PORTALES, N.M. – Eastern New Mexico football fell to Central Washington, 49-20, Saturday afternoon at Al Whitehead Field at Steve Loy Family Foundation Stadium. The Greyhounds (0-9, 0-7 LSC) totaled 427 yards of offense, but the Wildcats (7-2, 7-0 LSC) used a strong rushing attack and three passing touchdowns to secure the conference victory.
Clifton Cooper led the Greyhound offense, completing 26 of 40 passes for 248 yards and two touchdowns while adding a team-high 82 rushing yards. Darwin Parker paced the receiving corps with 10 receptions for 106 yards, while Kyler Fossett added six catches for 59 yards. Defensively, Robert Nora recorded a game-high 14 tackles, followed by Julian Williams with nine and Raheim Ross with eight.
Eastern New Mexico opened the contest with a 13-play, 75-yard touchdown drive, capped by a four-yard touchdown pass from Cooper to Xavier Johnson. The Greyhounds took an early 6-0 advantage before Central Washington responded with a two-yard touchdown run from Ryder Bumgarner to take a 7-6 lead with 4:35 remaining in the opening quarter.
The Wildcats extended their advantage in the second quarter, beginning with a 25-yard touchdown pass from Justin Brennan to AJ Perez. CWU added another score midway through the period on a five-yard rushing touchdown from Bumgarner, taking a 21-6 lead into halftime. ENMU moved the ball into Central Washington territory on multiple possessions during the quarter but was unable to add to its point total.
Central Washington continued its momentum after halftime, opening the third quarter with an 18-yard touchdown pass from Brennan to Mason Juergens. Eastern New Mexico answered with a 75-yard scoring drive, highlighted by a 29-yard run from Cooper and a 15-yard touchdown rush from Emeka Megwa. Kaden Dow converted the extra point to bring the score to 28-13.
The Wildcats responded with two additional touchdowns in the third quarter, including a 20-yard reception from Juergens and a one-yard rushing score from Justice Taylor, extending their advantage to 42-13 entering the final period.
In the fourth quarter, Antoine Lee broke free for a 58-yard touchdown run to extend Central Washington's lead. Eastern New Mexico answered with an eight-play, 70-yard drive, capped by a 37-yard touchdown pass from Cooper to Trei Kibbles with 6:14 remaining. Dow added the extra point to bring the final score to 49-20.
The Greyhounds finished with 27 first downs and controlled possession for 32:17. ENMU totaled 179 rushing yards and 248 passing yards, while converting seven of 14 third-down opportunities. Cooper accounted for 330 yards of total offense, while Megwa finished with 48 rushing yards and a touchdown. Bryce Pobuda averaged 46 yards per punt, including a 59-yard effort.
Central Washington finished with 600 yards of total offense, including 301 rushing yards and 299 passing yards. Bumgarner led the Wildcats with 132 rushing yards and two touchdowns, while Lee added 117 yards and a score. Brennan completed 12 of 13 passes for 290 yards and three touchdowns, with Perez collecting four receptions for 148 yards and a touchdown.
The loss moves Eastern New Mexico to 0-9 overall and 0-7 in Lone Star Conference play, while Central Washington improves to 7-2 overall and remains unbeaten in conference action at 7-0.
