Football | 10/29/2014 10:05:00 AM

Wednesday, October 29, 2014
                                                                                                                
PORTALES, N.M. — Saturday will mark the end of the regular season, but will mark the 27^th annual meeting between the Eastern New Mexico University football team (4-4; LSC 2-4) and West Texas A&M (5-3; LSC 4-2) for the prized Wagon Wheel.
 

• The Greyhounds lead the nation in time of possession
• On first downs, Eastern is 11th in the nation offensively and 15th defensively
• The Greyhounds are 36th in the country in total offense and lead the LSC in total defense
• The Greyhounds are sixth in the country in rushing offense/defense and first in the LSC in both
• The Greyhounds are 32nd in the nation in passing efficiency and second in the conference
• ENMU is 24th (37th last week) in the nation and leads the LSC in third-down conversion defense
• Aaron Johnson is 15th in the LSC in receiving yards
• E'lon Spight is sixth (ninth last week) in the country in rushing yards and leads the LSC
• Jeremy Buurma is 27th in the nation and third in the conference in passing efficiency

 
Lone Star Conference Notes
LSC Website
LSC Schedule
2013 Standings
2014 Statistics
 
After eight weeks of play, LSC teams are 16-12 at home and 13-13 on the road. Three of the four home teams won, with Tarleton State being the lone road team, with a 64-7 victory at McMurry. Texas A&M-Commerce has clinched at least a share of the LSC championship, with Angelo State, Midwestern State, West Texas A&M and Tarleton State one game behind.
 
Home Sweet Home
ENMU Website
ENMU Football
ENMU Roster
ENMU Schedule
ENMU 2014 Statistics
 
The Greyhounds have won four of the last six home games and are 6-6 at Greyhound Stadium under Head Coach Josh Lynn. At home in 2014, Eastern is outrushing the opposition by a 328-110.3 yards per game average.
 
Jeremy Buurma (R-Jr., QB, Las Cruces, N.M., Las Cruces HS) has thrown for 517 yards and six touchdowns at Greyhound Stadium this season, while E'lon Spight (Sr., FB, St. Louis, Mo., Hazelwood East HS/ Grossmont College) has rushed for 382 yards and five scores.
 
On the Run

Spight rushed for a career-best 196 yards on 40 carries at Angelo State. The 40 carries was the most by any Greyhound player since at least the 1998 season.
 
Spight also had 193 rushing yards and three scores against Tarleton State, while Aaron Johnson (Colorado Springs, Colo., Vista Ridge HS) had a career-high 117 receiving yards and matched a career-best with two touchdown receptions. Spight has run for a Lone Star Conference best 905 yards, this season
 
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 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.
 
After the first four games of the season, Spight leads the Lone Star Conference in rushing yards, while Jacob Johnson is the league leader in receiving yards.
 
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 (Austin, Texas, Round Rock HS/ Southeastern Louisiana) (94), Andrew Lopez (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.
 
Two weeks ago 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 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
 
The Greyhounds limited Angelo State to 252 yards of total offense, 78 rushing yards and just two-for-eleven on third downs.
 
After giving up 457 yards of total offense including rushing yards 236 yards in the first half against Tarleton State, the Hounds limited Tarleton State to 206 yards with 41 rushing yards in the second half.
 
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 (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.
 
Teams that are Special
 
Kevin Reaves (Albuquerque, N.M., Manzano HS/ NMMI) had a 53-yard kick return against Angelo State, continuing his strong special teams play.
 
D'Maujeric Tucker's (Lubbock, Texas, Frenship HS) 100-yard kick return against Tarleton State was his second for a touchdown in his last two seasons. It also was the fifth 100-yard return in team history and earned him LSC Special Teams Player of the Week Honors.
 
Dillon Metzgar (Rio Rancho, N.M., Rio Rancho HS) leads the special teams with seven tackles, with four on kickoffs and three in punt coverage. Bradley Beeston (Edmond, Okla., Edmond North HS/ Eastern Arizona College) leads the kick coverage with five tackles, while Logan O'Brien (San Angelo, Texas, San Angelo Central HS) has four in punt coverage.
 
Reaves 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.
 
Mitchell Cox's (Kent, Wash., Kentwood Senior HS) 47-yard field goal against Adams State was just one yard shy of his career best, set against Incarnate Word, last season.
 
West Texas A&M Notes
WT Website
WT Football
WT Roster
WT Schedule
WT 2014 Statistics
WT Game Notes

Since opening the season with two losses, West Texas A&M has won five of its last six, which includes victories over Angelo State and Midwestern State.

• West Texas A&M is eighth in the nation in red zone offense
• The Buffaloes are 32nd in the country in passing offense and second in the conference
• WT is fourth in the nation in net punting and 11th in kick returns
• The Buffaloes are second in the league in scoring defense
• The Buffaloes are the top team in the conference in field goals
• Preston Rabb is second in the LSC in passing yards and 28th in the nation
• Anthony Johnson is fourth in the league (40th in nation) in receiving yards, Jeremy Watson is fifth
• Geremy Alridge-Mitchell is second in the league (seventh in nation) in kick returns 

Last Time in the Series
 
The Buffaloes hold a 15-12 edge in the overall series, and a 14-12 edge in the Wagon Wheel series, which began in the 1986 season. Last year, the Greyhounds rallied from a 21-point second-half deficit to snap a seven-year skid in the series. After a third-quarter turnover, Dustin Vaughan found Jace Jackson from eight-yards out, to seize a 38-17 lead. The Hounds responded with three Christian Long touchdowns, which included one with 51 seconds left in the game. After the final touchdown, Tucker sprinted into the endzone with the game-winning two-point conversion. On the final play of the game, the Buffaloes missed a 67-yard field goal.
 
The Hounds last home victory in the series came in the 2004 season, when Eastern scored 18 points in the third quarter to rally from a 17-3 halftime deficit and post a 21-20 win. Jason Tezeno's one-yard plunge gave Eastern the lead late in the third quarter.
 
Up Next
 
Next week, the Greyhounds will play in the opening round of the two-game Lone Star Conference playoffs.