Football | 10/8/2014 2:30:00 PM
Wednesday, October 08, 2014
PORTALES, N.M. — Last week, the Eastern New Mexico University football team (3-2; LSC 1-2) picked up its first Lone Star Conference victory of the season, and in doing so, picked up their first-ever road victory over Texas A&M-Kingsville, in 15 tries. This week, Eastern will continue their two-week road trip, against a team they are tied with in the conference standings, McMurry University.
LSC NotesLSC WebsiteLSC Schedule2013 Standings2014 StatisticsAfter five weeks of play, LSC teams are 9-7 at home and 8-6 on the road. Last week, Angelo State earned a road win over Midwestern State, while the
Greyhounds picked up their first-ever road win over Texas A&M-Kingsville.
On the Road AgainThe Greyhounds are 2-0 this season in road games, with a
44-21 win over New Mexico Highlands. Eastern has won six consecutive road games, dating back to a wild come-from-behind victory at Angelo State, last season. Although Incarnate Word defeated Eastern last season, the Hounds' last setback on the road to an NCAA Division II team was a 33-13 decision to Texas A&M-Kingsville, on November 10, 2012.
On the RunENMU WebsiteENMU FootballENMU RosterENMU ScheduleENMU 2014 StatisticsThe Hounds rushed for 290 yards against Texas A&M-Kingsville.
Jacob Johnson (Idalou, Texas, Idalou High School) 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 five games of the season,
E'lon Spight (St. Louis, Mo., Hazelwood East High School / Grossmont College) is second in the Lone Star Conference in rushing yards, while 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 High School / Southeastern Louisiana) (94),
Andrew Lopez (Artesia, N.M., Artesia High School) (73) and Spight (51).
Jeremy 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.
Spight has posted three consecutive 100-yard rushing games.
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 (Colorado Springs, Colo., Vista Ridge High School) 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.
Buurma continued to perform efficiently, with 276 yards passing and four touchdowns.
Eastern's offense managed to hold the ball for an incredible 38:54 of play and converted six third downs along with two fourth downs.
The Defense Doesn't Rest 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 (Las Vegas, Nev., Desert Pines High School / Mt. San Jacinto College ) and
Benjamin Pedro-Langford (Pago Pago, American Samoa, Kanona Falls High School / New Mexico Military Institute) 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 (Texico, N.M., Texico High School) 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 (Walterboro, S.C., Colleton County High School (S.C.) / New Mexico Military Institute) made two tackles for a loss, while
Elijah Saina (Stockton, Calif., San Joaquin Delta College) and
Leone Aholelei (Anchorage, Alaska , Anchorage High School / 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 SpecialKevin Reaves (Albuquerque, N.M., Manzano High School / New Mexico Military Institute) 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 (Roswell, N.M., Goddard High School) recovered a muffed punt, which set up ENMU's first touchdown of the game.
Mitchell Cox's (Kent, Wash., Kentwood Senior High School) 47-yard field goal against Adams State was just one yard shy of his career best, set against Incarnate Word, last season.
Cox leads the special teams with four tackles, all on kick offs.
Logan O'Brien (San Angelo, Texas, San Angelo Central High School) has a team-best three stops in punt coverage.
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.
McMurry NotesMCM WebsiteMCM FootballMCM RosterMCM ScheduleMCM 2014 StatisticsThe War Hawks have alternated wins and losses after a
26-17 victory in the opener against Houston Baptist. Last week,
McMurry dropped a 56-21 decision to West Texas A&M. The War Hawks are 1-0 at home this season and have won two consecutive home games, dating back to a
55-20 win in last year's finale against Southern Nazarene.
Back to AbileneAlthough Eastern has never played McMurry, they are very familiar with Abilene, Texas. The last trip there was to play Abilene Christian, on October 6, 2012, the last year the Wildcats played in the Lone Star Conference.
Eastern's last victory in Abilene, Texas, was a
33-30 decision over ACU on September 24, 2005. Michael Benton rushed for 106 yards and two scores, while Derek Hunter caught two passes for 51 yards. Tim Ojeda made 11 tackles, with two for a loss, early in the third quarter, with ENMU trailing.
Up NextThe Greyhounds will host
Tarleton State, next Saturday, on Cannon Air Force Base Appreciation Day. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. MT.
