Abilene Christian (2-3/ 1-2 SLC) is looking for a bounce back victory after a tough road loss this weekend, as the Wildcats will head to Beaumont to take on the Lamar Cardinals (2-3/0-2 SLC).
Luke Anthony and the Wildcat offense look to get back on track this week, facing a Lamar team who snapped a five-game home winning streak this past weekend against Stephen F. Austin. For the Wildcats’ offense, look for Anthony to target Senior Josh Fink.
Fink is slowly climbing the ACU All-Time leaderboard in catches, yards and touchdowns, needing 111 yards to move into a tie for 10th all-time with Darrel Cantu-Harkless. Fink is not the only Wildcat climbing the All-Time ACU ranks, as Luke Anthony and Tracy James are climbing at their respective positions.
Anthony needs 86 more yards to tie Parker McKenzie at 10th all-time. James needs 74 yards to break the top 10, and he moved into ninth all-time in career rushing attempts. Look for these three driving forces in the Wildcats’ steady offensive attack against the Cardinal defense on Saturday.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Wildcats continue to collapse backfields and pressure opposing quarterbacks with a heavy pass rush. With four sacks against UIW, resulting in a loss of 28 yards, the Wildcats now rank second in the Southland Conference and fourth in the FCS in sacks per game.
The ACU defense continues to force turnovers, as Senior Jeremiah Chambers recovered his second fumble, which leads all of the Southland. Junior Kameron Hill led the pass rush recording his single season high seventh sack, bringing his career total to 13. He ranks third in all of FCS and second in the Southland with 1.4 sacks per game.
After a game where the Cardinals’ “self- destructed,” said Lamar head coach Mike Schultz, they will look to turn around their bad fortunes against ACU at home.
A Lamar offense that totaled 358 offensive yards last week against SFA, including 236 in the second half, struggled against a Lumberjack team who picked up their first conference win.
Penalties were the downfall of the Cardinals in critical game situations. Lamar was penalized six times for 55 yards, but in crucial spots that nullified big plays. One erased a punt return for a touchdown, with another resulting in the loss of a big reception in the red zone.
The Cardinals struggled, but remain an offensive threat. Senior quarterback Jordan Hoy led the Lamar offense with 19 passes for 2o3 yards and one touchdown. He also carried the ball 24 times for 54 yards.
The lone touchdown was caught by junior receiver Mason Sikes. Junior Andre Mulinax led the defense with eight tackles, and fellow classmate Kyron Norwood had six tackles and one interception for a 15 yard return for a touchdown.
The Wildcats will look to even out their record at 2-2 on the road on Saturday beginning at 6 p.m. from Provost Umphrey Stadium. The game will be broadcast on ESPN3.
