2012 Abilene Christian Wildcats football team

The 2012 Abilene Christian Wildcats football team represented Abilene Christian University as a member of the Lone Star Conference (LSC) during the 2012 NCAA Division II football season. Led by first-year head coach Ken Collums, the Wildcats compiled an overall record of 7–4 with a mark of 4–4 in conference play, tying for fifth place in the LSC. The team played home games at Shotwell Stadium in Abilene, Texas.

2012 Abilene Christian Wildcats football
Conference	Lone Star Conference
Record	7–4 (4–4 LSC)
Head coach	Ken Collums (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Darian Dulin (1st season)
Captains	Ryan Smith Mitchell Gale Reid Ware L. B. Suggs
Home stadium	Shotwell Stadium

2012 Lone Star Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 16 Midwestern State +^		7	–	1					9	–	2
No. 4 West Texas A&M +^		7	–	1					12	–	3
Tarleton State		5	–	3					6	–	4
Texas A&M–Kingsville #		5	–	3					6	–	6
Abilene Christian		4	–	4					7	–	4
Angelo State		4	–	4					5	–	6
Eastern New Mexico †		2	–	6					3	–	7
Incarnate Word		1	–	7					2	–	9
Texas A&M–Commerce		1	–	7					1	–	9
+ – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant # – Kanza Bowl participant † – Eastern New Mexico vacated all three wins Rankings from AFCA poll

Abilene Christian became just third program to have three consecutive 12,000-yard passers after Hawaii and Houston. The Wildcats had also the best punt returning in college football averaging 25.2 yards per return.

Preseason

Abilene Christian was ranked No. 10 in the American Football Coaches' Association pre-season poll and No. 13 by Lindy's magazine. The ACU Wildcats were picked to finish 2nd in the conference behind Midwest State.

Mitchell Gale was not only awarded Lone Star Conference pre-season player of the year but also chosen pre-season NCAA DII offensive player of the year by Lindy's. Mitchell Gale and Morgan Lineberry (placekicker) were selected first team All-American and Taylor Gabriel (WR) made the third-team.

Transfers

Will Latu, offensive lineman, transferred from Oklahoma.

Recruiting

Abilene Christian signed 13 new players on national signing day

US college sports recruiting information for 2012 recruits
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Keith Barnett CB	Converse, Texas	Converse Judson High School	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	180 lb (82 kg)
	Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A
Josh Bloom DT	Kingwood, Texas	Kingwood Park High School	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	300 lb (140 kg)
	Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A
Tyler Chapa CB	San Antonio, Texas	Warren High School	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	180 lb (82 kg)
	Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A
Robbie Goldschmidt LB	The Woodlands, Texas	The Woodlands High School	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	230 lb (100 kg)
	Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A
Chukwuma Oputa LB	Dallas, Texas	Woodrow Wilson High School	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	230 lb (100 kg)
	Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A
Parker McKenzie QB	Spring Branch, Texas	Smithson Valley High School	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	175 lb (79 kg)
	Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A
Chad Quisenberry TE	Wolfforth, Texas	Frenship High School	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	235 lb (107 kg)
	Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A
Christian Rodriguez OL	Los Fresnos, Texas	Los Fresnos High School	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	270 lb (120 kg)
	Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A
Cade Stone QB	North Richland Hills, Texas	Fort Worth Christian High School	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	175 lb (79 kg)
	Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A
Garrett Langthorp OL	Conroe, Texas	Blinn College	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	290 lb (130 kg)
	Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A
Melvin Shead DL	Cayuga, Texas	Kilgore College	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	290 lb (130 kg)
	Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A
Eric Frain CB	Union, New Jersey	Los Angeles Pierce College	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	205 lb (93 kg)
	Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A
Nick Finney DL	Santa Fe Springs, California	Fullerton College	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	300 lb (140 kg)
	Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources:

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 1	6:00 p.m.	McMurry*	No. 10	Shotwell Stadium Abilene, TX		W 51–0	11,337
September 7	6:00 p.m.	No. 24 Texas A&M–Kingsville	No. 9	Shotwell Stadium Abilene, TX (Action Sports Champions Classic)	KRBC-TV	L 13–16	7,435
September 15	4:00 p.m.	vs. Tarleton State	No. 20	AT&T Stadium Arlington, TX		W 34–31	19,134
September 22	6:00 p.m.	at Angelo State	No. 19	San Angelo Stadium San Angelo, TX		L 23–28	7,320
September 27	6:36 p.m.	at Delta State*		McCool Stadium Cleveland, MS		W 34–28	5,123
October 6	6:00 p.m.	Eastern New Mexico		Shotwell Stadium Abilene, TX		W 59–17	3,576
October 13	6:00 p.m.	at No. 20 West Texas A&M		Kimbrough Memorial Stadium Canyon, TX	FoxSportsSouthwest.com	L 0–36	13,019
October 20	2:00 p.m.	No. 12 Midwestern State		Shotwell Stadium Abilene, TX		L 31–35	7,212
October 27	2:00 p.m.	at Texas A&M–Commerce		Memorial Stadium Commerce, TX		W 24–17	5,224
November 3	12:00 p.m.	No. 13 West Alabama*		Shotwell Stadium Abilene, TX		W 22–16	3,517
November 10	7:00 p.m.	at Incarnate Word		Gayle and Tom Benson Stadium San Antonio, TX		W 24–12	2,649
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AFCA Poll released prior to the game

