2017 Battle for the Border Claw

10/20/2017 12:49:00 PM

By: LC Sports Information

GAME NOTES
LIVE VIDEO
LIVE STATS
LIVE AUDIO

For the 18th time, Louisiana College and East Texas Baptist University will face off on the football field this Saturday in the annual "Battle for the Border Claw". The Wildcats are fresh off a much needed win on Homecoming night last week against McMurry while the Tigers were knocked off by Texas Lutheran a week ago. It's been two seasons since the Claw last resided in the LC football field house, but with some momentum on their side after last week's victory, the Wildcats are poised to return the trophy to Central Louisiana. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 pm at Ornelas Stadium in Marshall, Texas, Saturday afternoon.

Junior quarterback D'Ondre Joseph had one of his best performances of the season against McMurry, both on the ground and through the air. Joseph accounted for 298 total yards and five touchdown for the Wildcats. He threw for 181 yards on 14-of-26 attempts with four touchdown and ran for 117 yards on 12 carries with a score. The Wildcat offensive line won the battle up front all night, paving the way for both Joseph and Aaron Woods to have a breakout game. Along with Joseph's 117 yards, Woods tallied 171 yards with a score and the Wildcats rushed for a total of 310 yards in the game. It was the first time since 2011 that an LC team had rushed for more than 300 yards in a game. The last time came against Mississippi College in the third game of the season, a 397 yard effort.

For the fourth time in six games, the Wildcat defense allowed more than 450 yards of offense to their opponent as McMurry nearly eclipsed the 500 yard mark with a 496 yard total. War Hawk quarterback Kevin Hurley Jr. threw for 367 yards and two touchdowns, with 149 going to receiver Justin Eaton. It was the third time this year a quarterback passed for more than 300 yards in a game against the Wildcats. ETBU quarterback Dru Smith has passed for 2,046 yards on the season, and thrown for over 300 yard four times this year and gone over 400 yards twice. He is the only quarterback in the American Southwest Conference averaging more than 300 passing yards per game at 341.0, with LC's Joseph ranking second at 209.8 per game.

The Tigers are averaging 49.8 points per game under Smith's leadership, second best in the ASC, and are one of two teams in the conference putting up more than 500 yards of offense per game. The Wildcats rank fourth in the conference in scoring at 36.0 points per game, but find themselves in the middle of the pack in offensive output with 434.0 yards per game, sixth most in the league.

The LC defense has struggled at times during the year, allowing big plays to hurt them in critical situations, and rank last in the conference in total defense giving up 524.2 yards per game to their opponents. ETBU has had suspect defensive games as well, allowing 500 yards to Texas Lutheran last week, 600 to Belhaven earlier this year and 806 to the high-powered Hardin-Simmons. Despite the yardage total, the Wildcat defense has been consitent with their takeaways, averaging three takeaways per game this season, the best average in the conference. With his second in as many weeks Orel Ledet Jr is now tied for the conferecne lead in interceptions, and senior corner back Willie Smith leads the ASC with 14 pass break ups, a 2.33 per game average.

This will be the 18th meeting between the two schools on the football field, with LC holding a 10-7 overall record over the Tigers. In one of the wildest games at Wildcat Stadium, the 2016 edition of the Battle for the Border Claw saw ETBU escape with a 64-62 win over the Wildcats to retain the hardware. The teams combined for 1,215 total yards of offense, 18 touchdowns, and 126 points. Senior Easton Melancon set a single game record with seven touchdown passes in the game and receiver Shedrick Davis set the single game receiving touchdown mark with four scoring grabs. The last time the Wildcats won in Marshall came during the 2012 season when Ryan Montague rushed for 140 yards on 32 carries and Jamie Bunting threw for 165 yards with two touchdown, one a 31-yard strike to D'Mario Parker.

The game can be heard live on 104.3 FM "The Bridge" with the voice of the Wildcats Rich Dupree, along with Doug Gann and Al Quartemont. Pregame coverage begins at 1:30 pm. Live video will be provided by East Texas Baptist via the links provided above.

QUOTES FROM COACH JUSTIN CHARLES

ON ETBU AS A TEAM...They're a high powered offense that puts up some good numbers. They're one of the top offenses in the country. Their quarterback Dru Smith is a great football player. He's a big time competitor who loves to have the ball and the game in his hands and he can do some things that can give any defense in the country a hard time. They're sound defensively and fly around to the football, tackle well, get around the football and make plays.

ON ETBU'S OFFENSE...They still do a lot of the same stuff offensively they've done in the past. A lot of run-pass option plays and still get the ball in the hands of their better players as much as they can. They mix enough of the run in there to keep you honest on defense. Once Dru Smith gets the ball in his hands, a lot of good things can happen for them on offense.

ON THE PLAY OF D'ONDRE JOSEPH...Being able to run the ball effectively early is going to be the thing that helps him out the most. If we can get that going early and start fast there, that's going to allow us to start fast in the passing game as well. That takes some of the pressure off of Dre and doing like ETBU and getting the ball in our playmakers hands. Shed has to touch the ball, Leondre, Drake Battaglia, D.J. Lation all have to touch the football. However fast we can get the ball into their hands will start pulling the defense away from the line of scrimmage.

AROUND THE ASC

THIS WEEK'S GAMES
Hardin-Simmons at Texas Lutheran - Seguin, TX - 1pm
Belhaven at Mary Hardin-Baylor - Belton, TX - 1pm
Louisiana College at East Texas Baptist - Marshall, TX - 2pm
Sul Ross State at Howard Payne - Brownwood, TX - 4pm

WEEK 6 PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Frederick Hover, QB, Jr., Southwestern
Southwestern junior quarterback Frederick Hover (McAllen, Texas / McAllen HS) accounted for seven touchdowns including a passing, rushing and receiving TD in the Pirates' 60-31 win at Belhaven. He threw for 211 yards and four scores on 9-of-12 passing. He also ran for 201 yards on 27 carries with two touchdowns. Hover also caught a 32-yard touchdown pass to finish with 412 yards of total offense. Hover claimed his second Offensive Player of the Week award of the season.

CO-DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Brazos Fuller, DT, Sr., Mary Hardin-Baylor
University of Mary Hardin-Baylor senior defensive tackle Brazos Fuller (Alvarado, Texas / Alvarado HS) tied for the team leads with six total tackles – two solo – and had 1.5 tackles for a loss in the top-ranked Cru's 65-0 victory against Howard Payne. He also forced a fumble that was returned for a touchdown and held the Yellow Jackets to just 21 passing yards and 110 yards of total offense.

CO-DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Keyshawn Holman, LB, Fr., Texas Lutheran
Texas Lutheran University freshman linebacker Keyshawn Holman (Orange, Texas / West Orange-Stark HS) recorded two sacks for 24 yards and eight tackles – five solo – in the Bulldogs' 41-34 road win against East Texas Baptist. He helped TLU hold the Tigers scoreless in the fourth quarter and rally from a 13-point deficit to win.

SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Reese Childress, PR/P, Jr., Hardin-Simmons
Hardin-Simmons junior punt returner/punter Reese Childress (Abilene, Texas / Abilene HS) tied a school record with a 90-yard punt return for a touchdown in the #5 Cowboys' 35-10 road win at Sul Ross State. He also punted four times for a 43.3 yard average with a long of 51 and one punt inside the 20.

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