Former Sandcrab finding footing at Texas A&M-Kingsville
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Tyler McAfee
Tyler McAfee's role on the football field has changed since playing for Calhoun, but his goal at Texas A&M-Kingsville is the same as it was his senior season in Port Lavaca.
McAfee, a redshirt sophomore in Kingsville, was the Sandcrabs quarterback in 2006 and led the team to their first playoff appearance in 45 seasons. The Javelinas, who are 6-0 and ranked No. 7 in the D2Football.com poll, have not made the playoffs since 2004. Now, in his second season at TAMUK, McAfee wants to be a part of stopping another playoff drought.
"It's really something special to be a part of this," McAfee said. "Any time you go from an average season to a great year, it's a lot of fun. Our confidence is really high and we feel like we're unbeatable as a unit. We're going out and working hard everyday in practice and have come out and played great in our games."
McAfee originally started his collegiate career at Nicholls State but decided to move back to South Texas to be closer to his family. At Calhoun, McAfee ran the show from the quarterback position. He rushed for 42 touchdowns and 2,334 yards as a senior, including an eight-touchdown performance in the Sandcrabs' 76-47 Class 4A, Division II bi-district win over Uvalde.
Three years later, McAfee is now a role player for the Javelinas. He comes into the game on special teams and on double tight end packages and is adjusting to the changes.
"That's part of going from high school to college," said McAfee, who had two tackles on special teams in the Javelinas' 34-20 win over Tarleton State last Saturday. "Everyone here is a great athlete. I've adjusting to it and understand the process.
"Playing quarterback it's in your hands all the time so it's different. You're the one out there deciding what's going on. Playing at another position, the biggest adjustment I've had is reacting off of someone else. It's been nice here so far."
The Javelinas return to action at 2 p.m. at Texas A&M-Commerce on Saturday.
Lauren Alkek (Memorial) played all 90 minutes in Oklahoma's 3-1 loss to Texas Tech on Sunday. Alkek and the Sooners are now 6-6-1 on the season going into Ames, Iowa to face Iowa State on Friday.
Caleb Urban (Memorial) ran for a 49-yard touchdown and caught a 62-yard touchdown in Trinity's 41-14 win over Birmingham-Southern on Saturday. Chris Baer (Shiner) ran for 86 yards on 13 carries and Dennis Grebe (Bay City) had five tackles in the Trinity victory.
Kyle Noack (Cuero) was 5-for-6 passing for 64 yards and a touchdown in Mary Hardin-Baylor's 23-7 win over Hardin-Simmons. Da'Marcus Griggs (Bay City) caught six passes in Texas State's 38-16 loss at Southern Utah on Saturday. Aaron Buckley (Palacios) and Kier Wells (St. Joseph) each had solo tackles in Texas A&M-Kingsville's 34-20 win over Tarleton State. Hank Gilley (St. Joseph) helped lead Midwestern State to 386 offensive yards and a 31-19 win over West Texas A&M from his offensive line position on Saturday. Brandon Brinkley (Bay City) recorded eight tackles in Houston's 58-41 loss to the University of Texas at El Paso on Saturday. The loss drops the Cougars to 3-1 on the season. Michael Smith (Bay City) had two tackles in Rice's 27-10 loss to Tulsa. Anthony Smith (Bay City) caught a touchdown pass and ran for 67 yards on 16 carries in Texas Lutheran's 45-23 loss to Howard Payne. Trey Parma (Yorktown) had three tackles in the TLU defeat.
Jess Morris (Goliad) recorded six kills and seven digs to help lead Texas A&M-Kingsville to a sweep of St. Mary's University on Saturday. Haley Phillips (Calhoun) contributed 11 assists and four digs in Concordia's sweep of Sul Ross State University on Monday.
