ASC Football 2016 Kicks Off Thursday

Belhaven receiver Nathan Thomas and the Blazers will meet Millsaps on Thursday to kickoff the 2016 ASC football season.

8/29/2016 9:09:03 AM

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RICHARDSON, Texas - The 2016 American Southwest Conference football season kicks off Thursday (Sept. 1) when Belhaven visits local rival Millsaps College in the "Riverside Rumble" at 7:00 p.m. in Jackson, Miss.

Six more ASC teams take the field for season-opening games on Saturday (Sept. 3). Louisiana College hosts Huntingdon at 1:00 p.m. Three teams have 6:00 p.m. starts -- Mary Hardin-Baylor hosting Ohio Wesleyan, East Texas Baptist at Texas Lutheran and Hardin-Simmons at Southwestern. At 7:00 p.m., Sul Ross State plays at Texas-Permian Basin and Howard Payne hosts Southwestern Assemblies of God. McMurry begins its season Sept. 10 at Southwestern.

Mary Hardin-Baylor Preseason Favorite to Win ASC Championship
Mary Hardin-Baylor is picked to win the 2016 American Southwest Conference football title after a vote of the league's head coaches, sports information directors and media members. Hardin-Simmons quarterback Ryan Breton, Mary Hardin-Baylor defensive end Teidrick Smith and HSU place kicker / punter Nico Francino were named ASC Preseason Players of the Year. Click here for the full release.

ASC Rankings in Preseason Polls
The American Southwest Conference received national attention in the D3football.com preseason top 25 poll. Two teams will start the season ranked in the top 10 led by Mary Hardin-Baylor at No. 5 and Hardin-Simmons at No. 10. UMHB and HSU were part of a three-way tie with East Texas Baptist last season for the ASC title. All three teams shared the same honor in previously in 2003.

Marching Toward Division III
McMurry and Belhaven continue transition into full Division III membership during 2016-17. Games versus McMurry will count as a conference contest but the War Hawks are not eligible for the NCAA Championship as a year three reclassifying institution. Belhaven enters its second season as a Division III provisional member and games against the Blazers will not count in ASC standings.

New Faces on the Sidelines
The ASC welcomes two new head coaches to the sidelines. Both Scotty Walden at East Texas Baptist and Hunter Sims at East Texas Baptist were assistant coaches and coordinators with their respective teams a year ago.

ASC Expanding to 10 Teams in 2017
The American Southwest Conference will welcome Texas Lutheran University and Southwestern University as affiliate members in football starting in 2017. With the addition of TLU and Southwestern, ASC football will number 10 teams and play a nine-game league schedule. The additions also signal a return to a 10-team football alignment for the first time since 2005 and makes the ASC the 10th NCAA Division III conference with at least 10 football teams. Click here for the full release.

ASC Preseason All-Americans
Four student-athletes from two ASC member institutions were named D3football.com Preseason All-Americans. Mary Hardin-Baylor received two first team members and one second team selection and Hardin-Simmons had one first team honor. Representing the Cru on the first team is offensive guard Broderick Jenkins, defensive end Teidrick Smith and safety Baylor Mullins was tabbed second team. From the Cowboys, punter Nico Francino picked up preseason first team recognition. Click here for the full release.

The ASC received five preseason All-Americans from Football Gameplan. Mary Hardin-Baylor led with three selections while Hardin-Simmons and East Texas Baptist received one each. Representing the Cru are first team members, offensive lineman Broderick Jenkins and defensive end Teidrick Smith. Defensive back Baylor Mullins was named third team defense. HSU punter Nico Francino receive second team specialists honors and ETBU kick returner Dominic Haggerty was named as a third team specialist. Of the 23 Division III conferences are represented on the list, the ASC is one of six conferences to have at least five players named preseason All-Americans. Click here for the full video presented by Football Gameplan.

