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From reports

The Texas A&M University-Commerce Lions clinched a third consecutive Lone Star Conference football championship by defeating Tarleton State University 30-10 on Saturday.

After trailing 10-0 in the second quarter, the Lions scored 30 unanswered points the remainder of the game to take the win.

Scoring for the Lions included Vincent Hobbs 54-yard pass from Luis Perez with Kristove Martinez adding the PAT; Gabriel Rodriguez, 1-yard TD run, Martinez kick; Richard Whitaker, 8-yard run; Martinez, 31-yard FG; and Shawn Hooks, 70-yard punt return, Martinez kick.

Defensively, the Lions held Tarleton to 132 yards rushing, forced three turnovers and interceptions by Neema Behbahani and Yusef Sterling-Lowe.

With the win, the Lions earned their second consecutive trip to the NCAA Division II Football Playoffs, and will host first-round NCAA Playoff action in Memorial Stadium for the first time since 1991.

The Lions (No. 4 seed in the Super Region Four) will host No. 5 seed Colorado Mesa University (Grand Junction, Colo.) on Saturday, Nov. 19, at 2 p.m. in the first meeting of the two NCAA Division II squads.

This is A&M-Commerce’s fifth trip overall to the NCAA Playoffs and the first time hosting since a first-round game against Grand Valley State, which the Lions won 36-15.

The Lions went 10-1 in the regular season and won their third consecutive Lone Star Conference Championship with an 8-1 record in the league. Colorado Mesa went 9-2 in the regular season after upsetting Azusa Pacific to end their regular season on Saturday. The Mavericks were tri-champions of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference with Colorado Mines and CSU-Pueblo.

The Mavericks will be making their first playoff appearance since 2007, when the Mavericks fell to Abilene Christian 56-12.

Colorado Mesa has defeated two teams in the 28-team NCAA Tournament field as they took down Colorado Mines and Azusa Pacific who earned the No. 6 seed in Super Region Three.

Antonio Clark scooped up a loose ball and returned it 80-yards for a touchdown to give Colorado Mesa a 33-24 non-conference win over No. 13 Azusa Pacific Saturday.

The winner of this first-round game wil

l advance to the second round and play top-seeded Grand Valley State in Allendale, Mich. on Nov. 26.

Grand Valley State earned the No. 1 seed and a bye in the region. Ferris State was named the No. 2 seed while Southwest Baptist was the No. 3 seed, Midwestern State earned the No. 7 seed and Colorado Mines was named the No. 6 seed.

LSC runner-up Midwestern State (8-2 overall, 7-2 in conference) will play at Ferris State (Big Rapids, Mich.), Saturday at 11 a.m.

A&M-Commerce v Colorado Mesa Statistic Comparisons

Points Per Game

Colorado Mesa (42.9) v Opponents (30.7)

A&M-Commerce (41.1) v Opponents (18.2)

Rushing Yardage (Average per game)

Colorado Mesa (243.3) v Opponents (204.5)

A&M-Commerce (154.4) v Opponents (131.0)

Passing Yardage (Average per game)

Colorado Mesa (260.2) v Opponents (255.5)

A&M-Commerce (307.1) v Opponents (250.1)

Total Offense (Average per game)

Colorado Mesa (503.5) v Opponents (460.0)

A&M-Commerce (461.5) v Opponents (381.1)

Individual Rushing Leaders (Average yards per game)

Colorado Mesa – David Tann, RB, sr., 5-10, 215 (92.2)

A&M-Commerce – Richard Cooper, RB, sr., 509, 195 (103)

Individual Passing Leaders (Average yards per game)

Colorado Mesa – Sean Rubalcaba, QB, sr., 6-2, 190 (175.5)

A&M-Commerce – Luis Perez, QB, jr., 6-3, 220 (280.2)

Individual Receiving Leaders (Average yards per game)

Colorado Mesa – Josh Brown, WR, so., 5-11, 170 (61.9)

A&M-Commerce – Lance Evans, WR, sr., 6-3, 200 (69.5)

Scoring (Total points for season)

Colorado Mesa – David Tann (25 TDs = 150 points)

A&M-Commerce – Kristove Martinez, K, so., 5-6, 135 (15 FG, 48 kick = 93 points); Richard Cooper (8 TDs = 48 points); Lance Evans (7 TDs = 42 points)