Saturday, September 30, 2017

CANYON, TEXAS — Brad Hardin picked off a Josh Houghtaling pass at the West Texas A&M 32-yard line and returned it 26 yards. The play set up a six-yard touchdown run by senior running back Kamal Cass to pull the Eastern New Mexico University football team (4-1; LSC 3-1) even at 7-all, late in the third quarter. The Greyhounds never looked back on the way to a 28-14 win over the Buffaloes (2-3; LSC 1-2) in Lone Star Conference action at Kimbrough Memorial Stadium.

After the contest, the Greyhounds sprinted through the end zone to claim the Wagon Wheel trophy for the second straight year.
 
In the Series

• The victory gave Eastern its fourth Wagon Wheel win in the last five years
• Including the playoff win in 2014, the Hounds have won five of the last six meetings with WT
• The victory was the second for ENMU in the last three trips to Kimbrough Memorial Stadium
• The Wagon Wheel series is now evened at 15-15, while the overall series is 16-16

 
The Key Plays

• West Texas A&M's Chazz Slatinsky blocked a punt, which the Buffaloes recovered at the ENMU nine-yard line
• The play set up a Houghtaling touchdown pass to give WT a 7-0 lead with just under eight minutes left in the first quarter
• WT stopped a fourth-down attempt in the second quarter and took their lead into intermission
• Houghtaling was intercepted late in the third quarter, to set up ENMU at the Buffalo six-yard line
• On the second play of the ensuing drive, Cass tied the game with a nine-yard touchdown run
• Eastern's next possession started with a 50-yard scamper from quarterback Wyatt Strand
• D'Maujeric Tucker capped the eight-play drive with a two-yard touchdown run
• The Hounds next drive went 88 yards in 11 plays, with Strand plunging into the end zone from one yard out for a 21-7 lead
• Zach Johnson recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff and Strand scored on a 14-yard run
• Houghtaling connected on a 24-yard touchdown pass with 49 seconds left
• Alex Schrag's kickoff went out of bounds on the on-sides attempt and the Greyhounds ran out the clock

 
Beyond the Box Score

• Eastern nearly tied the game right before halftime with a 16-play 85 yard drive, which ended at the WT nine-yard line
• The Greyhound defense was dominant throughout the game and allowed just 92 yards of offense leading up to West Texas A&M's final possession of the game
• The win moved the Greyhounds to 4-1 for the first time since the 2007 season

 
In the Numbers

• Eastern allowed WT to convert just three of 11 third down opportunities
• The Hounds held the ball for 39:01
• ENMU committed no turnovers and scored 14 points off turnovers
• Cass rushed for 138 of ENMU's 362 yards on the ground
• Strand ran for 98 yards and passed for 85 yards
• Paul Terry rushed for 56 yards
• Fe'ao Vunipola made eight tackles, which included five solo stops
• In addition to the interception, Hardin made six tackles, with one for a loss and broke up a pass
• Ka'ena Pakai had a sack and a quarterback pressure
• Houghtaling passed for 116 yards and a pair of touchdowns for the Buffaloes

 
Up Next

• The Eastern New Mexico University football team will return to Al Whitehead Field at Greyhound Stadium, next Saturday, to play UT-Permian Basin
• The Homecoming game is sponsored by JP Stone Community Bank and scheduled to kickoff at 7 p.m. MT.
• The contest will be preceded by the Dawg Walk