PORTALES, N.M. – Eastern New Mexico football is off to a 2-0 start after a 36-17 win over Sul Ross State Saturday night. The win marks two-straight seasons with ENMU holding a perfect record in nonconference action.

"I thought we were resilient," said head coach Kelley Lee after the victory. "We came through when we needed to and I was proud of our guys with that."

Ron Craten carried the load offensively for Eastern for a second straight week. The senior full back ran 26 times for 141 yards and found the endzone twice in the home opener. Mario Sanchez found opportunities through the air and on the ground as he was 5-of-6 through the air for 46 yards and had ten carries for 66 yards and a score.

Also scoring for ENMU tonight was Ja'Calvin Newsom and Jarius Stewart.

Matthew Quartieri had two crucial defensive, drive ending, plays. His teammate DJ Moore made a statement defensively as three of his six total tackles went for loss.

"I was in different spots to make plays," said Moore after the win. "We played fast and physical."

ENMU ran for 366 total yards on 67 attempts. The Greyhounds attack on drives was different compared to the week prior. Instead of lengthy, explosive plays, the home side relied heavily on chipping away one rush at a time.

Eastern finished the night 7-for-13 on third down attempts and 2-for-3 on fourth down tries.

"It feels great to be back in a winning position," said offensive linemen Bailey Adair after the win. "It took a lot of grit to win. We needed to be physical, and the defense helped us out. When they got a stop, we put it together with hard nose football."

The opening drive for SRSU did not run in ENMU's favor as the Lobos found a rhythm with four-straight first downs leading to a 1^st & goal at the 5-yard line for the visitors. That did not stop the Greyhounds from giving up on the drive as they forced two incompletions and only allowed a one-yard run on second down. SRSU took their only led of the game on a 21-yard field goal attempt.

ENMU then hit the ground and pound with a 14-play touchdown drive. The score came on a Ron Craten one-yard carry. Eastern was not afraid to pull off some trickery as they successfully attempted a two-point conversion. The drive took six minutes off the clock. SRSU's ensuing drive quickly ended with Matthew Quartieri earning his first interception of the year and granting his team quality field position.

Quarterback Mario Sanchez led the Greyhounds to another score as the drive got the game into the second quarter. On the second play of the second quarter, Sanchez ran for a six-yard score.

ENMU got a quick stop and set themselves up for a third-straight scoring drive. This time, it proved to be a drive utilizing Elijah Zeh, Chad Ragle, and Mario Sanchez on the ground, however, Sanchez completed a passes to Gerry Gomez and D'Andre Fillmore along the way. Ja'Calvin Newsom had an exciting run to cap off the drive as he sprinted 23 yards to the endzone to give ENMU a 22-3 advantage.

The Lobos looked like they were going to score prior to the halftime intermission, but Matthew Quartieri had another excellent stop sacking the opposing quarterback on a fourth down attempt.

In the third quarter, it was all SRSU. The opposing side forced ENMU to 68 total yards and the Lobos ended up scoring their first touchdown of the game. The visitors were driving at the end of the third quarter setting up an early fourth quarter touchdown bringing the game to 22-17.

ENMU got back on track on their next drive as they committed to rushing the ball 12 times out of 13 total plays. Craten earned his second score of the night on a seven-yard carry.

The Greyhounds forced a three-and-out and got the ball back with six minutes remaining.

From there, the game was in the hands of the clock and the rushing attack. SRSU did have a chance early in the drive as they forced ENMU to a 4^th & 2 opportunity. However, Craten managed to power his way to a successful fourth down conversion.

ENMU managed to take most of the time off the clock and extend their advantage, 36-17, on a touchdown from Jarius Stewart.

With 31 seconds remaining in the contest, SRSU could not find a way to score and left Portales with their second loss of the season.

The Greyhounds move to 2-0 on the season and begin conference play next Saturday on the road against Angelo State. ASU comes into the matchup with an 0-2 record after dropping two road games to begin 2024.