ALPINE, Texas – Eastern New Mexico University football piled up 625 yards of total offense, including 521 yards on the ground, but a late Sul Ross State rally handed the Greyhounds a 56-43 loss Saturday night at Jackson Field. ENMU fell to 0-5 overall and 0-3 in conference play with the loss.
Sul Ross jumped out to a 14-0 advantage before the Greyhounds responded with 14 unanswered points.
Jake South connected with
Trei Kibbles for a 17-yard touchdown to put Eastern on the board before
Malachi Hannah intercepted Will Howell and returned it 10 yards for a touchdown just 36 seconds later, tying the game at 14. The Lobos regained the lead with six seconds remaining in the opening quarter on a 19-yard Howell touchdown run.
Eastern continued to battle back in the second quarter.
Jose Trevino broke loose for a 45-yard touchdown with 1:19 remaining before halftime, evening the game at 21. Sul Ross answered with a field goal as time expired to take a narrow 24-21 advantage into the break.
The Lobos stretched their advantage to 36-21 early in the third quarter after a touchdown pass and a 40-yard interception return for a score. ENMU answered immediately.
Clifton Cooper capped a 63-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown run before finding the end zone again from five yards out on Eastern's next possession.
Emeka Megwa converted the two-point attempt to tie the contest at 36.
Eastern grabbed its first lead of the night with 9:38 remaining in the fourth quarter when Trevino exploded for a 61-yard touchdown run, putting the Greyhounds ahead 43-36. Sul Ross responded just over two minutes later to tie the game at 43 before scoring twice in the final 2:35 to pull away for the 56-43 final.
The Greyhounds' rushing attack turned in a huge night, accumulating 521 yards on 56 carries for an average of 9.3 yards per rush. Eastern finished with 625 total yards, outgaining Sul Ross State's 589. Trevino led the way with an impressive performance, rushing 13 times for 202 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 15.5 yards per carry. Cooper added 111 yards and two scores on 15 attempts, while Megwa contributed 93 yards on 14 carries.
Kibbles led the receiving corps with three catches for 45 yards and a touchdown, while
Dawson Hall recorded 34 yards on two receptions. Defensively,
Jamarri Price led Eastern with nine tackles, while
Matthew Quartieri added eight. The Greyhounds' defense recorded four sacks, with
Julian Williams,
Elijah Thorp,
Caden Spano and
Xander Holt each getting to the quarterback. Hannah's pick-six accounted for Eastern's lone interception of the night.
Turnovers and penalties proved costly despite the offensive production. Eastern lost three fumbles and threw two interceptions while being flagged 14 times for 150 yards. Sul Ross also lost three fumbles and threw one interception, as the two teams combined for nine turnovers in the contest.
The Hounds will stay on the road again next weekend for the Chile Bowl at Western New Mexico on Saturday, October 10th. The game will kick off at 2 p.m.
