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Schedule/Results | Roster | News | Archives Cowboys Set For Nationally-Ranked Bout
Sept. 12, 2006 ABILENE, Texas -
Hardin-Simmons and Linfield
will square off in what may be the biggest regular-season non-conference match-up
in the Division III era at Hardin-Simmons. Both teams come into the game
nationally-ranked. Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m. at Shelton Stadium. Setting the Scene Hardin-Simmons will welcome In the Polls Hardin-Simmons comes into the game ranked seventh in the
D3football.com poll and Linfield is ranked 11th. The
two teams have switched places since the preseason poll. The Cowboys are ranked
ninth in the Don Hansen Weekly Gazette Poll and Linfield
is No. 11. The American Football Coaches Association poll will begin next week. The Head Coaches The game will feature a pair of head coaches that are on the
opposite ends of the coaching experience spectrum. HSU head man Jimmie Keeling
is in his 17th season and has a 140-35 record. Joe Smith is in his first season
at Linfield and is 0-1. He replaced longtime head
coach Jay Locey, who is now an assistant coach at About Linfield The Wildcats lost their first regular season game in 42 tries when
it fell to rival We're Back The Cowboys welcomed back two major players to the lineup that were out of the lineup for various reasons last
season. Reggie Robinson sat out the year with shoulder surgery and is back
after an All-American campaign in 2004 when he had 12 sacks. He had two sacks
and forced a fumble in the season opener.
Jordan Neal earned a rare sixth year of eligibility when he was injured
in the second game of the year. He started 9-for-13 for 180 yards and two
touchdowns as the Cowboys scored TDs on its first
three possessions to take a 21-0 lead. He finished 19-for-27 for 291 yards and
tied a career-best with four TDs. New Starters The Cowboys only started eight players that started the season
opener in 2005. HSU had nine different starters on defense and six different
starters on offense. Will Galusha moved from defense
to offense and started both openers. With a Purpose Three Cowboys eclipsed the 100-yard mark in all-purpose yards in
the opener. Will Galusha had 178 yards (131 rec., 19
rush, 6 punt return, 22, kickoff return), Mychal
Carrillo (80 rec., 16 rush, 38 kickoff return) and Quinton Jones (104 rush) all
went over the century mark. Speed Up Rules With the new NCAA speed up rules a big topic of conversation at
Division I, the effect has also been felt by the Cowboys. HSU had only 10
possessions and ran just 61 plays. The Cowboys have averaged 72 plays per game
in the last five years. Despite the fact, the game against UWSP was 2:52 minutes which is very close to the 2:49 average the
Cowboys played last year. Welcome The Cowboys had not played an opponent at On the Air The Cowboys will be on Gospel 90.5 FM and have the same radio team
of Al Pickett and Phil Ashby for the third straight year. Games also can be
heard on the internet at www.hsuathletics.com. The pregame
show will feature a taped interview with Coach Keeling and a look around the nation in the
D3football.com Weekly Around the Nation segment. A player will also be
interviewed on the pregame. Against Ranked Foes HSU will play a ranked non-conference foe for the first time ever
in the regular season in the Division III era. The Cowboys have played Mary
Hardin-Baylor on several occasions when the Crusaders were ranked, but this is
the first non-conference game that fits the category. The Sack Master Defensive end Reggie Robinson had two sacks in his return to the
lineup. He has 10 sacks in his last five games for the Cowboys. He needs just
eight sacks to tie Scott Forbes' school record of 24. He needs 1.5 sacks
to pass Jake Freeman for second on the list. The KeKe Corners The Cowboys two starting corners are named KeKe,
although there is a slight difference in the spelling. Ke-Ke
Sims led the team with nine tackles and broke up two passes. KeKe Balanciere had six tackles
and broke up five passes in the UWSP game. Combined they had a great night in
the first career start for both players. Freshmen Take A Part HSU rarely plays a lot of freshmen, especially in the season
opener, but the Cowboys used 14 different freshmen. Seven freshmen are
currently in the two deep. The biggest impact by a freshman was quarterback Justin Feaster who went 3-for-3 for 59 yards and
a touchdown. He found fellow freshman Henry Woodard for a 20-yard touchdown
late in the game. He also booted his only punt of the game 46 yards. Feed Him The Rock Quinton Jones passed the 100-yard mark for the fifth time in his
career with 104 yards in the opener. He has recorded over 100 yards every time
he has rushed the ball nine or more times in a game. He had a 42-yard
touchdown, giving him seven runs in his career over 30 yards. Old Faces in New Places The Cowboys had four players make their debuts after switching
positions in the offseason. James Arnold played well
at strong tackle after moving from center. Will Galusha
had 131 yards in his first game at wide receiver and Justin Greene had a
33-yard touchdown reception in his first game at running back. Greene and Galusha each played in the secondary last season. Andrew
Holloway moved from quarterback last season to linebacker. Expected Back Two Cowboy veterans are expected to be back this week, if only in
a limited role. Eric Daniels missed the Linfield game
with a knee injury. Senior strong safety Cody Deaver
will play some after missing the first game with a concussion. Deaver started all 10 games last season. The Cowboys came
out of game one relatively healthy with only minor injuries. Unseasonably Cool After one of the hottest summers in recent memory, Team Captains The Cowboys have picked captains for the season and they include
Jordan Neal, Will Galusha, Rob Galusha,
Josh Knox and Eric Daniels. All but Daniels will be seniors this year. Neal and
Galusha have both been named captains before. Didn't We Just See You? HSU will meet Linfield for the first
time in football, but the two teams have met recently in another sport. Last
season in the NCAA softball regional the Cowgirls defeated Linfield,
8-6, in the first game. However the Wildcats exacted revenge as they won six
straight games out of the loser's bracket, including a 3-0 elimination
game against the Cowgirls to win the regional title and advance to the
Women's College World Series. Jackson Vaughan, the defensive coordinator
for the Wildcats this season, is the Linfield
softball coach. Double Your Pleasure The Cowboys have three sets of twins on the roster this season and
two of them are in the two-deep. The Galusha's
- Rob and Will start. The Fitzgerald's Brian and
Brennon both play offensive tackle. Freshmen Cole and
Chase Cornelius will play on the junior varsity. Playing Them From All Over The Cowboys will play teams from nine different area codes this
year, including 715, 503, 318, 601, 254, 903, 325 (2), 432, and 830. It is the
most different area codes the Cowboys have played. Season and Home Openers The Cowboys are 13-4 in season openers under Jimmie Keeling and
are 43-21-4 all-time in the season lid lifter. In home openers the Cowboys have
won 11 in a row, are 14-3 under Keeling and 45-22-3 all-time. Preseason Projections The Cowboys have been picked by the leagues coaches and media to
place second in the Winningest Team in In a national story that ran by the Associated Press,
Hardin-Simmons has been named the Winningest Team in Around The Country The Cowboys have not been afraid to put any team on their schedule
since Jimmie Keeling was hired as the head coach and especially since joining
Division III. Playing the best has been a priority in the pre-conference slate.
The Cowboys have opened the season five times since 1999 with a team from The Stars At Night Are Big and Bright HSU has not played a lot of games at night, and have played just
one night game at Shelton Stadium. This season both Cowboy non-conference games
will be played at night at Shelton Stadium. HSU opened the season Sept. 2
against Wisconsin-Stevens Point and will host 2004 national champion
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