Football | 10/15/2014 1:38:00 PM

Wednesday, October 08, 2014
                                                                                                                
PORTALES, N.M. — With the season winding down, the Eastern New Mexico University football team (4-2; LSC 2-2) has three games remaining, until the two-game Lone Star Conference playoffs. This week, the Hounds will host 2013 Lone Star Conference Co-Champion, Tarleton State (2-3; LSC 2-2). The contest will be part of Eastern's Cannon Air Force base Appreciation day and Think Pink Day. The event is sponsored by Big Valley Auto.
 
LSC Notes

LSC Website
LSC Schedule
2013 Standings
2014 Statistics
 
After six weeks of play, LSC teams are 11-9 at home and 10-8 on the road. Last week, Texas A&M-Commerce held on to the top spot in the standings with a 41-40 win at Angelo State. Tarleton State hosted Texas A&M-Kingsville and earned an 80-14 win, while Midwestern State dropped a 34-13 decision at West Texas A&M.
 
Home Sweet Home
ENMU Website
ENMU Football
ENMU Roster
ENMU Schedule
ENMU 2014 Statistics

The Greyhounds have won four of their last five home games and are 6-5 at Greyhound Stadium under Head Coach Josh Lynn. At home in 2014, Eastern is outrushing the opposition by a 345-27 yards per game average.
 
Jeremy Buurma (R-Jr., QB, Las Cruces, N.M./Las Cruces HS) has thrown for 338 yards and two touchdowns at Greyhound Stadium this season, while E'lon Spight (Sr., FB, St. Louis, Mo. / Hazelwood East HS / Grossmont College) has rushed for 189 yards.
 
On the Run
 
E'lon Spight was the LSC Offensive Player of the Week after rushing for 189 yards and four touchdowns on just 27 carries against McMurry. He is just the sixth player since 1998 to have four rushing touchdowns in a game.
 
The Hounds rushed for 290 yards against Texas A&M-Kingsville. Jacob Johnson (R-Sr., Idalou, Texas/Idalou HS) had another huge game with 110 yards and a touchdown on just three catches. His 75-yard scoring grab was the longest of his career.
 
Jacob Johnson caught eight of the nine passes completed by Eastern against Texas A&M-Commerce for 159 yards and two touchdowns. Three Greyhounds rushed for at least 50 yards: Jordan Wells (Sr., RB, Austin, Texas/Round Rock HS/Southeastern Louisiana) (94), Andrew Lopez (R-So., RB, Artesia, N.M./Artesia HS) (73) and Spight (51).
 
Buurma had a five-game streak with at least one touchdown pass, snapped against Midwestern State. The Mustangs also snapped his streak of 82 consecutive pass attempts without an interception.
 
Against Adams State, the Hounds rolled up 608 yards of total offense, the highest total since September 19, 2009 (736) in a 76-56 win over Texas A&M-Commerce. Eastern's 442 rushing yards marked the first 400-yard game on the ground since September 15, 2007 against Easter Central (488 yards). Spight continued to spark the offense with 142 rushing yards, with included 125 yards on 24 carries in the first half. Aaron Johnson (So., WR, Colorado Springs, Colo./Vista Ridge HS) hauled in a pair of touchdown passes.
 
Jacob Johnson turned in a career game at New Mexico Highlands, with three touchdowns and 178 yards on just four catches. He posted the first two scores of the game on receptions of 22 and 69 yards and added a third, late in the half on a 49-yard grab. Over the last two games, he has five touchdown catches.
 
Spight crossed the century mark, with 144 yards rushing on 28 carries with a touchdown.
 
The Defense Doesn't Rest
 
Seth Bailey (R-Sr., LB, Texico, N.M./Texico HS) registered the first pick six of the season, at McMurry. He also had seven tackles with 2.5 for a loss, a sack, batted down two passes and had a QB pressure.
 
The defense turned in a dominant performance at Texas A&M-Kingsville and limited the Javelinas to five plays or less on 10 of their 13 possessions. The 31-0 shutout marked the first time ENMU blanked an opponent since the 2007 finale at Oklahoma Panhandle and the first LSC shutout since Southwestern Oklahoma in 2005.
 
