Saturday, October 10, 2015
MUSKOGEE. OKLA. — The Eastern New Mexico University football team (4-2) registered its first 500-yard rushing day since the 2007 season and found the end zone on its first six possession of Saturday's game against Bacone College (1-5). The result was a team-record 77 point outburst in a 77-14 win at the Indian Bowl.
Last week's Lone Star Conference Offensive Player of the Week got ENMU rolling with 111 yards rushing in the first half, most coming on touchdown runs of 43 and 54 yards. D'maujeric Tucker also had a 42-yard scoring run in the opening quarter, while
Brad Hardin's fumble recovery staked ENMU to a 21-0 lead. The Hounds' 28-points in the first quarter were the most by Eastern since scoring the same number against Tarleton State in the third quarter on October 18, 2014.
The Greyhounds held a decisive 42-14 lead at intermission along with a 387-158 lead in total offensive yards. Cass and Tucker combined for 200 of Eastern's 323 rushing yards in the opening half.
The fireworks kept coming in the second half, as Eastern scored another 21 points in the third quarter.
Austin Patterson hauled in a 37-yard scoring pass from
Ryan Greene just five minutes into the period.
Celento Hairston found the Warrior end zone with 5:18 left in the quarter and
Brad Hardin returned a fumble 20-yards, just 18 seconds later. Hardin became the first Greyhound in at least a decade to register multiple defensive touchdowns in a game. Greene added a pair of touchdown runs in the fourth quarter to complete the scoring.
Eastern's 509 rushing yards are the second most in team history, trailing only the 512 from the previous trip to play the Warriors in the 2007 season. The Hounds gained 618 yards of total offense, and allowed just 173 yards.
Vaughn Johnson added 70 rushing yards, while
Tayshaun Gary had 58 yards and a touchdown, while
Jeremy Doucette also scored in the game.
Jeremy Buurma and Greene combined to complete seven of their nine pass attempts for 109 yards, with
Aaron Johnson catching four passes for 49 yards. Hardin had 2.5 sacks and 3.5 of Eastern's eight tackles for a loss.
The Eastern New Mexico University football team will return to action next Saturday, to visit Tarleton State. Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. MT.
