GAME NOTES

HOW TO FOLLOW
Live Stats
Live Video
Live Audio

LAST TIME OUT
UT Permian Basin scored a pair of second half touchdowns and outscored Texas Southern 14-10 in the second half, but its comeback in their season opener ran out of time Saturday night as the Falcons fell against FCS D-I Texas Southern 26-16 at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston, Texas.

Marquis Simmons was the team's leading rusher, carrying the ball 10 times for 78 yards, averaging 7.8 per carry as the Falcons out-rushed Texas Southern 182 to 128 as a team. Sam Allen added 58 yards on nine rushes and Adrian Walker carried the ball five times for 40 yards.

Allen ended the game the Falcons leading passer, throwing for 84 yards on four completions, the bulk coming on a 64-yard TD to Ben Galaviz. Galaviz ended the night with 78 yards on three receptions and a touchdown.

John O'Kelley picked up where he ended 2017, leading the Falcons with seven tackles, three sacks, 3.5 tackles for loss and a blocked extra point that was returned for two points by Diameon Brewer.

ON TAP
UT Permian Basin takes it's longest road trip in its 2+ year history when the Falcons fly to Marquette, Mich., for a week 2 non-conference game at Northern Michigan. 

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
Northern Michigan opened the 2018 season on the road in a 34-28 loss at McKendree. The Wildcats scored 21 points in the fourth quarter but were unable to erase a 17-7 McKendree lead at the end of the third. 

Latrell Giles led three different Wildcats to throw a pass on the day, completing 10-18 attempts for 176 yards and a touchdown. Overall NMU was 13-27 for 232 yards in the air with a pair of touchdowns and an interception.

Jake Mayon led a Wildcat rushing attack that racked up 283 total yards on the ground. Mayon ran for 173 yards on 27 carries, avg. 6.4 yards per carry with a touchdown. Giles added 97 yards on 14 attempts with a score on the ground as NMU averaged 5.4 yards per rush as a team. 

Benjamin Loutsis led the receivers with five catches for 117 yards and a TD. Ryan Knight added a touchdown on three catches for 40 yards.Deantae Young and Troy Mayon led the Wildcat defense with eight tackles each, while Mayon recovered a fumble for the only NMU defensive turnover.

Norhtern Michigan ended their opener with 515 total yards of offense, averaging 6.5 yards per play. NMU gave up 442 yards of offense by McKendree, giving up 7.2 yards per play on defense.

Dome Sweet Dome
Northern Michigan plays its home games in the Superior Dome. Built in 1991, the Superior Dome is the fifth largest dome in the world based on diameter and is the largest wooden dome in the world. The dome is 143 feet tall, has a diameter of 536 feet  covers an area of 5.1 acres (21,000 m2), and has a volume of 16,135,907 cubic feet. It is a geodesic dome constructed with 781 Douglas Fir beams and 108.5 miles of fir decking. The dome is designed to support snow up to 60 pounds per square foot (2.9 kPa) and withstand 80-mile-per-hour winds. It has a permanent seating capacity of 8,000.

O'Kelley Picks Up Where He Left Off
John O'Kelley had one of the best games of his career in the opening game of the 2018 season. 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.

Falcons Get Ground Game Going
UT Permian Basin did most of its damage on the ground in week one, out-rushing Texas Southern 182-128 on the night. The Falcons averaged 5.5 yards per carry on 33 total rushes on the evening. Marquis Simmons led the Falcons with 78 yards, averaging 7.8 yards per carry on 10 rushes with a long run of 43 yards on the team's second play of the game. Sam Allen had 58 yards on nine rushes, including a touchdown punched in from two yards out. Adrian Walker made the most of his five attempts, averaging 8.0 yards on 40 total yards rushing.

Allen Makes It Count
Junior quarterback Sam Allen came in and made an immediate impact late in the third quarter Saturday night. Coming into the game with 2:52 remaining in the 3rd quarter, Allen ran for 11 yards and a first down on a pair of carries, threw a 13 yard pass to Baylon Ware for a first down, later picked up a first down on 3-5 with an 11 yard carry, and closed the drive with a two-yard TD run. Two series later he found a streaking Ben Galaviz down the left sideline on 3rd-12 for a 64 yard touchdown. He ended the game 4-11 passing for 84 yards and a touchdown, and had nine carries for 58 yards with a touchdown and a fumble.