THE GAME
>>>      The OUAZ football team returns to the road this weekend as the Spirit visit Waxahachie, Texas, for Saturday's game against Southwestern Assemblies of God University (SAGU).
 
>>>      The Spirit's second road game of the season from Lumpkins Stadium will kickoff at noon CDT / 10 a.m. MST.
 
>>>      SAGU will broadcast the game live on their Livestream channel.
 
>>>      Live stats will be available through DakStats.
 
>>>      Links for all live features are posted at OUAZSpirit.com/live.
 
SPIRIT NOTES
>>>      OUAZ hits the road at 2-2 overall this season and 1-2 in Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC) games. They are 0-1 on the road and haven't played a road game since visiting Langston on September 8.
 
>>>      The Spirit snapped a two-game losing skid with a 51-11 win over Lyon College last Saturday at Spirit Field. In the win, OUAZ gained 551 yards of total offense and held Lyon to 204.
 
>>>      Saturday's game is the second of the team's three road games this season. OUAZ won't travel again this season until the final week of the season when they head to Texas Wesleyan on November 10.
 
>>>      Coming off of Saturday's win, OUAZ moved up four spots to No. 5 in this week's National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) rankings. The team has been as high as No. 4 in the September 10 release.
 
>>>      In his fifth season as a head coach, Mike Nesbitt has a 27-19 all-time record and a 2-2 record at OUAZ.
 
ABOUT SAGU
>>>      SAGU enters Saturday's game with a 2-2 overall record and at 1-1 in SAC play. They had a two-game winning streak snapped with a 35-20 loss at Langston on Saturday.
 
>>>      Saturday's game is the first home game of the season for the Lions. They will play four of their final six games at Lumpkins Stadium.
 
>>>      SAGU is 30th in the NAIA in scoring 30.0 points per game and they account for 228.0 passing yards per outing. The Lions are holding opponents to 28.5 points and 398.3 total yards per game.
 
>>>      In his second season as head coach, Ryan Smith has an overall record of 10-5.
 
WINNING PERFORMANCE
>>>      Three OUAZ players were honored this past week for their performance in the team's win over Lyon on Saturday. The NCCAA named Austin McCullough their Offensive Player of the Week and Kenneth Steele Jr. the Defensive Player of the Week.
 
>>>      The SAC honored Austin Bohn as the league's Special Teams Player of the Week.
 
>>>      The three are the first OUAZ players to win their respective awards in school history.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
>>>      OUAZ is averaging 48.3 points per game this season to lead the SAC and rank sixth in the NAIA. They have scored 50-plus points in three of the four games played.
 
>>>      The Spirit's 359.3 passing yards per game are second-most in the SAC and fourth in the NAIA. They lead the conference with a 191.7 passing efficiency.
 
>>>      OUAZ opponents are scoring 32.8 points per game on 353.8 yards of offense. The Spirit are coming off holding Lyon to just 74 yards passing to lower their season average to 187.0 passing yards per game.
 
>>>      The Spirit had their first game without committing a turnover on Saturday against Lyon. They have a turnover margin of negative-two for the season with five takeaways.
 
>>>      OUAZ has 25 scoring drives on 55 offensive possessions this season. They have punted just 14 times with 11 three-and-outs.
 
>>>      The Spirit have an 80 percent scoring rate on 15 trips to the red zone. All 12 scores have been via a touchdown. In contrast, the opposition is scoring at 83 percent on 18 trips with 13 touchdowns.
 
>>>      OUAZ recorded its third safety of the season on Saturday on a sack. They have also blocked two punts for safeties this year.
 
UNDER CENTER
>>>      Austin McCullough threw for an OUAZ season high 373 yards in the win over Lyon and he matched a season high with four touchdown passes.
 
>>>      McCullough has completed 61.5 percent of his passes for 905 yards and 10 touchdowns this season.
 
>>>      He leads the SAC with a 196.2 passer efficiency while ranking second at 301.7 passing yards per game and third at 296.3 yards of total offense per game.
 
>>>      Jack Graham started the first two games of the season and threw for 532 yards and eight touchdowns.
 
>>>      He suffered an injury late in the first half at Langston and hasn't played since.
 
CARRY THE ROCK
>>>      Shamar Moreland heads to Texas as the OUAZ rushing leader with 215 yards on 27 carries. He is averaging 8.0 yards per run and has scored four touchdowns.
 
>>>      Moreland's total is bolstered by his 91-yard touchdown run on the team's only play of the fourth quarter in Saturday's win.
 
>>>      Moreland ran for 115 yards against Lyon to record the first 100-yard rushing game in school history.
 
>>>      Marcelous Chester-Riley leads OUAZ with 43 rushing attempts and is second with 194 yards. He averages 4.5 yards per rush with three touchdowns.
 
>>>      Chester-Riley also leads the Spirit with 15 catches that have gone for 192 yards and three scores.
 
>>>      His 36 points scored is tied for second in the SAC and 23rd in the NAIA.
 
>>>      Joshua Vizcaya has 26 carries for 87 yards.
 
CATCH THE ROCK
>>>      Brandon McLaughlin has a team-high 341 yards receiving and six touchdowns. He has 12 receptions and made multiple catches in all four games.
 
>>>      McLaughlin has two 100-yard receiving games this season and had two scoring catches in each of the past two outings.
 
>>>      He is fourth in the SAC in total receiving yards and sixth at 85.3 yards per game.
 
>>>      Jeremiah Greylock is at 10 catches for 176 yards and three touchdowns.
 
>>>      Greylock averages 17.6 yards per reception and has one 100-yard game.
 
>>>      Ray Springer is second on the team with 232 yards receiving. He has made nine catches and scored two touchdowns.
 
DEFENSIVE NOTES
>>>      Da'Shawn Holcombe has made a team-high 36 tackles while also leading all Spirit players with 20 solo tackles and 16 assisted tackles.
 
>>>      Holcombe has twice made double-digit tackles this season, including a 15 tackles performance at Langston.
 
>>>      His 9.0 tackles per game is tied for third in the SAC and 34th in the NAIA.
 
>>>      Kenneth Steele Jr. has 30 total tackles – 17 solo – and he has added 13 tackles-for-loss for 62 lost yards.
 
>>>      Steele added two more sacks against Lyon and now has 8.5 on the year accounting for 55 lost yards.
 
>>>      He currently leads the NAIA in sacks and tackles-for-loss while rankings second in sacks per game and TFLs per game.
 
SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES
>>>      John Williams has converted 25 of 27 PAT attempts with one blocked. He enters the week having made 18 straight PAT attempts. His 25 points scored kicking rank second in the SAC and 24th in the NAIA.
 
>>>      Austin Bohn leads the NAIA with a punt average of 52.9 yards per punt. He punted four times against Lyon for 62.2 yards, including a 74-yard punt to the 4-yardline and a 78-yard punt that is the third-longest punt in the NAIA this season.
 
>>>      Moreland leads the SAC and ranks fifth in the country by averaging 30.7 yards per kickoff return. He has taken on kickoff back for a touchdown.
 
>>>      Moreland also leads the conference and is third in the NAIA with his 19.3 yards per punt return.
 
>>>      With 859 all-purpose yards, Moreland leads the SAC and is third in the nation.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
>>>      OUAZ returns to Spirit Field next week when crosstown rival – and national ranked – Arizona Christian comes to Surprise. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. with gates opening at 6 p.m. Ticket information is available by visiting OUAZSpirit.com/tickets.