A&M-Commerce football shut out, volleyball loses in straight sets

Football

Fourteen third quarter points in rainy conditions led No. 5 Texas A&M-Kingsville to a 21-0 win over Texas A&M University-Commerce on Saturday night in Kingsville, Texas.

A&M-Kingsville (3-0) wide receiver Robert Armstrong ran for a touchdown and caught another to lead the Javelinas. In addition, running back Fred Winborn ran for a game-high 149 yards. It is the seventh career 100-yard game for the North Hollywood, California native. The win is the fourth in a row by the Javelinas in the annual Chennault Cup series.

A&M-Commerce (1-2) managed just 69 yards of total offense and converted just one third down in the loss. Junior running back Marcus Graham ran the ball 11 times for 49 yards. To pace the defense, sophomore linebacker Danny Mason had a team-best 13 tackles.
On the initial drive of the game for TAMUK, the Lions defense had stopped the Javelinas on third down. However, they were called for a personal foul to extend the drive. Two plays later, TAMUK capitalized with a seven-yard end around for a touchdown by Armstrong for the early 7-0 lead.

In the second quarter, a botched snap forced Lions'punter Cameron Frosch to throw the ball; however, he was called for intentional grounding to set up first and goal for the Javelinas. The A&M-Commerce defense rose to the occasion and held them to a 23-yard field goal attempt that was blocked by Jacoby Veals.

The Lions nearly got on the board in the final seconds of the opening half, but a 36-yard field goal attempt that was blocked by the Javelinas.

On their second drive of the second half, Armstrong caught a five-yard touchdown pass from Nate Poppell to extend the margin to 14-0. In the drive, the Javelinas were sparked by a 37-yard run by Winborn and a 20-yard completion to Delashaun Dean.

On the final play of the third quarter, Poppell completed his second touchdown pass of the game to Dean on a fourth and five play to stretch the lead to 21-0 for the Javelinas. TAMUK had a short field to work with as they took advantage of an Adam Farkes interception.

A&M-Commerce will next take to the road to face Eastern New Mexico on Saturday, Sept. 25 at 3 p.m. Next up for the Javelinas is an LSC South Division contest against Incarnate Word in San Antonio at 7 p.m.

Volleyball

The Texas A&M University-Commerce volleyball team dropped a 25-22, 25-16, 25-21 decision to host Eastern New Mexico on Saturday afternoon.

A&M-Commerce (4-6, 0-2 LSC) sophomore Rachel Robertson paced the Lions attack with 10 kills in the loss. Freshman setter Jordan Neal had 27 assists and freshman libero Dakota Crockett had 15 digs to pace A&M-Commerce.

Jessica King had 13 kills in the win to lead Eastern New Mexico, who improves to 6-5 overall and 1-1 in the LSC. The Zias Veronica Valdez-Kent had a double with 29 assists and 12 digs.

ENMU led from start to finish to take the opening set by a 25-22 margin. In the process, the Zias hit .209 with 17 kills, including seven from King.

Following a 9-9 tie in the second set, Eastern New Mexico scored the next four points to build a 13-9 advantage. The Zias held the lead for the remainder of the set, including a 6-1 run to close out the set for a 25-16 victory.

Facing a two set deficit, the two teams were tied nine times and the lead exchanged hands on three occasions. With the score tied at 20, Eastern New Mexico scored five of the final six points to secure the third set and the match.

Next, on the schedule for the Lions is a contest against Angelo State on Thursday at the A&M-Commerce Field House at 7 p.m.