PORTALES, N.M. - Eastern New Mexico will head to Odessa, Texas this weekend to take on UT Permian Basin at 5 p.m. inside Ratliff Stadium.

Saturday's match-up will start a critical final three-game stretch for the Hounds as they look to rebound after a loss last week at the hands of West Texas A&M. The Greyhounds are a perfect 3-0 against the Falcons all-time as UT Permian Basin enters the game on a six-game losing stretch. 

HEADING DOWN THE STRETCH
Eastern New Mexico will enter the final three games of the regular season with an overall record of 5-3 and currently sit in fifth place with a record of 3-3 in Lone Star Conference play. The Hounds were unable to keep possession of the Wagon Wheel last week after falling to West Texas A&M by a final score of 35-14 and will need to finish the year 3-0 and have a bit of help if they hope to qualify for postseason play. 

The Greyhounds will get the final stretch of the 2019 season started this Saturday night with a road trip to Odessa, Texas to take on UT Permian Basin inside Ratliff Stadium. The Falcons are one of two teams to remain winless in LSC play this season and will enter Saturday night's contest on a six game losing streak. 

Eastern will be tested in the final two weeks of the season at home against #21 Angelo State on Nov. 9th and will then make the long trek up to the Pacific Northwest to take on a Western Oregon team who enters week nine with a record of 5-3 and sports wins over LSC foes Texas A&M-Kingsville and Midwestern State. 

ON THE AIR
All games will be broadcast on 105.9 KSEL-FM and KSELCountry.com with Donald "Doc" Elder calling the action.

All games will also be webcast online through the newly launched Lone Star Conference Network.

CHASING HISTORY 
Eastern New Mexico is within reasonable distance of etching this year's 2019 team into the Eastern New Mexico football record books in multiple categories. The Greyhounds have continued to pose as the nation's top Division II rushing attack and enter week nine averaging 385.8 yards rushing per contest. 

Senior Paul Terry ranks second in all of Division II football with 1,290 yards rushing on the year, a total that already ranks as the sixth-highest total in the history of Greyhound football. Terry is just 321 yards away from matching Elon Speight's single-season record for rushing yards at 1,611.

The Greyhounds are on pace to average the most yards rushing per game in school history, a mark that was previously set in 2017 in which Eastern averaged 352.7 yards per game. The 2019 Hounds have also averaged the best yards per rush average in the history of the program at 5.8 yards per rush, bettering the previous average which was set by the 2017 team at 5.76 yards per rush.

Eastern New Mexico also has a realistic chance to have two 1,000 yard rushers for the first time in school history as Terry has already eclipsed the mark and senior Wyatt Strand enters week nine needing just 278 yards in the final three games of the season to reach 1,000 yards. Terry and Strand ranked third and fourth on the school's all-time career rushing yards list with Terry in third at 2,927 yards and Strand in fourth at 2,734 yards. 

SO HOW DOES THIS ALL WORK 
Despite the difficult loss against West Texas A&M last week, the Greyhounds hopes of qualifying for the NCAA Division II Playoffs or a bowl game are far from over. The first official Super Region Four rankings were released this week and unsuprisingly the Lone Star Conference had multiple teams represented. Tarleton State entered the first rankings as the top-ranked school while Angelo State (no. 5) and Texas A&M-Commerce (no. 6) are both currently inside the top seven teams that will qualify for the playoffs at season's end. West Texas A&M entered the first rankings in tenth place. 

West Texas A&M and Texas A&M-Commerce will meet in Canyon, Texas this weekend, assuring that one of those two teams will add another loss to their record. With the Greyhounds welcoming Angelo State to Portales on Nov. 9th, it is a possibility that the LSC standings and regional rankings could change vastly within the next three weeks. 

Traditionally the top-ranked LSC team that is not invited to the NCAA Playoffs is awarded a bowl bid, so the Greyhounds chances of returning to their first bowl game since the 2016 season are very much in tact.   

SCOUTING THE FALCONS
The Falcons have lost six straight games entering Saturday night's game after winning their first two contests of the season against Wayland Baptist and Northern Michigan. UT Permian Basin lost last week on the road 65-7 against Angelo State and now ranks at the bottom of the LSC in scoring offense with an average of 22.6 points per contest. 

