Saturday, September 10, 2016
PORTALES, N.M. — Shortly before Saturday's Grand Opening, the ribbon on Al Whitehead Field at Greyhound Stadium was cut, many generous donors were recognized, and the National Anthem was finished with a flyover from Cannon Air Force base. More than 4,000 fans packed the stadium to see the Eastern New Mexico University football team (1-1; LSC 1-0) pound out 466 rushing yards en-route to a 37-16 win over Western New Mexico (0-2; LSC 0-1).
From the moment the first fans arrived, until quarterback
Wyatt Strand kneeled down to run out the clock, ENMU fans celebrated the return to campus of the football team.
"This was a great environment tonight that took great organization," said Head Coach
Josh Lynn. "It was a great night for football."
The victory was Eastern's first in an on-campus stadium since a 66-20 decision over Northwestern Oklahoma to close the 1967 season. Dating back to that season, ENMU has won their last three on-campus games. The Hounds also moved to 39-15-2 against Western New Mexico, with wins in the last 12 meetings. Eastern has a 23-6 mark at home in the series. Tonight's Lone Star Conference game was sponsored by Rooney Moon Broadcasting.
The Greyhounds offensive was highlighted by
Kamal Cass,
Tayshaun Gary, and
Aaron Johnson. Cass rushed for a career-best 232 yards with two scores, while Gary sprinted for 128 yards, which included a 60-yard run late in the game. Johnson hauled in all six of ENMU's receptions for 106 yards, and a score which saw him overcome a pass-interference penalty, which Eastern declined. Linebacker
Brad Hardin led a strong effort by the defense with 10 tackles and a pair of quarterback pressures. He also forced a fumble deep in ENMU territory in the fourth quarter, which he recovered.
Cory Harris added a pair of sacks and a quarterback pressure.
The Hounds took a 3-0 lead on an early 25-yard field goal from bailey Hale, and pulled away with a 20-point second quarter. Cass found the end zone from three yards out, less than one minute into the period, and added a 78-yard scoring run less than five minutes later. Johnson's 26-yard grab in the left side of the end zone capped a big first-half by the Hounds. Eastern held a 20-3 halftime lead and never looked back.
In the Numbers
- Eastern's 466 rushing yards were the most since the team posted a program-record 583 against Angelo State last season
- Cass' previous career-best was 197 yards in the LSC playoff game at Midwestern State
- Cass' previous longest run was 71 yards against Angelo State last season
- Johnson notched a career-best six catches for the third time (Arkansas Tech 2015, Texas A&M-Commerce 2015)
- Eastern converted 11 of 17 third-down attempts, and allowed WNMU to convert just four of 11
- Desmond Blue and Quavshaun Branch had interceptions for the Hounds
- Javia Hall from WNMU passed for two touchdowns and 240 yards with Xavier Ayers coming up with six receptions for 118 yards
The Eastern New Mexico University football team will return to Al Whitehead Field at Greyhound Stadium, next Saturday, to face Texas A&M-Commerce. The game is scheduled for a 1 p.m. MT kickoff.