Game summaries

McMurry

McMurry at Abilene Christian

1 2 3 4 Total War Hawks 0 0 0 0 0 • Wildcats 0 21 23 7 51 Date: September 1 Location: Shotwell Stadium Abilene, TX Game start: 6:00 p.m. Elapsed time: 2:57 Game attendance: 11,337 Game weather: 96 °F (36 °C), Wind: SSE 10mph, Sunny Referee: Andy Dunkin; Darrell Boyd (Umpire); Joe Stahmer(Linesman); Carlos Owens (Line judge); Jerry Bissett (Back judge); M. Rodriguez (Field judge); Michael Graham (Side judge); Chris Macaluso (Scorer) Sources:

Scoring summary 2 7:20 ACU Charcandrick West 13 yd run (Morgan Lineberry kick) ) ACU 7–0 2 2:30 ACU Travis Tarver II 2 yd run (Morgan Lineberry kick) ACU 14–0 2 0:48 ACU Taylor Gabriel 9 yd pass from Mitchell Gale (Morgan Lineberry kick) ACU 21–0 3 8:30 ACU Morgan Lineberry 25 yd field goal ACU 24–0 3 6:42 ACU Taylor Gabriel 7 yd run (Morgan Lineberry kick) ACU 31–0 3 1:55 ACU Marcel Threat 8 yd run (Morgan Lineberry kick failed) ACU 37–0 3 0:35 ACU Travis Tarver II 5 yd run (Morgan Lineberry kick) ACU 44–0 4 8:44 ACU Marcel Threat 12 yd run (Morgan Lineberry kick) ACU 51–0

In the season, opener Abilene Christian played the NCAA Division II-newcomer and crosstown-rival McMurry Warhawks. It was the first game as head coach for Ken Collums. The wildcats enter the season ranked No. 10 ranked team while McMurry had one of the best offenses in NCAA Division III the previous season.

Defensive end Nick Richardson tied the school record with six sacks in Abilene Christian's first shutout since 2006.

Mitchell Gale completed 19 out of 28 passes for 290 yards and one touchdown. Marcel Threat ran for 88 yards on 14 carries, averaging 6.3 yards per carries, and scored two touchdowns. Taylor Gabriel caught seven passes for 108 yards and one touchdown.

Stats

Statistics	ACU	MCMURRY
Points	51	0
Total Plays	68	90
First downs	27	21
First downs from Rushing	11	2
First downs from Passing	13	15
First downs from Penalties	3	4
Total yards	461	301
Rushing yards	165	29
Passing yards	296	289
Rushing plays	39	29
Passing plays	29	61
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	20-29-1	38-61-1
Time of possession	30:12	29:48
Average Punt	32	28.3
3rd down conversion	5/10 (50%)	3/19 (16%)
4th down conversion	2/11 (18%)	0/0
Sacks	10	1
Red zone	0-2	8-8

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Abilene Christian	Passing	Mitchell Gale	19/28, 290 yards, 1 TD
	Rushing	Marcel Threat	14 carries, 88 yards, 2 TD
	Receiving	Taylor Gabriel	7 receptions, 108 yards, 1 TD
McMurry	Passing	Jake Mullin	37/59, 288 yards, 0 TD
	Rushing	Chris Simpson	8 carries, 35 yards, 0 TD
	Receiving	Eric Shaffer	7 receptions, 55 yards

Texas A&M–Kingsville

Texas A&M–Kingsville at Abilene Christian

1 2 3 4 Total • Javelinas 0 10 3 3 16 Wildcats 6 0 0 7 13 Date: September 8 Location: Shotwell Stadium Abilene, TX Game start: 6:00 p.m. Elapsed time: 3:13 Game attendance: 7,435 Game weather: 84 °F (29 °C), Wind: NNE 14mph, Mostly Sunny Referee: Dwayne McKee; Stephen Borgman (Umpire); Brad Morrow (Linesman); Edgar Reed (Line judge); Keith Schoby (Back judge); Charles Colston (Field judge); Cory Hord (Side judge); Chris Macaluso (Scorer) Television network: KRBC-TV Sources:

