CLEVELAND, Miss. – The No. 8 Texas A&M Commerce football team scored 17 first quarter points and held on for a 40-28 victory over the Delta State University Statesmen on Saturday, at Parker Field-McCool Stadium. The win was the first for the Lions in Cleveland in series history.
 
The Basics

• Score: No. 8 Texas A&M Commerce 40, Delta State 28
• Records: Lions (2-0), Statesmen (1-1)
• Date: Saturday, Sept. 10 | 6:00 p.m. (CT) Kickoff
• Location: Parker Field-McCool Stadium | Cleveland, Miss.
• Series: Lions lead 4-3.

How It Happened
 
Offense:

• After converting a 3rd-and-11 from their own 23, Kristov Martinez nailed a 38-yard field goal with 11:10 left in the opening quarter to give the visitors a 3-0 lead.
• On the first Delta State possession, Hatari Byrd intercepted a tipped pass, and returned it to the nine-yard line. On the ensuing play, Richard Cooper raced into the end zone. The extra point gave the Lions a 10-0 lead with 10:02 remaining in the first quarter.
• The Statesmen scored their first touchdown of the game when Timothy Foy recovered Chris Robinson's fumble in the end zone. Cody Mills converted the extra point, making the score 10-7 with 8:12 left in the first quarter.   
• Cooper scored his second touchdown of the first quarter when went crashed in from eight yards out. The extra point gave Commerce a 17-7 lead with 6:38 left in the opening 15 minutes.
• Robinson scored the first of his two first half touchdowns with a one yard plunge on fourth and goal. The extra point made the score 17-14 with 1:39 left in the first quarter.
• Robinson gave DSU its only lead of the contest on a two-yard run. The extra point gave DSU a 21-17 lead with 8:45 left in the first half.
• The Lions responded just 1:35 later with a 66-yard touchdown pass from Luis Perez to Lance Evans. Martinez' extra point gave the visitors a 24-21 lead at the end of the first half.
• Commerce opened the scoring in the second half on a three-yard run from Gabriel Martinez. The extra point gave the Lions a 31-21 lead with 9:38 left in the third quarter.
• Following a Tyler Sullivan interception by D.J. White, Martinez knocked home his second field goal of the game, pushing the visitors lead to 34-21 with five seconds remaining in the third quarter.
• The Lions scored their final touchdown of the game with 9:44 remaining when Buck Wilson hauled in a 15-yard pass from Perez. The two-point conversion failed, making the score 40-21 with 9:44 remaining.
• DSU scored the final touchdown of the game with 3:39 left when Foy found the end zone from five yards out. The Statesmen recovered the onside kick, but were unable to achieve a first down.  

Defense:

• De'Quan Reddick led DSU with eight tackles, including six solo stops.
• Jaterrian Wren led the defensive line with two tackles for loss.

 
Special Teams:

• Mills punted four times for a 43.8 average.
• Hector Dominguez helped the Lions with four punts for an average of 42 yards.

 Key Stats:

• Despite running 18 more plays (82-64), the Statesmen were outgained 471-397.
• The Statesmen had 30 carries for 122 yards, while the visitors rushed 41 times for 149 yards.  

 
Game Changer

• The Lions turned three turnovers into 10 points.

 
Notables

• With his two rushing touchdowns, Robinson now has five for the season.
• The Statesmen suffered their first home non-conference loss since a 34-28 setback to Abilene Christian on Sept. 27.

 
 Up Next

The Statesmen travel to No. 2 University of West Georgia for their first Gulf South Conference contest of the season. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. CT.