PORTALES, N.M. – The battle for the Wagon Wheel will take place Saturday at Steve Loy Family Foundation Stadium as Eastern New Mexico hosts West Texas A&M. Before the rivalry matchup, please look at the 4th & 1 Preview:

1st Down – Road Trip Recap: Western Oregon earned a 49-20 win over Eastern New Mexico last Saturday. ENMU started strong with a touchdown on their first possession chewing up lots of time off the clock. However, a handful of failed conversions and turnovers proved to be costly for Eastern. The Greyhounds managed to run for 231 yards and throw for an additional 152 yards. ENMU's offensive successes could not overcome WOU's domination. On the ground, Ron Craten carried the weight for the Hounds as he ran 20 times for 65 yards and a score. His fellow full back, Elijah Zeh, was just behind him with 12 carries and 62 yards along with a touchdown.

2nd Down – It Matters More: The Wagon Wheel is up for grabs Saturday. This is the 36th time ENMU and WT have matched up in hopes to be the team rushing to the hill afterwards. The official series began in 1986 when the Buffs became members of NCAA DII. The first three matchups went to West Texas A&M before Eastern New Mexico carried the momentum for the following three matchups. In total, ENMU has won the coveted "wheel" 18 times since the first game in 1986. The two programs had met from 1934-38 and 1945, but those contests were before the official rivalry was named. Overall, including the non-"wheel" series games, ENMU holds a 23-19 advantage. Over the past two seasons, Eastern New Mexico has held the coveted prize in Portales.

3rd Down – Winning Wheels: The wheel stayed home in 2023 with the Greyhounds pulling off a 35-27 win. West Texas A&M had the momentum after holding a 10-0 lead through the first quarter of action. Quarterback Mario Sanchez was a force to be reckoned with as he ran 20 times for 118 yards and three rushing scores. Sanchez threw 5-of-10 for 167 yards with a touchdown through the air. The Greyhounds finished with 343 yards rushing and controlled the time of possession. The turning point of the game came in the third quarter with ENMU creating a 21-point swing after taking the first drive 75 yards over nine plays for a score. Eastern's defense held their own, forcing a three-and-out for negative yardage and forcing WT to punt it away. The offense took over and drove down the field for another touchdown. West Texas A&M were stopped once again and allowed ENMU to march down the field 90 yards for a touchdown, which was scored in the opening seconds of the fourth quarter. Eastern New Mexico held West Texas A&M's offensive attack and found themselves rushing the hill on the sunny November day.

4th Down – Changing Up: It's a new look for West Texas A&M as they have now switched Kanon Gibson to the QB1 slot. Gibson played several games for WT in 2023, but did not get playing time until last week's win over Western New Mexico. The team's gunslinger can do exactly that – throw the ball. He was impressive, going 19-of-27 for 374 yards and five throwing scores. He ran ten times for 36 yards and a rushing touchdown. The Wink, Texas native played in nine games a year ago and finished 114-of-166 for 1107 yards and 12 passing touchdowns. His best game before last week was also a contest over Western New Mexico where he threw 17-of-18 for 236 yards and three scores. His best rushing performance came versus UT Permian Basin a year ago with 14 carries for 123 yards and a touchdown.

&1 – LeevLynn: Both head coaches are very familiar with each other. Josh Lynn is in his second season as the leader of Buff football. Lynn was the Greyhounds head coach from 2012-16. With ENMU he posted a 27-25 record and currently holds a 5-11 record with WT. He played tight end for Eastern New Mexico in the late-90's and has spent time as an assistant in Portales as well. Between his time at ENMU and WT, Lynn was at Nebraska-Kearney. Lee took over the Greyhound football program directly after Lynn's departure. Currently Lee sits above Lynn in total wins as a head coach at Eastern New Mexico. Lee has 28 total wins in his time as the head coach and earned his first win over Lynn during the Wagon Wheel game in 2023.