Scoring summary 1 0:00 ACU Taylor Gabriel 7 yd run (Morgan Lineberry kick failed) ACU 6–0 2 9:31 TAMUK R. Armstrong 22 yd pass from Nate Poppell (Matt Stoll kick) TAMUK 7–6 2 1:09 TAMUK Matt Stoll 35 yd field goal TAMUK 10–6 3 7:06 TAMUK Matt Stoll 29 yd field goal TAMUK 13–6 4 14:57 TAMUK Matt Stoll 31 yd field goal TAMUK 16–6 4 14:45 ACU Darr. Cantu-Harkless 65 yd run (Morgan Lineberry kick) TAMUK 16–13

Both team enter the game ranked, ACU 9th and Texas A&M-Kingsville 24th, and with 1–0 record. ACU had won 8 straight against Javelinas. The Wildcats were without starting outside linebacker Chris Summers who suffered a right knee injury against McMurry and was out for the season.

Mitchell Gale arguably had his worst game in his college career with only 13 completed passes out of 31 for only 137 yards and his 23-game streak with a least one touchdown throw was snapped. A touchdown and three field goals was enough for Texas A&M-Kingsville to come away from Shotwell Stadium with a victory. This was the first time the Wildcats lost a home game in the regular season since 2009.

Darr. Cantu-Harkless rann for 70 yards in only 4 carries while catching 4 passes for 36 yards.

Tarleton State

Tarleton State vs Abilene Christian

1 2 3 4 Total Texans 14 6 0 11 31 • Wildcats 7 3 14 10 34 Date: September 15 Location: Cowboys Stadium Arlington, TX Game start: 4:00 p.m. Elapsed time: 3:03 Game attendance: 19,134 Game weather: 72 °F (22 °C), Wind: None, Indoors Referee: Dan Rankin; Erick Chapman (Umpire); Brad Morrow (Linesman); Eric Camouche (Line judge); Matt Horn (Back judge); Rory Bernard (Field judge); Jesse Mendoza (Side judge); Daniel Young (Scorer) Sources:

Scoring summary 1 08:37 ACU Charcandrick West 1 yd run (Morgan Lineberry kick) ACU 7–0 1 05:26 TARLETON Jerome Regal 16 yd pass from Aaron Doyle (Blake Barnes kick) 7–7 1 00:27 TARLETON Vaughn Smith 10 yd pass from Aaron Doyle (Blake Barnes kick) TARLETON 14–7 2 12:17 TARLETON Blake Barnes 28 yd field goal TARLETON 17-7 2 04:24 TARLETON Blake Barnes 41 yd field goal TARLETON 20–7 2 01:53 ACU Morgan Lineberry 27 yd field goal TARLETON 20–10 3 08:29 ACU Travis Tarver II 7 yd run (Morgan Lineberry kick) TARLETON 20–17 3 04:03 ACU Taylor Gabriel 6 yd pass from Mitchell Gale (Morgan Lineberry kick) ACU 24–20 4 12:00 ACU Morgan Lineberry 30 yd field goal ACU 27–20 4 09:35 TARLETON Blake Barnes 25 yd field goal ACU 27–23 4 03:12 ACU Taylor Gabriel 16 yd pass from Mitchell Gale (Morgan Lineberry kick) ACU 34–23 4 01:02 TARLETON Aaron Doyle 1 yd run (Will McLane pass from A. Doyle) ACU 34–31

ACU had won six of the last eight meetings between the teams. The Wildcats enter the game 0–1 in the conference and 1-1 overall while Tarleton was still unbeaten after a win on opening day against Midwest State.

Despite being down 10 at half, the Wildcats clawed themselves back into the game and were able to take the lead late in the third quarter thanks to some great puntreturns and kept it for the rest of the game. ACU became only fourth team from the state of Texas to have won both in the Cowboys Stadium and the Cotton bowl. ACU and Gale have the most passing yards of any college teams and players in the Cowboys Stadium and Taylor Gabriel is the leading college wide receiver in the stadium in points (24).

Mitchell Gale was 27 out of 42 for 279 yards and 2 touchdowns. Mitchell Gale rushed for 38 yards in 11 carries and Darian Hogg did catch 8 balls for 67 yards.