The Falcons will be highlighted on the defensive side of the ball by standout linebacker Chris Hoad, who ranks first in the nation with 115 total tackles for the season. The Falcons rank sixth in the LSC in total defense (403.3 ypg) and sixth in rushing defense (157.8 ypg) for the season. 

Last year's starting quarterback Taylor Null has not seen game action for the Falcons since the third game of the season, opening the door for senior Kameron Mathis to take the reigns of the offense. Caleb Leake and Clayton Roberts have also seen time at quarterback throughout the season as the Falcons have searched to gain footing on the offensive side of the ball. 

HISTORY WITH THE FALCONS
Head coach Kelley Lee is 2-0 against the Falcons and will be making his first trip to Ratliff Stadium on Saturday night as the head coach of Greyhound football. Both contests have been relatively low scoring affairs as the Hounds took down UT Permian Basin in 2017 by a 20-17 final and a 24-7 final in 2018. 

Eastern New Mexico is 3-0 all-time against UT Permian Basin as the Falcons are now in their fourth year of football.

FRESH ENDS
Freshman Mazin Richards and Kendrick Milford each earned significant playing time last week in their first Wagon Wheel Game and demonstrated that the future of the Eastern New Mexico defensive line is in good hands. Richards recorded 2.5 sacks in the game and six total tackles while Milford totaled three tackles, one of which was for a loss. 

Richards leads the team with 8.5 tackles for a loss this season and is tied for the lead in the LSC with 6.5 sacks on the season as a freshman. 

KEEP ON CONVERTING
Eastern New Mexico currently ranks 18th in all of Division II football and first in the LSC in third-down conversion percentage at 47.9 percent. The Greyhounds have totaled the fifth-most first downs on the season in the nation with 199 on the season.  

The Greyhounds produced their second lowest third-down conversion percentage of the year last week against West Texas A&M, leading to the lowest time of possession margin of the year for the Hounds as well. The Greyhounds recorded a time of possession difference of more than 10:00 in each of the first five games of the season, but have failed to do so in each of the last three games. 

The Hounds are 25-for-36 on the year inside the redzone and have totaled 19 rushing scores from inside the redzone and two passing touchdowns. 

A SEASON HIGH
Eastern New Mexico recorded a season-high 134 yards passing last weekend against West Texas A&M, totaling 134 yards on 12 completions. Strand completed 11-of-19 attempts for 96 yards while receiver Michael Deleon contributed to the aerial attack with a pass for 38 yards. 

Senior Johnny Smith led the way for the Hounds with 47 yards on three catches while junior Zachery Fields recorded four catches for 32 yards. 

A BALANCED NOVEMBER
Eastern New Mexico is 2-2 under head coach Kelley Lee in the month of November, splitting wins and losses in each of his first two seasons as head coach. 

This season will mark the first time the Hounds will compete in three games during the month of November after the NCAA pushed back week one at the beginning of the season. 

LINEBACKING BROTHERS
Lamontre Huval and Noah Sweitzer have worked together to become one of the LSC's top linebacking duos this season. Huval leads the team with 59 total tackles while Sweitzer ranks second with 58 total tackles. 

The two have seen the majority of the action throughout the year from the two linebacking spots in defensive coordinator Michael Walton's defense and have combined for a total of eight tackles for a loss.  

STILL OUTGAINED 'EM
Despite the loss last week against West Texas A&M, Eastern New Mexico outgained the Buffs by a final total of 373-to-286. Last week marked the second week in a row that the Hounds have limited their opponent to less than 300 total yards, a feat which was not accomplished in the first six weeks of the season. 

The Greyhounds outgained the Buffs 134-to-133 through the air, marking the first time all season that Eastern New Mexico has passed for more yards than their opponent.  

TIED FOR THE MOST 
Senior cornerback Charles Countee is now tied for the all-time record in school history with 42 passes defended for his career, matching the number Tillman Stevens produced from 2007-2010. Countee has recorded 35 pass break ups and 7 interceptions during his time as a Greyhound.