UT Permian Basin Football opens its home schedule this Saturday by welcoming #7 MSU Texas to Ratliff Stadium. The game is the Lone Star Conference opener for both teams.

GAME NOTES

TICKETS

FOLLOW THE FALCONS
Fans that can't make it out to Ratliff this season now have even more ways to follow the Falcons each week. Beginning this season all five home games will be streamed live on utpbfalcons.com, along with the re-broadcast on MYTV16 at 7 p.m. on Tuesdays after each home game. Fans can also listen to the radio broadcast featuring Graham Pollard and Derek Catsam on Rock 95.1 and utpbfalcons, and can follow live stats available at utpbfalcons.com.

LAST TIME OUT
UT Permian Basin out-scored Northern Michigan 15-7 over the final 22 minutes Saturday afternoon, but a pair of first half touchdowns helped Northern Michigan to a 27-22 victory over UTPB at the Superior Dome in Marquette, Mich.

Marquis Simmons led the Falcons with 53 yards on the ground, averaging 6.6 yard on his eight carries. 

Kristian Brown paced the receivers with 83 yards on four catches, including a long of 43 yards. Leonard scored on a pair of his four catches, ending the game with 67 yards. Ben Galaviz scored for the second straight game on an 18-yard pass for the Falcons first touchdown of the day.

Sam Allen finished the game 18-36 in his first start at QB for UTPB, throwing three touchdowns with no turnovers.

UTPB threw for 261 yards to just 117 in the air for Northern Michigan, but the Wildcats did the bulk of their damage on the ground, running for 337 yards on 61 carries to 66 rushing yards for the Falcons.

John O'Kelley ended Saturday with 13 total tackles to lead all players in the game. He had three sacks and five tackles for loss, giving him six sacks and 8.5 TFL on the season after two games. Chris Hoad added 11 tackles with half a sack and 1.5 TFL.


SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS
MSU Texas was the 2017 Lone Star Conference Regular Season Champion, ending the regular season 10-0 which included a win over the eventual national champion Texas A&M Commerce. The Mustangs season came to an end last year with a loss in the second round of the NCAA Playoffs on the road at #1 Minnesota State. They enter Saturday night's game after a come-from-behind victory at home over #2 West Florida. The Mustangs, trailing last season's national championship runner-up 14-3 at halftime, out-scored West Florida 35-3 in the second half for a 38-17 victory.

The Mustangs are led on offense by Layton Rabb. The senior quarterback was named the 2018 Lone Star Conference Offensive Player of the Year entering 2018. In two games this season, Rabb has thrown for 607 yards on 42-60 passing (70 percent), scoring eight touchdowns with no interceptions. 

The Mustangs have seven different receivers with a touchdown reception so far in 2018. 

Vincent Johnson leads MSU Texas with 149 yards on 17 carries so far this season, averaging 8.8 yards per carry with one touchdown. 

On the defensive side of the ball, Sir'Vell Ford has 20 tackles to lead the Mustangs with one forced fumble while Paul Manus has a pair of interceptions.


O'Kelley Leading the Nation
John O'Kelley had two of the best games of his career to start 2018. The Freshman of the Year in the Lone Star Conference in 2017, O'Kelley spent all night in the Texas Southern backfield, racking up seven tackles to lead the Falcon defense. He recorded three of the team's four sacks for 18 yards, 3.5 tackles for loss, forced a fumble and blocked an extra point that Diameon Brewer took to the end zone for two points. He came back with a tremendous effort against Northern Michigan, leading the Falcons with 13 tackles, 5 tackles-for-loss and three sacks. After two weeks he leads all players in D-II in both tackles-for-loss and sacks with 8.5 and 6.

Leonard Stands Out in Second Half
Mitchell Leonard made an immediate impact in his first game in 2018. The senior wide receiver had a big second half for UT Permian Basin last weekend against Northern Michigan, recording all four of his catches for 67 yards in the final 30 minutes. He reached the end zone twice on the day, scoring his first on the afternoon on a 19 yard pass at 11:45 of the fourth quarter. His second touchdown came when he beat a pair of defenders from 31 yards out with 2:21 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Allen Makes First Start at QB
Sam Allen made his first start at UT Permian Basin last weekend at Northern Michigan. The junior signal caller completed 18-36 passes for 261 yards on the day for three touchdowns. He completed an 18-yard over-the-shoulder catch to Ben Galaviz on the first play of the second quarter for his first score of the day. He then found Mitchell Leonard twice in the fourth quarter, the first from 19 yards out with 11:45 remaining and the second from the 31-yard line with 2:21 remaining in the game.