACU will take on Concordia College in Shotwell Stadium on Saturday at 7 p.m.
“I expect them to come in and play hard,” said head coach Ken Collums. “They are coming a long way, so I am sure they are coming to compete. Our guys will be ready and I am sure [Concordia] will be ready to play as well.”
The Wildcats are moving to Div. I this season after a run of successful years at the Div. II level. Saturday night will be a historic time for the ACU football program.
The Wildcats’ offense has a quarterback in senior John David Baker. Baker is a senior that has mobility that ACU has not seen from their signal caller in at least a decade.
“The fact is that John David can make throws,” Collums said. “He has enough pop in his arm and he can run the ball also. I look forward to watching him progress.”
To go along with Baker, ACU has plenty of talented players at the skill positions to make Baker’s life easier.
Wide Receivers Darian Hogg, Taylor Gabriel and Darrell Cantu-Harkless headline a strong group of players that have the potential to take over a game at their position.
“These receivers are the main thing we have going,” Collums said. “We are very pleased with them. They know exactly where they are going and they know the offense, so they are going to make it easy for John David.”
It is hard to know exactly how the defense of the Hornets will line up to stop the Wildcats Saturday night, so ACU will have to be prepared for anything.
“The first game of any season it is kind of like ‘let’s go tackle this guy or he is going to score,'” Collums said. “Defensively, they can do anything they want. They have 11 people that they can put anywhere. You withstand the first flurry of anything and start playing real football.”
Defensively, the Wildcats will be returning a talented group on the front four that should cause problems for opposing offenses.
Concordia College runs a full air raid attack, which allows them to throw the ball into their playmakers hands as much as possible.
The Hornets also like to run a hurry-up style attack. The quick nature of the offense will immediately test the conditioning of the ACU defenders.
Concordia posted a 6-3 record last year after their current head coach Don Lee took over. Lee will be in his first full season as head coach this year. He is also the athletic director.
No matter whom they are playing, the campus is buzzing about a new season.
“I am really excited for the season to start,” ACU football fan Jordan Navarro said. “I think the whole campus is amped up to see some new opponents and play some Div. I teams.”
