DARN!

Though the game didn't end like we wanted, this picture shows our coaching staff and players enjoying a first-quarter touchdown. And though there were opportunities to knock off No. 20 Trinity Saturday, there's plenty to celebrate. Remember that last year's team was throttled by Trinity 48-18 in the season opener. So the fact that McMurry held the lead going into the fourth quarter and had the NCAA Division III power scrambling to find a way to beat us is a very positive sign for the both the near and distant future under the new regime of Hal Mumme and his staff.

When I first got back on board at McMurry this past summer, one of the first articles I wrote is about how McMurry's passing records would immediately begin to fall. My crystal ball was right, or we could just credit the incredible offensive scheme that is the Air Raid. Sophomore quarterback Jake Mullin had some rough patches being that it was his first organized football game since 2006 when he was a senior in high school. However, his positives outweighed his negatives. He set the single-game passing record at McMurry for yards (479) and completions (35). Mullin passed Braxton Shaver in both cases; Shaver had 410 yards on 33 completions Oct. 3, 1998 vs. Mary Hardin-Baylor. More tomorrow, I'm tired.

Check out the game story
Check out a taste of the incredible photos by Brian Schmidt.

Stay tuned ...
--KR

What a half!

All things considered, we're pretty happy campers in the press box at halftime. Thanks to Brian Schmidt to the great picture of Gene Hudson's interception. Mullin has 201 passing yards and Marcus Franklin has 81 yards receiving at half. We had a couple of missed opportunities and Trinity did as well. It will be up to coaches now to see who makes the best adjustments.

McMurry trails 10-7 to nationally-ranked Trinity, the second half to come

Stay tuned ...
--KR

A little help for our fans ...

• I wanted to give McMurry fans one more push to join us by following @mcmsports on Twitter. You must first set up an account on Twittter. Once you have that set up, go to http://twitter.com/mcmsports. Click the follow button. Then, you must go to your own home page, select settings and turn on your mobile device. Then once your mobile device is ready, you have to turn mobile updates on for McMurry sports. Then, every time I update the twitter page, you will instantaneously get a text to you cell phone. This will be especially useful when I report scores on site.

• To watch the McMurry Athletics video / audio webcasts. You must sign up to be a McMurry Insider on the web site. From the athletics home page, scroll over the “For Fans” tab and select “Live Audio / Video.” That link will take you to the SideArmSports page for McMurry. To sign up ($4.99 per game, $10.95 per month, $69.99 per year) you must click the “Sign in / Register” button on the top right-hand corner of the page. If you have already signed up, you need just to sign in with your user name and password. However, if you have not signed up yet, you will need to click on the word “Register” which is grayed out to the right of “Sign In.” From there you can put in your information and your credit card information. IF YOU HAVE TROUBLE, return to the SideArmSports Home page and look in the lower right-hand corner for the “Tech Support” button. ICS, the company that hosts the audio / video has said that there should be someone on call to answer your emails if you have trouble. IF AT ALL POSSIBLE, please use ICS as your source of tech support for the McMurry Insider. However, if you get no response, feel free to email me: robarts.kyle@gmail.com.

• The Abilene Reporter News has stepped up their game on local coverage this year. A lot of it has to do with the extra-local emphasis that new sports editor Greg Jaklewicz has placed on his staff. Also kudos to Sam Waller, McMury’s beat writer, for his work this school year so far. Here is the link to the Abilene Reporter News Sports Page to read up on McMurry.

Senior Diary: Kat Alonso and the women's team get started this week

As we got through the first week of school and got into the mix of playing our first two games we definetly grew a lot as a team. Our game against Cisco on Friday was cancelled due to injuries, so a weekend of rest was pretty nice. Our last few sessions we have been focusing a lot on fitness and again touching up on our basics. Everything seems to be falling together and as a small team were learning a lot about each other. We are down to our last two games before conference play starts, Thursday against Wayland Baptist in Plainview, which will be our first away trip together. Then, we'll play the University of the Southwest on Saturday here at home at 1 p.m. Although there is room for improvement and we have a lot more growing to do, the season is definitely looking up and were all excited to be a part of the team this year.

--Kathy Alonso

It's finally here ...

The McMurry Athletics 2009-2010 season is finally underway after Tuesday's Cross Country Twilight Relays. Check out the story from the first official event of the year. With the story link, you can also view a small photo gallery (unfortunately with the sun going down, I was only able to capture a few photos that were usable), also get the entire results. Carla Lewis and Alaisha Guerra teamed up to win the women's 2X2-mile relay and Todd Neer and Brad Mullens placed second in the men's 2X5K relay. Enjoy the YouTube highlights below:

Yesterday's Press Conference Video

Press conference video available tomorrow, Sports OT NOT archived

Unfortunately, something happened and tonight's sports overtime show did not archive on our local computers, so we will be unable to post this week's show. I thought it went very well, and Ken Wheeler and Gavan Bass did an excellent job as our student-athlete interviews. Greg Harrod talked season tickets for football and Operation Maroon Pride, Chase Holbrook talked about his perspective of the Air Raid Offense both as a player and a coach, and Greg Weghorst gave us the Weekly Report. If ANYONE was able to hear the show live via the Internet link, please let me know by commenting in the comments box on this page, or by emailing me. It will help me with technical issues so we can avoid this again in the future.

We asked a trivia question and gave away two season ticket packages to a man named Joe, who in turn, directly donated the tickets back to the program for Maroon Pride, which I thought was a nice gesture.

If any fans out there want to send the Dyess AFB military personnel along with their immediate families to McMurry's home football games this season, please click here and donate $30 per season ticket package.

The YouTube video didn't upload correctly as well, so I really had a case of the Mondays today. I will try to have it posted by the lunch hour tomorrow.

Stay tuned ...
--KR

Gavan Bass, Ken Wheeler, Chase Holbrook, Hal Mumme, David Chandler, Greg Harrod all involved in this week's media day.

Don't forget to tune into Sports Overtime tonight Live at 6 p.m. CST. If you miss it, we'll have an archived copy posted Tuesday. Hal Mumme, Gavan Bass, David Chandler and Ken Wheeler will represent football and cross country respectively at the weekly press conference at 2 p.m. Then, at 6 p.m. on ESPN Radio 1560 AM KZQQ tune in for interviews with Greg Weghorst (ASC office), Chase Holbrook (running backs coach and former QB under Hal Mumme), Gavan Bass (sophomore cornerback), Ken Wheeler (Senior men's runner for cross country), and Greg Harrod (Director of Football Operations).

Click Here to Listen Live.

Senior Diary: Danielle Kelton sees the mix of old and new coming together in final week before the volleyball season

As the weeks pass to our first game I am becoming more and more confident in our team this year. Last year we had a very good team and we lost several crucial players. They were not just great players, but they brought enthusiasm, encouragement, and positivity to the team. It was sad for several of us not to have them around, and I would catch myself looking for them. I am so excited to get to know each one of the new girls. With, having so many new players, it is best to know them not only on the court but off the court as well. This year we all want to be united on and off the court. We try to eat together and hangout whenever we can. I believe that being united off the court will come natural when we are on the court. This week, the newcomers really opened up, and they are beginning to fit in well with us. They bring that extra excitement and positivity to the team. There is great talent all the way around on this team. I have no worries that if someone has to come in off the bench, that the level of play will decrease a single bit. We have depth and I love it! We have our first games this coming weekend September 4th and 5th in Sherman. I absolutely can’t wait to put everything together in an actual game.

--Danielle Kelton