Oct. 1, 2003

ABILENE, Texas -

About The Cowboys

HSU will look to continue its winning ways when it travels to Clinton, Miss. for a 2 p.m. game with Miss. College, the Cowboys have won seven straight in the series...The Cowboys are near the top of the American Southwest Conference in every major team stat category with the exception of run defense and turnover margin...The game will mark 3,889 miles of travel for the Cowboys in its first four outings...HSU pushed its regular-season home winning streak to 26 games with the win over La. College.

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About Mississippi College

The Choctaws are 2-1 on the season and have played very good defense, ranking third in the conference. The Chocs have been unable to get its offense on track as they average just 283 yards per game...The Cowboys won the last meeting between the two in Clinton, 55-9...MC has eight players from talent-rich Florida an area not many schools in the conference recruit...They also have players from Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee, along with its fair share of Mississippi players.

Last Time Out

The Cowboys played one of its most complete games in years and scored eight different ways en route to a 57-3 win over Louisiana College in the home opener at Shelton Stadium. HSU has now won eight straight home openers...The LC game marked the first time this season the Cowboys have played on natural grass and have not played in the rain...Mississippi College made the 907 mile trip from Clinton to Alpine and came away with 27-26 overtime win over the Lobos. Both teams scored a touchdown in overtime, but Sul Ross State missed the PAT conversion to give MC the win.

Last Year

The Cowboys used an Alex Hansen 33-yard interception return for a touchdown and another Hansen interception on the Choctaws next and final possession to secure a 32-21 win over Mississippi College at Shelton Stadium. Travis Jones came in for an ineffective Dustin Proctor and led the Cowboys to victory. Dustin Bookhout led the Cowboys with 72 yards rushing. Casey Freeland, Brent Gailey and Anthony Renfro all had 10 tackles.

Up Next

Hardin-Simmons will host arch-rival Howard Payne, looking to avenge a 51-48 loss to the Yellowjackets a year ago. Mississippi College will travel to fourth-ranked Mary Hardin-Baylor. The game will mark the return of the Golden Hand, Jimmy Pogue who will be filling in on the radio call for John Wilson.

On The Air

Hardin-Simmons' games can be heard on KAGT 90.5 in the Big Country, with John Wilson and Al Pickett on the call. Wilson is in his first season as the Cowboys' play-by-play announcer, after two seasons in the color chair. Al Pickett, a longtime Abilene journalist, is the new color commentator. The games can be heard on the Internet by going to www.hsuathletics.com and clicking on the radio broadcast link on the football web page.

In the Polls

The Cowboys come into the season ranked No. 23 in the D3Football.com poll and are ranked No. 16 in the Don Hansen poll. HSU checks in at No. 23 in the AFCA poll. Mount Union is the No. 1 ranked team in all three polls. ASC foe Mary Hardin-Baylor is also ranked in all three polls.

Its Gotta Be The Hair

Senior wide receiver Joe Lemberg is putting together a solid senior campaign with 17 catches, 331 yards and five TDs through three games. If he continues this pace he has a legitimate chance to get to second-place on the career receiving yard charts. Collin McCormick has 3,035 yards for second and Lemberg currently stands at 2,227 yards. He already is in second-place on the school's receiving touchdown charts with 26.

Here I Come to Save The Day, Mighty May Is On The Way

Sophomore slotback and kick returner Jared May has made a huge impact on the Cowboys this season, despite being generously listed at 5-7, 145. Against Louisiana College he had a punt return 49 yards for a touchdown and returned a kickoff 86 yards for another score, becoming the first Cowboy to return both for a score in the same game. May has also stepped up to second on the depth chart, after Shay Ratliff was lost for the season with a head injury, and started his first game last week when the Cowboys started with two slots. The Cowboys have had injuries to starting slots Triandos Sherrard and Shay Ratliff which has allowed May on the field more. Both of those guys were also ahead of him on the depth chart in returning kicks and punts. May earned National Special Teams Player of the Week honors by the Football Gazette for his efforts and was named the ASC Special Teams player of the week.

Linebackers

Hardin-Simmons has typically had some very good linebackers, but this year's crew is shaping up to be one of the best. Jason Rupert, who moved into the starting lineup last week, leads the team with 26 tackles and Adam Parker (21) and Brent Gailey (20) rank three and four on the team. Senior Levi Steele has also started two games in the middle and has nine tackles. Against Louisiana College Rupert had 12 tackles, Parker had nine tackles, a sack, blocked a punt and forced a fumble that was returned by Reggie Robinson for a score.

Offense

Jordan Neal threw for a career-best 285 yards and three TDs...Donta' Hayward had his best game of the season with 81 yards on 14 carries...Lance Moore has played safety, running back, kick returner and now his original position of slotback...The Cowboys set a season high in passing yardage in the win with 304 yards...The 57 points were the most the Cowboys had scored since laying 69 on East Texas Baptist in 2001...HSU averaged eight yards per play on Saturday.

Defense

The Cowboys limited LC to 4-of-21 on third down, making opponents just 4-for-35 in the last two games...The three points were the fewest the Cowboys had allowed since a 13-3 win over McMurry in 2000. That was the last game of a five-game run where the Cowboys allowed single-digit points...In the last six trips to the Cowboy red zone opponents have come away with just three points. The Cowboys have forced two turnovers, ended two drives on downs and forced a missed field goal...After allowing over 200 yards a game through the air last season, the Cowboys have allowed just 157 per outing this year...Alex Hansen had an interception for the second straight game, giving him 12 for his career, which is second on the modern-era charts at HSU.

Special Teams

The Cowboys special teams had a pretty good day on Saturday with a blocked punt for a safety, a 46.5 yard-punting average, a punt return for a touchdown, a kickoff return for a touchdown and averaging 24.1 yards per punt return and 39 yards per kick return...The only downfall was the Cowboys missed three PAT kicks and did not convert a two point conversion...The special teams unit have helped the Cowboys' win the field position battle in all three games this season....The Cowboys committed a season low three penalties...HSU has run 43 fewer plays than its opponents, but averages 6.4 yards per play on the season.

Scoring Many Ways

HSU scored eight different ways in the Louisiana College game: passing touchdown, rushing touchdown, safety, punt return, fumble return, kick return, field goal and PAT.

Scoring Streak

The Cowboys have scored at least one offensive touchdown in 102 straight games, only once in that span have they been held under 10 points. During the streak, the Cowboys have averaged 38.6 points per game.

In The ASC Stats

Joe Lemberg leads the league in receiving yards, points, receiving touchdowns and receptions per game...Jordan Neal leads the ASC in passer rating at 183.8...Alex Hansen is second in interceptions...Neal is second in the conference in passing and total offense...Mason Grimes is fourth in punting, but the Cowboys' lead the league in net punting...Lemberg ranks third and Lance Moore ranks 10th in all-purpose yardage. The Cowboys lead the league in scoring offense, pass offense and total offense...The defense is ranked second in scoring and fifth in total defense.

In The NCAA Stats

Jordan Neal ranks fifth in the nation in passing efficiency and 40th in total offense...Alex Hansen is sixth in interceptions per game...Joe Lemberg is 17th in receiving yards per game...Mason Grimes ranks 35th in punting...The Cowboys are 26th in scoring and passing.