Senior defensive back Yusef Sterling-Lowe is noticeably pacing the aisle of the plane shortly before takeoff. He’s trying to figure out how to get seating in the first-class section of the team’s chartered flight. As you can imagine these coveted seats are especially popular but left tackle Jared Machorro is seated comfortably in the first row.
It’s a bitterly chilly evening, “I’m ready to go back to God’s country!” a cheerleader proclaims while the plane boards at a desolate regional airport in Wisconsin.
The atmosphere on the plane is a mixture of elation and restlessness. This is Texas A&M-Commerce’s first playoff road win since 1990. The weather didn’t faze the Lions. Despite the kickoff temperature at 41 degrees with a wind speed of 14 mph, the No. 5-seed Lions topped No. 4-seed Winona State, 20-6. The team, staff and cheerleaders were more than happy to head home to warmer weather after the win.
Machorro led his offensive line, seeing two touchdowns in a five minute span in the first quarter, both by tight end Vincent Hobbs. Those would be their only touchdowns of the game.
“We just focused on being efficient on offense, and defense shut them out to just 6 points while they average almost 40 points per game,” said Lions quarterback Luis Perez. The Lion defense limited the Warriors to 227 yards and six points. WSU came into the game averaging 35.8 points per game.
Running back Carandal Hale had a tough first half only racking up 28 yards, but finished with a new career-high 106 yards rushing with 23 carries. He sealed the win after going up the left side for 33 yards on third-and-10 in the remaining minutes of the fourth quarter.
“You know it’s a good year when you’re practicing on Thanksgiving morning,” said Lions Head Coach Colby Carthel.
The Lions advance to the Super Region Four semifinal round for the second consecutive season with a record of 10-1. In the second round of playoffs the Lions head west to take on undefeated Central Washington (11-0), Saturday November 25.
East Texas State alumnus Autry Beamon had the opportunity to visit while the Lions were in town. He played cornerback in the NFL for seven seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, Seattle Seahawks, and Cleveland Browns; including Super Bowl XI with the Vikings. To this day, Beamon remains the only player in Lion history to be named a four-time first team All-LSC selection. Beamon was a three-time Associated Press All-American, earning first team honors in 1973, while being named a four-time NAIA All-American, including first team recognition in 1973 and 1974. He concluded his career with 30 interceptions, which ranks first all-time in school history as well as among the LSC leaders, while his 535 interception return yards remains a conference career record to this day. Beamon also holds the LSC record for interception return yardage in a single game (122) and season (318). During his four seasons, Beamon helped lead the Lions to the conference championship in 1972, and played a critical role in helping East Texas State to the 1972 NAIA national championship.