Angelo State

Abilene Christian at Angelo State

1 2 3 4 Total Wildcats 9 0 0 14 23 • Rams 7 7 7 7 28 Date: September 22 Location: San Angelo Stadium San Angelo, TX Game start: 6:00 p.m. Elapsed time: 3:10 Game attendance: 7,320 Game weather: 93 °F (34 °C), Wind: SE 5, Clear skies Referee: Dwayne Mckee; Stephen Borgman (Umpire); Brad Morrow (Linesman); Cody Hord (Line judge); Matt Horn (Back judge); Rory Bernard (Field judge); Jesse Mendoza (Side judge); ASU Athletics (Scorer) Sources:

Scoring summary 1 13:16 ACU Demarcus Thompson 33 yd pass from Mitchell Gale (Morgan Lineberry kick failed) ACU 6–0 1 09:21 ACU Morgan Lineberry 32 yd field goal ACU 9–0 1 06:22 ASU Blake Hamblin 1 yd run (Jarred Martin kick) ACU 9–7 2 4:14 ASU Donavan Roberts 8 yd run (Jarred Martin kick) ASU 14-9 3 01:50 ASU Blake Hamblin 3 yd run (Jarred Martin kick) ASU 21–9 4 14:48 ACU Elton Crochran 33 yd pass from Mitchell Gale (Morgan Lineberry kick) ASU 21–16 4 09:11 ASU Joey Knight 13 yd pass from Blake Hamblin (Jarred Martin kick) ASU 28–16 4 07:55 ACU Taylor Gabriel 17 yd pass from Mitchell Gale (Morgan Lineberry kick) ASU 28–23

The first true road trip waited No.19 ACU (2-1) when they visited Angelo State in San Angelo, Texas. ACU had won 9 out 10 last meetings against the Rams.

Abilene Christian was held to only 9 rushing yards the whole game while giving up 7 sacks in the 23–28 loss to Angelo State.

Personnel

Coaching staff

Abilene Christian Wildcats coaches

Head coach Ken Collums Assistant coaches Mike Ribaudo – Linebackers coach Darian Dulin – Defensive coordinator and secondary coach Kendrick Holloway – Wide receivers coach Nathan Young – Running backs coach, quarterbacks coach, recruiting coordinator Sam Collins – offensive line coach

Roster

2012 Abilene Christian Wildcats
Quarterback 12 Malcom Ruben – freshman 14 Parker McKenzie – freshman 15 Mitchell Gale – senior 17 John David Baker – junior Running back 8 Marcel Threat – sophomore 26 Charcandrik West – junior 27 Travis Tarver II– freshman Wide receiver 1 Cade Stone – freshman 4 Taylor Gabriel – junior 6 DeMarcus Thompson – sophomore 16 Drew Peters – sophomore 23 Jace Hudson – freshman 38 Darrel Cantu-Harkless – junior 47 Darian Hogg – junior 82 Monte Green-Avery – freshman 83 Temi Ogunleye – freshman Tight end 19 Jonahtan Parker – sophomore 86 Noah Chesier – sophomore 87 Zack Agnew – sophomore 88 Jamie Walker – freshman		Offensive line 58 Reid Ware – junior 61 Josh Perez – junior 64 Garrett Langthorp – junior 66 Ben Kittley – freshman 70 Blake Spears – junior 74 Tyler McIntosh – sophomore 76 Colton Carnes – sophomore 78 Logan Hoppenrath – sophomore 79 Maxfield Priestley – freshman Defensive line 15 Ryan Smith – senior 33 Rob Boyd – sophomore 54 Kolby Rowe – sophomore 55 Candon Canady – junior 73 Ashton Thomas – sophomore 95 Nick Finney – junior 95 Juan Hull II – freshman 99 Brandon Dornak – sophomore Deep Snapper 40 Brent Schroder – junior Kickers 81 Spencer Covey – senior 85 Morgan Lineberry – senior		Linebacker 2 Chris Summers – sophomore 5 Nick Richardson – sophomore 9 Thor Woerner – junior 14 Jesse Harper – junior 20 Justin Stephens – sophomore 22 Elton Crochran – freshman 36 Cy Wilson – freshman 41 Blake Rudd – sophomore 42 David Guinn – freshman 45 Chuck Oputa – freshman 46 Torren Davis – freshman 51 Avery Alegeh – freshman Defensive back 3 Justin Steward – sophomore 7 L.B. Suggs – senior 18 Vicente Cantu-Harkless – sophomore 21 Angel Lopes – sophomore 24 Eric Frain – junior 25 Mike Wallage – senior 29 Tyler Chapa – freshman 30 Keith Barnett – sophomore 31 Steven Ford – senior 32 Lynn Grady – sophomore 34 Caleb Withrow – junior 43 Dax Riley – sophomore

Weekly awards

Week 1 defensive player of the week: Nick Richardson. He had six sacks against McMurry.

Week 1 honorably mention: Mitchell Gale completed 68 percent of his passes for 290 yards.

Week 3 offensive player of the week: Taylor Gabriel (WR), who had 5 catches for 50 yards and two touchdowns.

Week 3 honorable mention: L.B. Suggs tipped the ball that ended in the first half, preventing Tarleton State being more than 10 points up at the half. He had also a game-high 11 tackles.