SILVER CITY, N.M. – Eastern New Mexico football lost to Western New Mexico, 25-24, Saturday afternoon on the road.

The Mustangs connected on a precise 22-yard pass with one minute remaining that setup the Mustangs to convert on a two-point try to pull ahead of the Greyhounds.

ENMU managed to get a shot to win the game in the final seconds, but his 47-yard attempt was just wide.

The Hounds scored three touchdowns over the course of the game. The first one came from the feet of Mario Sanchez who twisted, turned, and sprinted his way for a 29-yard score. The sophomore from Denver City, Texas led the team with 19 rushes for 132 yards. He also completed 8-of-12 passes for 103 yards.

Before the end of the first half, Eastern New Mexico snagged a 14-10 lead on a ten-play drive ending in a one-yard rush from Tyler Cleveland.

Another lengthy 13-play drive led to the Hounds regaining the advantage midway in the third quarter on a six-yard scamper from Jonathan Watson.

The Greyhounds totaled 304 yards on the ground, but negative yardage proved to hurt the team the most. ENMU committed eight penalties costing them 91 yards.

"We had some very costly penalties in the fourth quarter that really hurt our chances to win the game," said head coach Kelley Lee afterwards. "Give WNMU credit they only had 34 yards of penalties the whole game."

Two of those penalties came on the final two plays of the Mustangs' game-winning drive.

The trip to Silver City concludes the 2023 season for Eastern New Mexico. The fourth season under Kelley Lee saw Eastern win its most games (5) since Lee was last at the helm of the program (2019).