Around The ASC

BELHAVEN: As Belhaven enters its second season as a conference member, the Blazers will begin the year in the new Bowl Stadium and will host its home games on campus for the first time in program history. Head coach Hal Mumme, who was recently inducted into the Valdosta Hall of Fame, enters his third season at Belhaven. In 2015, Mumme's offense set team records from the opening snap in his second year at the helm. ... Quarterback Clayton Webb set new marks in completions (47), attempts (62) and yards (525) against Millsaps in Belhaven's first game of its NCAA Division III era. Known for its passing offense, the Blazers led the ASC last season in passing yards per game (316.8), completions (311) and racked up 3,168 yards through the air and 24 touchdowns. ... Wide receiver Nate Williams returns as the key target for Webb on the Blazers' offense. Williams ranked third in the ASC in receptions per game (6.7) and tallied a team-best 721 receiving yards and five touchdowns. ... Alvin Vaughn led the Belhaven defense and ranked fourth in the ASC in tackles per game (8.7) coming from the defensive backfield, and was one of just seven league defenders with more than 80 tackles on the year. ... Belhaven went 2-8 overall in its inaugural Division III season and picked up its first win over an ASC team by a 12-6 margin against Sul Ross State in the final game in 2015.

EAST TEXAS BAPTIST: Former offensive coordinator now first-year head coach Scotty Walden, inherits an ETBU football team that finished the season as part of an ASC tri-champion in 2015. The youngest head coach in the NCAA (26), Walden begins the rebuilding process of the ETBU offense after the departure of three first-team all-conference seniors - quarterback Josh Warbington, wide receiver Tyler Bates and running back Kendall Roberson - the triple threat that led the Tigers to 40 points per game and more than 400 yards of offense on average. As architect of the Tigers' offense, Walden has re-written the ETBU record book with 26 game, season and career records while producing four 1,000 yard receivers and two 1,000 yard rushers. ... Defensively, the Tigers will see the return of linebackers Garrett Gibson, C.J. Johnson and safety Sam Williams. Gibson led the team in tackles (70), Johnson recorded 55 tackles, 6.5 sacks and 13 tackles-for-loss and Williams ranked third in the ASC in interceptions (4) and had the most return yards (157).

No. 10 HARDIN-SIMMONS: Hardin-Simmons had a banner season in 2015. The Cowboys posted their best record since 2008 (9-2), won a share of their first conference title since 2004, and made their seventh appearance in the NCAA tournament. HSU also snapped a 13-game losing streak to Mary Hardin-Baylor, stopping a 39-game ASC win streak and 61-game regular-season win streak by UMHB. ... Senior quarterback Ryan Breton and senior place kicker / punter Nico Francino were named the ASC Preseason Offensive and Special Teams Players of the Year, respectively. Breton returns to lead an HSU offense that ranked second in scoring (43.5), passing (291.3) and total offense (455.5) and ranked third in rushing (164.2). Breton led the ASC in passing efficiency (175.5) and ranked second in passing touchdowns (22) and completion percentage (.614). The 2015 ASC Special Teams Player of the Year, Francino led the league in punting (43.6), ranked fourth in scoring (50) and was named a D3football.com first team All-American. ... Defensively, HSU will see the return of linebacker duo Cory Ward and Matthew Hawkins and defensive back Kylon Mills. Ward (7.2) and Hawkins (7.0) ranked 10th and 11th, respectively, in the ASC in tackles per game. Mills had four interceptions, returned two for touchdowns and had 10 passes defended. ... Head coach Jesse Burleson enters his sixth season with the Cowboys and has a 31-19 record.

HOWARD PAYNE: Howard Payne enters the season under the guidance of first-year head coach Hunter Sims. A six-year member of the HPU coaching staff, Sims spent three seasons as offensive coordinator before being named head coach last January. ... Sims first task will be replacing the offensive contributions of the quarterback Richard Young to wide receiver Colby Mica connection. Both players ranked in the top five in the ASC in passing in receiving. ... Defensively, HPU will return senior linebacker Jason Disney and junior cornerback Kris Mack. Disney led the ASC in tackles per game (11.3) and ranked second overall (113). Mack was one of the league's better defenders in the secondary with an ASC-best 20 passes defended. ... This season marks the 111th edition of football at Howard Payne making the Jackets the longest standing program in the conference.

LOUISIANA COLLEGE: The Wildcats return quarterback Easton Melancon and running back Aurren Cooksey into the 2016 season. Melancon passed for 1,550 yards and 18 touchdowns and ranked eighth in the ASC in total offense per game (159). Cooksey returns as the league's top rusher with more than 1,000 yards in 2015 (1,048). One of just two ASC running backs with more than 200 carries last season, Cooksey averaged over four yards per rush (4.9) and ranked fifth in all purpose yards (111.9). ... Defensively, Louisiana College will be led by defensive back Orel Ledet, Jr. The top tackling freshman in the ASC in 2015, Ledet ranked fifth overall in tackles (82) and had seven passes defended. ... Coach Dennis Dunn enters his 11th season with the Wildcats with a 65-44 record and led Louisiana College to a runner-up finish in four of the last six seasons.

No. 5 MARY HARDIN-BAYLOR: Mary Hardin-Baylor enters the 2016 season as the favorite to win the ASC Championship and ranked No. 5 in the D3football.com preseason poll. ... Coach Pete Fredenburg is the longest tenured coach in the ASC and enters his 19th season in Belton and is 181-38 overall. ... Mary Hardin-Baylor advanced to the NCAA tournament for the 13th time in the last 14 years. UMHB has won at least a share of 11 consecutive ASC titles, 13 of the last 14 league crowns, and won at least one NCAA tournament game in each of the last 12 seasons. ... Several key starters return for the Cru including running back Duane Thompson and wide receiver Wykeyhe Walker. Thompson anchored the top rushing offense in the ASC in 2015 with 825 yards rushing for a 6.1 per carry average and nine touchdowns. Walker ranked in the top 10 in both receptions per game (4.8) and yards (78.6). Over 12 games Walker hauled in 943 total yards and 12 touchdowns. Quarterback Blake Jackson will step in for the departed Zach Anderson to lead the Cru offense. A dual threat QB, Jackson rushed for 355 yards and 11 touchdowns while throwing for another 559 yards and another seven touchdowns in the air. ... On defense, UMHB is led by defensive end Teidrick Smith. Smith was named the ASC Defensive Player and Defensive Lineman of the Year in 2015. The first player in ASC history to receive both awards for two consecutive seasons, Smith led the ASC in sacks (14) and tackles for loss (27) with both numbers listed among the top five in Division III. Smith also received honors from D3football.com as a second team All-American.

MCMURRY: McMurry enters the third season of a four-year transition into NCAA Division III in 2016-17. The War Hawks played one season in the NCAA II Lone Star Conference in 2014. McMurry's games will now also count toward the ASC conference standings. ... The War Hawks - playing a partial ASC slate in 2015 - amassed a record of 4-6 (with four of those losses by a combined 11 points). McMurry made its mark early with a week one win over eventual ASC tri-champion East Texas Baptist. ... The War Hawks are led by third-year head coach Lance Hinson. ... Offensively, Hinson will have 125 players to choose from to replace the team's top rusher in Paxton Grayer and passer in quarterback Matthew McHugh. ... On defense, McMurry returns linebacker Marlon Jackson and defensive back Decorian Johnson. Jackson ranked seventh in the ASC in tackles per game (7.7) and Johnson ranked fourth in passes defended per game (1.12) in addition to three interceptions and six pass break-ups.

SUL ROSS STATE: A letter winners club tailgating party and donor recognition will be part of the dedication of the new artificial surface at Sul Ross State's Jackson Field on Sept. 17. The main event will be the home season-opening 6:00 p.m. non-conference contest between Arizona Christian University and the Lobos. The dedication ceremony and donor recognition will be held at halftime. ... John Pearce enters his third season as head coach at Sul Ross. ... Pearce will have a host of solid returners for 2016 headed by 2015 ASC Freshman of the Year Byron Jones. Jones was just nine yards shy of reaching 1,000 receiving yards accounting for 991 yards off of 59 catches and eight touchdowns. Jones set the ASC record for most receiving yards in a game with 285 in the Lobos first win of the season. He had 14 receptions and three touchdowns to lead SRSU in a 54-46 win over Wayland Baptist (Sept.26) in Plainview.

ASC sports information staffs contributed to this report.

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