LSC week 4 power rankings: Lions and Rams leap forward after wins

Texas A&M-Commerce linebacker and Canyon graduate Dayne Douglass wraps up Eastern New Mexico quarterback Wyatt Strand last Saturday. [Evan Luecke/ For Press Pass Sports]

1. Tarleton (3-0, 1-0): The No. 4-ranked Texans made a statement to the Lone Star Conference that they are the real deal. Tarleton, which has won nine straight conference games dating back to last year, steam rolled West Texas A&M 58-28 Saturday, and it wasn’t that close. At halftime, the Texans led 51-0, and had out gained WT 412 to 10 in total yards.

2. MSU-Texas (3-0, 1-0): A win is a win. That’s how No. 15 MSU-Texas is looking at a 14-8 victory over UT Permian Basin on Saturday. The Mustangs defense was stellar, keeping the Falcons out of the endzone and running back Quinton Childs piled up a career-high 174 yards.

3. A&M-Commerce (3-0, 1-0): Coach David Baintliff and his Lions roared past Eastern New Mexico in impressive fashion, 45-27, on Saturday. The No. 11 Lions opened the game up in the first half scoring 24 straight points. QB Miklo Smalls was named LSC Offensive Player of the Week, going 12 of 14 for 235 yards with four TD tosses.

4. Angelo State (3-0, 1-0): The Rams make the biggest jump in the power rankings after another lopsided win. ASU won its seventh straight game against Texas A&M-Kingsville, 44-7, to stay unbeaten on the year. Receiver Keke Chism had a career-high 194 yards receiving with two scores.

5. E. New Mexico (2-1, 0-1): It was a rough LSC opener for the Greyhounds in a loss to Texas A&M-Commerce. ENMU will try and bounce back hosting Texas A&M-Kingsville on Saturday.

6. W. Texas A&M (2-1, 0-1): The Buffs let the game against Tarleton get away from them early, and it snowballed to halftime. WT remains winless in Stephenville since the 2011 season. The Buffs will want to regroup when they host Western New Mexico on Saturday.

7. UTPB (2–1, 0-1): The Falcons showed tremendous effort, however, fell short in a 14-8 loss at MSU-Texas. Linebacker Chris Hoad left it all on the field for UTPB, making a team-high 15 tackles, nine of which were solo tackles, adding a forced fumble.

8. A&M Kingsville (1-2, 0-1): Angelo State jumped out to a 23-0 halftime lead and the Javelinas could never recover. TAMK makes a long road trip up to ENMU for an LSC clash Saturday.

9. W. New Mexico (0-3, 0-1): The Mustangs couldn’t hold a 3-point halftime lead, watching Central Washington outscore them 19-7 in the second half for a 36-27 win. WNM opens its LSC schedule at WT on Saturday.

LSC Standings

Team   LSC  Overall

Tarleton   1-0   3-0

MSU-Texas.   1-0   3-0

E. New Mexico    0-1   2-1

A&M-Commerce   1-0   3-0

West Texas A&M   0-1   2-1

Angelo State 1-0   3-0

UT Permian Basin  0-1   2-1

A&M-Kingsville    0-1   1-2

W. New Mexico   0-0   0-3

Week 4 games

Saturday’s games

W. New Mexico at W. Texas A&M, 6 p.m.

MSU-Texas at Angelo State, 6 p.m.

A&M-Commerce at CSU-Pueblo, 6 p.m.

Tarleton at UT Permian Basin, 7 p.m.

A&M-Kingsville at E. New Mexico, 7 p.m.