When the current group of Austin College seniors finished up their first season as Kangaroos, the team was limping to an 0-10 record, including an 0-6 mark in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference. Four years later, the seniors will be playing their final game in Jerry Apple Stadium with a chance to clinch at least a share of the SCAC Championship.
Saturday is Senior Day for the Austin College football program, and it serves as the culmination of a drastic turnaround and rebuilding effort that's been spearheaded by this group of senior leaders. Over the last four seasons they've gone 0-10, 2-8, and last year were 5-5, and the rapid improvement has continued this year as the team sits at 5-3 with two games left in the season.
The two games still on the schedule are daunting, with No. 22-ranked Texas Lutheran coming to Sherman on Saturday before the 'Roos close out the season with a road game at Trinity on November 15. Trinity may be down this year, but even at 2-6 they present a tough matchup, having nearly knocked off TLU just last week.
This weekend the 'Roos will be taking the field for what amounts to the biggest game of the season, and for this year's senior class it is a chance to leave a lasting legacy by delivering at least a shared conference championship. Since joining the SCAC for the 2006-2007 academic year, Austin College has one conference championship with a baseball crown in 2007. That the football team has a chance to take the field on Saturday and possibly deliver the college's second SCAC championship speaks volumes about the work put in by the coaching staff and this senior class.
Saturday will be a difficult game for Austin College, with the high-powered Bulldog offense proving to be one of the most potent in the nation throughout the year. The Bulldogs are led by running back Marquis Barrolle, a 5-foot-4 water bug who is currently second in all of NCAA Division III with 1,327 rushing yards and leads the SCAC with 13 touchdowns.
Still, the 'Roos will counter with their own strong rushing attack, and in fact on Saturday at Apple Stadium the three top rushers in the SCAC will all be on the field. Austin College junior Madison Ross ranks second in the SCAC with 779 yards, and is just ahead of Barrolle for the top spot in yards-per-carry, gaining 6.2 every time he touches the ball. Bryce Murphy, one of the key members of this year's senior class, is third in the SCAC in rushing yards with 480 despite missing two games to injury.
But neither team is limited to what their ground games can produce, as Saturday's game will also feature the top two quarterbacks in the SCAC in TLU's Trenton White and Austin College's Noah Jesko. White enters the game with 1,933 passing yards and 17 touchdowns, while Jesko is second to White in the SCAC in both categories with 1,552 yards and 12 scores. Jesko, a senior and four year starter, will be throwing to a variety of receivers including fellow senior Kyle Crawford, who leads the SCAC in receptions and yards from his tight end position.
The last three meetings between the 'Roos and Bulldogs have gone in TLU's favor, including a 45-12 decision in 2013. Austin College last topped the Bulldogs during the 2010 campaign, besting Texas Lutheran 20-14 in the second week of the season, a year before any members of the current Austin College senior class were on campus.
Make no mistake, when the Bulldogs and 'Roos take the field at Apple Stadium on Saturday the stakes will be high. Four years ago, coming off of that 0-10 season not many would have thought it possible for Austin College to so quickly be in a position to challenge for a conference championship. For Texas Lutheran, it's a chance to secure a second straight crown. However the game plays out, it has all the makings of one of the most exciting, and potentially monumental games in recent Kangaroo football history.
Senior Day recognition begins at 12:40 p.m., with kickoff set for 1:00 p.m.
Austin College athletic teams participate as a member of the NCAA Division III and the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference.