Posted: Feb 05, 2021
Texas Lutheran Football picked to finish as ASC West runner-up
RICHARDSON, Texas -- Texas Lutheran Football, coming off a program-best runner-up finish in the American Southwest Conference in 2019, is picked to finish as the 2020-21 runner-up in the ASC Football West Division race.
Mary Hardin-Baylor and Hardin-Simmons have been picked to win the 2020-21 ASC Football East and West Divisions, respectively, after a vote of the league's head coaches and directors of sports information, the ASC office announced on Friday.
TLU posted an 8-2 overall record and an 8-1 conference mark in 2019. The Bulldogs played for the ASC Championship in a regular-season showdown at Mary Hardin-Baylor on Nov. 9, 2019. The Bulldogs defeated then No. 6 Hardin-Simmons 38-27 in Abilene on Oct. 5, 2019.
Texas Lutheran has finished among the top three in the ASC Football standings in each of the last three seasons. Since coming over from the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference when the conference's football league disbanded, TLU Football has registered an ASC record of 20-7 with an overall mark of 21-9.
TLU has produced 24 ASC All-Conference players. In 2018, place-kicker Juan Ocampo was named the 2018 ASC Freshman of the Year, and recently retired head coach Carl Gustafson earned ASC Coach of the Year twice (in 2017 and 2019).
As a member of the ASC, TLU has had four All-America picks – guard Alejandro Briseno in 2017, safety James Bell in 2019, offensive lineman Garrett Garza in 2019, and defensive lineman Manny Longoria in 2019.
Bell, a senior free safety from Houston, and Ocampo, a junior place-kicker from Lockhart, Texas, are listed as "Players to Watch" in the ASC this season.
Bell will start at free safety for a fourth consecutive season with the Bulldogs. The Houston Lamar product was named to Dave Campbell's Texas Football Small College Preseason Team, and he was named to the Draft Diamond Texas Small College NFL Draft Prospects list. Bell was ranked as the 51st-best free safety and as the No. 2 free safety in NCAA Division III.
In 2019, Bell was a Second Team All-America pick by D3football.com and earned First Team All-ASC honors and D3football.com All-South Region honors for a third consecutive season. Bell racked up 48 tackles with an interception and a half-sack last season. In his career, Bell has 11 career interceptions, 156 total tackles, nine pass break-ups, and one interception returned for a touchdown.
Ocampo starts his third year with the Bulldogs. He has started every game at kicker for the last two years. The biochemistry major has made 16 of his 24 field goal attempts and 85 of his 89 extra-point attempts.
In 2018, when he was the ASC Freshman of the Year, a First Team All-ASC selection and an All-South Region First Team choice, Ocampo went the entire season without missing a kick. He was one of three kickers in DIII that year to go without a miss of any type (either field goal or extra-point). He was 8-for-8 on field goals and 45-for-45 on extra-points. In 2019, he made eight of his 16 field goal attempts, and he was 40-for-44 on extra-points. For his career, he has scored 133 points and has a long field goal of 44.
HSU junior wide receiver Kevi Evans was voted as the Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, while UMHB senior defensive back Jefferson Fritz was selected as the Preseason Defensive Player of the Year. Cru junior kicker/punter Anthony Avila earned Preseason Special Teams Player of the Year honors.
Mary Hardin-Baylor (12-1 / 9-0 ASC) received 99 points in the preseason poll and recorded 19 out of a possible 20 first-place votes. The Cru are the defending ASC champions, reaching the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division III Championship in 2019.
Hardin-Simmons (8-2 / 7-2 ASC) received 93 points, including 17 first-place votes. HSU has finished no lower than fourth in the league standings in each of the last 24 seasons. The Cowboys were third in the league in 2019.
East Texas Baptist was picked second in the East Division with 79 points and one first-place vote. They were followed by Southwestern (53), Belhaven (36) and Louisiana College (32).
TLU was picked second in the West with 80 points and three first-place votes. Rounding out the West were Howard Payne (52), Sul Ross State (40) and McMurry (31).
Evans (Mount Vernon, Texas) was second in the conference last season with 889 yards and 10 receiving touchdowns. He averaged 21.7 yards per catch and was a First Team All-ASC selection.
Fritz (Kaufman, Texas) holds the ASC record for career interceptions and was the 2018 Defensive Player of the Year. In 2019, Fritz was an All-Conference First Team pick at both defensive back and punter. He recorded 44 tackles, three for a loss and had three interceptions for 52 yard and a touchdown last season.
Avila (Troy, Texas) was the 2019 ASC Special Teams Player of the Year, an AP All-America First Team and D3football.com All-America Third Team selection. He broke the ASC single-season record with 23 field goals and was 64-of-69 on extra points for 133 total points.
Due to the shortened spring season, the ASC will be divided into football divisions for the first time in league history. Teams will play a four-game divisional schedule, followed by a championship day of the first place teams playing each other, the second place teams, third, fourth and fifths as well.
The 2020-21 season gets underway Saturday. The Bulldogs play Howard Payne at Brownwood's Gordon Wood Stadium on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
HSU junior wide receiver Kevi Evans was voted as the Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, while UMHB senior defensive back Jefferson Fritz was selected as the Preseason Defensive Player of the Year. Cru junior kicker/punter Anthony Avila earned Preseason Special Teams Player of the Year honors.
