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Interview with Mitchell Gale and Nick Richardson
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Interview with head coach Ken Collums
ABILENE -- A season of firsts -- and lasts -- will get started Saturday night at Shotwell Stadium when the 10th-ranked ACU Wildcats host McMurry Warhawks in the season-opener for both teams.
Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. The game can be heard on Mix 92.5 FM and can be viewed online
here.
This season begins the Wildcats' 40th and final year in the Lone Star Conference, and it also marks McMurry's first season in NCAA Division II. ACU will move to NCAA Division I affiliation and the Southland Conference beginning in 2013, although football will be an NCAA Division I independent in 2013.
Saturday's game marks the 40th game between the Wildcats and Warhawks with ACU holding a 24-15 edge. ACU?played McMurry each season from 1930-1971 with the exception of 1943-45 because of World War II. The last time the teams met was Sept. 11, 1971, when Wildcat quarterback Ron Lauterbach hit Nicky Pruitt with two touchdown passes to help ACU?to a 53-20 victory at Shotwell Stadium.
Saturday's game also marks the first game as head coach for
Ken Collums, who spent the previous seven seasons as the Wildcats' offensive coordinator. Collums takes over the program from Chris Thomsen, who resigned last December and is now the offensive line coach at Texas Tech.
Collums has called the plays for one of the nation's most prolific offensive units, offenses that paved the way for ACU?to make six straight appearance in the NCAA?Division II?playoffs.
The journey towards a seventh straight appearance in the playoffs – and a final appearance at the NCAA?Division II?level – begins Saturday with a squad that has plenty of returning players from last year's 8-3 team that lost to Washburn (Kan.) in the first round of the playoffs.
Leading the group of returning players is senior quarterback Mitchell Gale, a pre-season NCAA?Division II?all-America selection and the pre-season Offensive Player of the Year by
Lindy's magazine. Gale is on the verge of breaking LSC?and ACU?career records for completions, attempts, yards, touchdowns and total offense.
Also returning offensively are pre-season all-America receiver
Taylor Gabriel, running back
Charcandrick West, tight end
Jonathan Parker, receivers
Darrell Cantu-Harkless and
Darian Hogg and offensive linemen
Josh Perez and
Blake Spears. Transfer offensive tackle
Will Latu will protect Gale's blind side at left tackle.
Defensively the Wildcats have a new coordinator in
Darian Dulin, who has changed ACU to a 4-3 scheme. Sophomore end
Nick Richardson appears ready for a breakout season, and he's joined on the line by end
Ryan Smith, defensive tackle
George Woods and transfer nose guard
Nick Finney.
The Warhawks – who reached the playoffs in 2011 in their final season in NCAA?Division III – are led by quarterback Jake Mullin, who last year set a McMurry school record with 2,589 yards before he missed the final two-plus games after separating his shoulder.
Mullin's top target could be Eric Shaffer, who caught 39 passes for 427 yards and two touchdowns last year. The leading returning rusher is Chris Simpson, who had 244 yards last year.