The Greyhound defense limited Texas A&M-Commerce to 24 rushing yards and just one rushing first down. Julian Yearwood (Sr., LB, Las Vegas, Nev. / Desert Pines HS / Mt. San Jacinto College) and Benjamin Pedro-Langford (Sr., OLB, Pago Pago, American Samoa / Kanona Falls HS / NMMI) both forced fumbles in the game.
 
Midwestern State's 153 yards rushing marked the first time the ENMU defense has given up a 100+ yard day on the ground, since playing the Mustangs, last season.
 
The 186 yards of total offense given up by to Adams State was the lowest total since Southwestern Oklahoma State managed 180 yards on September 5, 2009.
 
The Greyhounds took the ball away from New Mexico Highlands twice in the season opener, with Seth Bailey and Pedro-Langford registering interceptions, both of which led to touchdowns in the third quarter.
 
Bailey paced the defense with 13 tackles, which included seven unassisted stops. Willie Grant (Sr., DB, Walterboro, S.C. / Colleton County HS / NMMI) made two tackles for a loss, while Elijah Saina (Sr., DE, Stockton, Calif./Sam Joaquin Delta College) and Leone Aholelei (R-Sr., Anchorage, Alaska / Anchorage HS / Mt. San Antonio College) each had a sack.
 
As a defense, Eastern limited the Cowboys to just 19 rushing yards and no scores in the redzone
 
Teams that are Special
 
Logan O'Brien (R-Jr., TE, San Angelo, Texas/San Angelo Central HS), Mitchell Cox (So., K/P, Kent, Wash./Kentwood Senior HS) and Bradley Beeston (Sr., WR, Edmond, Okla./Edmond North HS/Eastern Arizona College) lead the special teams with four tackles each. O'Brien has three in punt coverage, while Cox and Beeston have four in kick coverage.
 
Kevin Reaves (Sr., DB, Albuquerque, N.M./Manzano HS/NMMI) was selected as the Lone Star Conference Special Teams Player of the Week after he blocked two field goals at Texas A&M-Kingsville. It marked the first time a player blocked two kicks in a game, since Nathan Uland at CSU-Pueblo in the 2009 opener.
 
Late in the first half against Texas A&M-Commerce, Ryan Greene (Jr., QB, Roswell, N.M./Goddard HS) recovered a muffed punt, which set up ENMU's first touchdown of the game.
 
Cox's 47-yard field goal against Adams State was just one yard shy of his career best, set against Incarnate Word, last season.
 
Special teams shone at New Mexico Highlands, with Mitchell Cox punting for a 44.4 yard average, with a career best 64-yard kick and three downed inside the twenty-yard line. He also had five touchbacks on eight kickoffs.
 
Tarleton State Notes
Tarleton Website
Tarleton Football
Tarleton Roster
Tarleton Schedule
Tarleton 2014 Statistics

Tarleton State snapped a three-game skid last week, with a win over Texas A&M-Kingsville. They are in a four-way tie for third in the LSC at 2-2.
 
Last Time in the Series
 
The Greyhound lead the series with Tarleton State, 13-9, and snapped a six-game series skid, four seasons ago, with a 35-10 win. The Texans took the lead on an early 26-yard field goal, but Eastern responded with back-to-back touchdown runs from Tony Valenzuela, for a 14-3 lead. After an interception return from Tavius Bigelow, Valenzuela added a third touchdown run. The teams traded scores in the fourth quarter, with the Hounds closing it out on a four-yard touchdown catch from Jessie Poku.
 
Last season, Eastern struck first on a six-yard run from Christian Long, but the Texans scored 34 straight points to hand ENMU a 34-14 setback at Blackwater Draw.
 
The series begin on October 14, 1961, with the Greyhounds taking a 42-20 decision at home. The win was one of 12 straight in the series for Eastern, before TSU won the next six.
 
Up Next

Next week, the Greyhounds will visit Angelo State, before returning home for the 2014 Wagon Wheel Game.