WICHITA FALLS, Texas – For the third time in the 2023 season, the fate of the game for Eastern New Mexico came at the moments of the closing seconds. For the first time during this campaign, the Greyhounds came up short with a 34-31 loss to conference foe Midwestern State.
"I'm extremely proud of our team for fighting back from a 21-7 first half deficit," said head coach
Kelley Lee after the game. "We had some chances to close out the game in the fourth quarter and didn't get it done. Hats off to Midwestern State."
A 54-yard field goal proved to be the difference between ENMU sending the conference game into overtime or come out on the losing end. The Mustangs capitalized on the opportunity and won their first Lone Star Conference game of the season.
Despite outgaining MSU 459-349 in terms of yardage, Eastern New Mexico did not find itself on the winning end of the road battle.
The Mustangs came into the game with 11 turnovers over the first three games. Tonight, they held onto the ball in crucial situations and forced ENMU to commit a pair of costly turnovers.
ENMU earned 23 first downs while MSU only earned 12 over the 60 minutes of play.
Sophomore quarterback
Mario Sanchez proved to play smart football as he overcame a poor start offensively and finished 7-of-12 through the air for 153 yards and a pair of passing touchdowns.
His favorite target was Albuquerque native
Ja'Calvin Newsom who hauled in both touchdown receptions and finished with five catches for 112 yards.
The MSU duo of Jalen March and Devin Cross hurt ENMU on the ground game as the two rushers combined for 254 yards on the ground and a pair of scores for March. This marks two weeks in-a-row where a pair of rushers have combined for large yardage against the Hounds defense.
The Greyhounds earned a 31-24 lead after freshman
Kaden Bell drilled a 30-yard field goal with 3:47 remaining in the fourth quarter.
From that point, MSU battled back and scored ten points in the closing minutes to defeat the Greyhounds.
The win moves Midwestern State to a 21-7 series advantage over Eastern New Mexico.
ENMU will look ahead for a matchup with Angelo State on Family Day. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. MT. A stream will be available on the Lone Star Conference Digital Network.
