Saturday, October 24, 2015
BLACKWATER DRAW — The Eastern New Mexico University football team (6-2; LSC 3-2) closed the doors on Greyhound Stadium at Blackwater Draw with a performance for the ages against 24
th-ranked Angelo State (5-3; LSC 2-3). Three greyhound players rushed for over 100 yards to set a new team record with 583 rushing yards, en-route to a 46-28 win in Lone Star Conference action.
Prior to the contest, Eastern honored all of the seniors on its roster. The win was the second for the Hounds in the last three meetings with Angelo State, but the first at home since a 38-14 victory on October 1, 2005. Eastern last defeated the Rams 29-28 in 2013, after a rally from a 28-0 deficit.
Kamal Cass and
Tayshaun Gary rushed for 188 and 139 yards respectively, each with three touchdowns to lead the way. Both set career-highs in rushing yards.
Jeremy Buurma added 123 rushing yards, while
D'Maujeric Tucker chipped in 69 yards on the ground.
Eastern took the opening kickoff 81 yards in nine plays and took the lead on a 10-yard run from Cass, but it took the Rams just four plays to knot the score on a touchdown pass from wide receiver Brett Rasberry. At that point, the Greyhound running game took command, as ENMU drove 84 yards on 17 running plays, with Cass capping the drive with a four-yard run to take the lead for good. The drive took 8:06 off the clock and had three plays of at least 12 yards. Eastern had a 46-yard touchdown run nullified by a penalty, but scored 10 plays later.
Angelo State's ensuing possession was cut short when
Fe'ao Vunipola separated the ball from Ryan Byrd and
Harry Lehauli recovered the fumble at Eastern's 49-yard line. Seven plays later, Gary scored from 15-yards out. The Greyhound defense came up with another big play on ASU's next possession, with
De'Aundre Sanders intercepting Kyle Washington at sprinting 35 yards to the Rams' one-yard line. Two plays later, Gary staked Eastern to a 28-7 lead. Angelo State managed another touchdown to pull within 28-15, but Tim Callian booted a career-best 41-yard field goal to give the Hounds a 31-15 lead at intermission. Eastern held the ball approximately 23 minutes of the first half, converted four of their eight third down chances and rushed for 267 yards.
The Greyhounds continued their reliance on a dominant ground game in the second half and exchanged touchdowns in both quarters with the Rams. Gary broke a 72-yard scoring run early in the third quarter, while ASU's Trey Green scored with 6:33 left in the period. Cass notched his third score on a 71-yard run midway through the fourth quarter and Washington scored just over two minutes later.
The Hounds compiled 608 yards of total offense marked the second 600-yard game of the season (616) at Bacone. Eastern has scored at least 40 points six times this season and in all of the contests in the current four-game win streak. Eastern controlled the ball for 40:14 of play and held a 14-point advantage in points off turnovers.
Jeremy Buurma saw his streak of 117 pass attempts without an interception, snapped in the fourth quarter with Kevin Wharry's catch in the corner of ASU's endzone.
Jerrell Bradford paced ENMU with seven tackles, while the defense pressured Washington seven times, with two coming from Joshua Bounds.
Next week, the Eastern New Mexico football team will visit West Texas A&M for the annual Wagon Wheel game. Kickoff is scheduled for 11 a.m. MT.
NOTES:
- The Hounds posted a 129-105 record at Blackwater Draw, which opened in 1968
- 2015 marked the 28th season in which ENMU posted a winning home record at Blackwater Draw
- Josh Lynn is 9-6 at Greyhound Stadium and joins Jack Scott, Bill Kelly, Don Carthel, and Bud Elliott as ENMU coaches with winning records at the facility
