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2017 Senior Day: Lions Shutout UT Permian Basin 52-0

Drew Ivery

Memorial Stadium was busy Saturday as Texas A&M-Commerce (8-1, 6-1) took on UT-Permian Basin (2-8, 1-6). The Lions hosted Senior Day and the field dedication for Coach Ernest Hawkins. It sent their 21 seniors off with one last win at the newly minted, Ernest Hawkins Field at Memorial Stadium, 52-0.

The win is the 36th for the Lions in the last four seasons, tying this year's senior class for the most wins by a Lion team in a four-year span. The seniors include: OL Jon Aguilar, DL Anthony Ameperosa, LB Travon Blanchard, DL Kieston Carter, WR D'Arthur Cowan, WR Shawn Hooks, A Austin Jordan, LB Christopher Laskowski, DL Devonta Leary, OL Jared Machorro, QB Jacob Norton, QB Luis Perez, DBTreyPorter, QB Gabriel Rodriguez, DL Ewing Simmons, LB Anthony Smith, DB Yusef Sterling-Lowe, OL Poet Thomas, DBJavonTillman, RB Richard Whitaker, and WR Buck Wilson.

All of the Lions eligible senior receivers scored at least one touchdown in the blowout. The win against UTPB put the Lions at 303 Lone Star Conference wins, the most all-time.

Offensively, the Lions dominated all four quarters suffocating UTPB. Quarterback Gabriel Rodriguez got on the board first rushing for a 1-yd touchdown, 7-0. Quarterback Luis Perez then completed a 1-yd pass to tight end Austin Jordan, 14-0.  Tight end Vincent Hobbs had a huge game, running for a 74-yd touchdown, 21-0.

Linebacker Travon Blanchard came up huge tackling UTPB quarterback Kameron Mathis on a 1-yd touchdown rush attempt at 4th and goal.

Wide receiver Buck Wilson got in on the action running for a 18-yd touchdown in front of his hometown crowd, putting the Lions up 28-0. Hobbs continued to have his way with the UTPB offense, completing a 30-yd touchdown catch, 35-0 heading into halftime.

A&M-Commerce quarterback Jacob Norton threw his first career touchdown pass to wide receiver D’Arthur Cowan as the Lions wind down their shutout over UTPB, 42-0.

Running back Richard Whitaker rushed for a 14-yd touchdown to close it out, 49-0.

Defensively, Blanchard led with nine tackles, three tackles for loss, and contributed a sack. Defensive linemen Kieston Carter had five solo tackles and three tackles for loss, while Michael Onuoha had five tackles with 1.5 tackles for loss.

Hobbs had a game-high 144 yards receiving and 2 touchdowns. Kicker Kristov Martinez was perfect going 7-of-7 on PAT attempts. Perez threw for 301 yards (291 in first half) and 4 touchdowns, putting him over 6,000 career passing yards. In addition to Norton, Jordan also scored his first career touchdown.

Before kickoff, the official dedication of Ernest Hawkins Field at Memorial Stadium took place. Coach Hawkins is the winningest coach in program history with 132 wins and led the Lions to four Lone Star Conference Championships in 1966, 1969, 1972, and 1983. He was named LSC Coach of the Year in each of those four seasons. The 1972 team won the NAIA National Championship in Memorial Stadium and he was named the National Coach of the Year.

The Lions currently sit at #7 in the NCAA Regional Rankings and should remain through next week.