Mary Hardin-Baylor (12-1 / 9-0 ASC) received 99 points in the preseason poll and recorded 19 out of a possible 20 first-place votes. The Cru are the defending ASC champions, reaching the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division III Championship in 2019.
Hardin-Simmons (8-2 / 7-2 ASC) received 93 points, including 17 first-place votes. HSU has finished no lower than fourth in the league standings in each of the last 24 seasons. The Cowboys were third in the league in 2019.
East Texas Baptist was picked second in the East Division with 79 points and one first-place vote. They were followed by Southwestern (53), Belhaven (36) and Louisiana College (32).
TLU was picked second in the West with 80 points and three first-place votes. Rounding out the West were Howard Payne (52), Sul Ross State (40) and McMurry (31).
Evans (Mount Vernon, Texas) was second in the conference last season with 889 yards and 10 receiving touchdowns. He averaged 21.7 yards per catch and was a First Team All-ASC selection.
Fritz (Kaufman, Texas) holds the ASC record for career interceptions and was the 2018 Defensive Player of the Year. In 2019, Fritz was an All-Conference First Team pick at both defensive back and punter. He recorded 44 tackles, three for a loss and had three interceptions for 52 yard and a touchdown last season.
Avila (Troy, Texas) was the 2019 ASC Special Teams Player of the Year, an AP All-America First Team and D3football.com All-America Third Team selection. He broke the ASC single-season record with 23 field goals and was 64-of-69 on extra points for 133 total points.
Due to the shortened spring season, the ASC will be divided into football divisions for the first time in league history. Teams will play a four-game divisional schedule, followed by a championship day of the first place teams playing each other, the second place teams, third, fourth and fifths as well.
The 2020-21 season gets underway Saturday. The Bulldogs play Howard Payne at Brownwood's Gordon Wood Stadium on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
The ASC Football Championship Series will be played on March 13.
Wilson is the official football of American Southwest Conference.
2020-21 ASC Preseason Football Poll
East Division
West Division
2020-21 ASC Preseason Players of the Year
Offense: Kevi Evans, WR, Jr., Hardin-Simmons
Defense: Jefferson Fritz, DB, Sr., Mary Hardin-Baylor
Special Teams: Anthony Avila, K/P, Jr., Mary Hardin-Baylor
2020-21 Players to Watch
S - 2019 Special Teams Player of the Year
* - 2019 All-Conference
Wilson is the official football of American Southwest Conference.
2020-21 ASC Preseason Football Poll
East Division
| Team (First) | Votes | 2019 Record |
| 1. Mary Hardin-Baylor (19) | 99 | 12-1 (9-0) |
| 2. East Texas Baptist (1) | 79 | 6-4 (6-3) |
| 3. Southwestern | 53 | 4-6 (3-6) |
| 4. Belhaven | 36 | 2-8 (2-7) |
| 5. Louisiana College | 32 | 3-7 (3-6) |
West Division
| Team (First) | Votes | 2019 Record |
| 1. Hardin-Simmons (17) | 93 | 8-2 (7-2) |
| 2. Texas Lutheran (3) | 80 | 8-2 (8-1) |
| 3. Howard Payne | 52 | 5-5 (4-5) |
| 4. Sul Ross State | 40 | 3-7 (3-6) |
| 5. McMurry | 31 | 0-10 (0-9) |
2020-21 ASC Preseason Players of the Year
Offense: Kevi Evans, WR, Jr., Hardin-Simmons
Defense: Jefferson Fritz, DB, Sr., Mary Hardin-Baylor
Special Teams: Anthony Avila, K/P, Jr., Mary Hardin-Baylor
2020-21 Players to Watch
| Name | Pos. | Cl. | Team | Hometown |
| Anthony Avila * S | K/P | Jr. | Mary Hardin-Baylor | Troy, Texas |
| James Bell * | S | Sr. | Texas Lutheran | Houston, Texas |
| Ben Brockman | LB | Sr. | Southwestern | Midland, Texas |
| Kevi Evans * | WR | Jr. | Hardin-Simmons | Mount Vernon, Texas |
| Jefferson Fritz * | DB | Sr. | Mary Hardin-Baylor | Kaufman, Texas |
| Alberto Garcia | K | So. | East Texas Baptist | Huntsville, Texas |
| Kyle Jones | QB | Sr. | Hardin-Simmons | Giddings, Texas |
| Malik Mason | S | Gr. | East Texas Baptist | Anna, Texas |
| K.J. Miller | WR | Jr. | Mary Hardin-Baylor | Orange, Texas |
| Rae Millsap | RS | Jr. | Hardin-Simmons | Abilene, Texas |
| Juan Ocampo * | K | Jr. | Texas Lutheran | Lockhart, Texas |
| Jamie Pogue * | K | Sr. | Hardin-Simmons | Abilene, Texas |
| E'Monte Smith * | DE | Sr. | Mary Hardin-Baylor | Austin, Texas |
| Cory Stang * | C | Jr. | East Texas Baptist | Magnolia, Texas |
S - 2019 Special Teams Player of the Year
* - 2019 All-Conference