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Lions To Make First-Ever Trip To Oklahoma Panhandle State

Oklahoma Panhandle State University is a new member of the Lone Star Conference.
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Oklahoma Panhandle State University is a new member of the Lone Star Conference.

The No. 6 Texas A&M University-Commerce Lions hit the road again this week, traveling to Goodwell, Okla., for the Lions' first-ever meeting with Oklahoma Panhandle State University.
Texas A&M – Commerce Lions

Richard Cooper, Running Back
• A&M-Commerce All-American running back Richard Cooper earned LSC Offensive Player of the Week honors with a career performance, rushing for 224 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries.
• His 11.8 yards per carry average was 1/10 of a yard short of the school record.
• It is the 11th-most rushing yards by a Lion in a single game.

Hector Dominguez, Punter
• A&M-Commerce punter Hector Dominguez earned Lone Star Conference Special Teams Player of the Week honors for his performance vs. Texas A&M-Kingsville
• Dominguez - a senior from Monterey Park, Calif. - booted seven punts on Saturday night and pinned the Javelinas inside their own 20-yardline three times - all of which were inside the 10-yardline as well.
• His final punt of the night went out of bounds inside the Texas A&M-Kingsville 1-yardline, forcing a 99-yard Javelina drive. Dominguez had an average of 38.6 yards per punt with a long punt of 49 yards in the Lions' 38-36 victory.
 
Luis Perez, Quarterback
•Texas A&M-Commerce quarterback Luis Perez has been fantastic in his introduction to the Lion lineup.
• Perez is featured prominently in the NCAA Division II and Lone Star Conference statistical rankings
• He leads the LSC in four categories - completion percentage, pass efficiency, passing yards per attempt and passing yards per completion.

Shawn Hooks, Wide Receiver
• Shawn Hooks has proven to be a dangerous weapon for the Lions in the punt return game.
• He ranks second in the league with a punt return average of 15.5 yards per return, which ranks 22nd nationally.
• Hooks is only behind West Texas A&M return man PJ Leonce, who is averaging 17.0 yards per punt return.

First Time Matchup
• The Lions and Oklahoma Panhandle State have never met. This is OPSU's third game in Lone Star Conference play and the Lions' 513th Lone Star Conference game.
• This is the first game for A&M-Commerce against a team named the "Aggies" since the 1993 season finale against Cameron. That was the last game in Cameron's program history.
 
Lion Turnovers
• A&M-Commerce has turned the ball over only once this season.
• The Lions are one of only four teams to have lost the ball one time this year.
• The other three schools tied for the national lead in this category are Colorado Mesa, California (Pa.), and Indiana (Pa.)
• A&M-Commerce has also snagged eight turnovers in the three games which count toward statistics.
• After three interceptions in each the Delta State and Eastern New Mexico games, the Lions recovered two fumbles vs. A&M-Kingsville.
• The Lions are now tied for fourth nationally in turnover margin per game.
  
Lions Season So Far
• The Lions have started the season with four consecutive wins for the first time since 1980, when ET won the first six games of the year on the way to a Lone Star Conference championship.
• The 2016 squad is the ninth team in the storied history of A&M-Commerce football to win its first four games.

WEEK 4 AFCA RANKING TIES PROGRAM'S BEST
• The Lions are ranked sixth in the nation in Division II according to the American Football Coaches Association Coaches Poll this week.
• The Lions are ranked sixth nationally for the second consecutive week following the 38-36 win over Texas A&M-Kingsville. The Lions earned 586 points in this week's poll, adding 20 points to last week's total.
• A&M-Commerce has now been ranked in 18 straight AFCA polls, dating back to the 2015 preseason poll.
• This is A&M-Commerce's 24th all-time appearance in the AFCA poll since its inception in 2000.
• The ranking ties the best ranking for A&M-Commerce since the AFCA Division II Poll began in 2000.
 

Key Players

Texas A&M – Commerce

Luis Perez, QB

Richard Cooper, RB

Lance Evans, WR

Oklahoma Panhandle State
Eddie Thomas IV, WR

Andrew Hernandez, WR

John Pitts, DL

 

WHO: Texas A&M University-Commerce (4-0, 2-0) at Oklahoma Panhandle State University (1-3, 0-2)
WHERE: Goodwell, Okla. | Carl Wooten Field
WHEN: 1 p.m. on Saturday, October 1
RANKINGS: Texas A&M-Commerce is ranked No. 6 in the AFCA Coaches' Poll and No. 8 in the D2Football.com Media Poll. OPSU is unranked.
LIVE AUDIO: Lion Sports Network -- KETR 88.9 FM, Commerce (http://www.ketr.org)

Lifelong sports fan, Jasmine Baker, has been covering sports for KETR 88.9 since 2016, under the tutelage of Mark Haslett. She's co-hosted the award-winning student produced program 'Lions After Dark' and produced online content covering Lion Athletics. As an undergraduate she began her journalism career writing for student-run campus newspaper The East Texan. Jasmine has covered high school basketball playoffs, college and professional sports in the Dallas Metroplex. Her experience has allowed her to be a guest on various sports talk shows, including guest play-by-play with Charlie Chitwood. In the 2018 WNBA season she covered the Dallas Wings for High Post Hoops.