PORTALES, N.M. – The Eastern New Mexico football team will make the long trip down south for a match-up with Texas A&M-Kingsville on Saturday night at 6 p.m.
The Hounds are still seeking their first win of 2018, but with an opponent that has struggled to corral the Ground Strike offense in recent years, things are looking promising for coach Lee and company.
BATTLE TO THE END
• Despite ultimately losing 21-11 to #1 Texas A&M- Commerce last weekend inside Greyhound Stadium, the Hounds made things interesting all the way to the end against the defending national champions.
• An interception at the beginning of the fourth quarter by senior Charles Countee set the Hounds up for a five-yard score from junior Paul Terry to bring the score to 14-11 with just over ten minutes to go in the game.
• The Hounds offense was unable to put together any sustainable drives in the fourth quarter and saw Commerce ultimately escape Portales with a win.
A REVAMPED DEFENSE
• After giving up 512 and 455 total yards in the first two games of the season, the Eastern New Mexico defense look like a completely different unit last Saturday evening inside Greyhound Stadium. The Hounds gave up just 289 total yards and limited the Lions to converting just 4-of-14 third conversions.
• The 21 points allowed in the game is the least amount of points given up by Eastern since last season’s game against Tarleton State on Oct. 14 during which time the Hounds gave up just 15 points.
• The Hounds racked up a season-high 482 rushing yards in last year’s game against the Javelinas and recorded seven rushing touchdowns throughout the contest.
• Tayshaun Gary and Paul Terry both found the endzone in last year’s game while Johnny Smith totaled 93 yards on just seven carries.
HISTORY WITH THE JAVELINAS
• Eastern New Mexico is 9-24 all-time against Texas A&M-Kingsville, but have won four out the last five meetings against the Javelinas.
• The Hounds have averaged 35.8 points per game in those last five
match-ups against the Javelinas and have gone over 50 points in two of those games.
• The Hounds racked up a season-high 482 rushing yards in last year’s game against the Javelinas and recorded seven rushing touchdowns throughout the contest.
• Tayshuan Gary and Paul Terry both found the endzone in last year’s game while Johnny Smith totaled 93 yards on just seven carries.
SCOUTING THE JAVELINAS
• Texas A&M-Kingsville will be coming off a disappointing 30-14 loss in San Angelo, Texas against Angelo State. The Javelinas took #1 Texas A&M-Commerce into double overtime in the season opener against the Lions, but ended up losing 27-36.
• The lone Javelina victory over the season came in week two against NAIA opponent Texas Wesleyan by a final score of 52-10.
• Kingsville is paced on offense by two Division I transfers in quarterback Koy Detmer Jr. and tailback Jeff Carr. Detmer Jr. spent time at BYU while Jeff Carr saw action at Oklahoma State before transferring to Kingsville.
• Linebacker Tre’Micheal Tutt leads the way on defense for Kingsville with 25 total tackles on the season while Caleb Valentine and Brandon Jones are fourth and fifth in the league with 6.0 and 5.5 tackles for loss.
• The Javelinas rank third in the conference in total offense (34.0 ppg) and sixth in total defense (25.7 ppg).
A LOOK AT THE STANDINGS
• Eastern is one of three winless teams in the first three weeks of the season in the Lone Star Conference, making it crucial to secure a win in this week’s road trip down to Kingsville.
• The Hounds have games against #7 Midwestern State and Tarleton State in the following two weeks after this weekend, both of whom are undefeated thus far.
• Commerce still maintains control of the top spot in the conference and the nation, but Midwestern State and Tarleton State have played outstanding football so far this season.
SAME DOGS SAME TRICKS
• Eastern New Mexico led the nation in time of possession last season and invoked the same strategy last week against the Lions, maintaining control of the football for 37:28 minutes.
•The Hounds ran the ball 66 times last week against Commerce, which is just nine rushes short of the most attempts for ENMU during the Kelley Lee era.
• Seven different players have notched a carry in each of the last two games for Eastern, a number that was bettered just once all of last season.
KING OF THE HILL
• Senior Hayden Hill recorded two tackles for loss last weekend against Commerce and notched the third sack of the year for the Hounds.
• The Texas native also forced a fumble in the contest and ranks sixth on the team in total tackles.
THE LONE STAR KINGS
• Eastern New Mexico won two out of their three games last season in Texas, with the lone loss coming at the hands of eventual national champion Texas A&M-Commerce.
• Saturday will be the first of four games in the Lone Star State for the Hounds throughout the season.
THE HOUNDS IN LSC PLAY
• The Hounds finished 6-2 in conference play in 2017 and placed third in the league standings in the first season under Kelley Lee
• At 6-2, ENMU stood alone at third place. Midwestern State finished the season undefeated to claim the league title, with Texas A&M-Commerce finishing second at 7-1.
GET ON THE BOARD FIRST
• One of the glaring issues of the young season so far for the Hounds is their inability to get their offense going early.
• Eastern New Mexico is 6-1 in the two years under Kelley Lee when putting the first points on the board, making it imperative for the “Ground Strike” offense to get started early and often Saturday night in Kingsville.
400 OR MORE
• ENMU is 6-1 under Kelley Lee when totaling at least 400 yards of total offense.
• When totaling 500 or more yards of total offense, ENMU is 2-1 during the Lee era.
21 AND UP
• The Hounds are 7-2 under Kelley Lee when scoring at least 21 points.
• When scoring 30 or more points, ENMU is 4-1 during the Lee era and 2-1 when scoring 40 or more points.
HOUNDS FOOTBALL HISTORY
• In the 81 seasons of ENMU Football the Hounds have compiled a 397-392-21 (.503) record in 809 total games.
• Since joining the NCAA in 1984, the Hounds have a 171-173-4 (.497) record in 348 total games
• The Hounds have won eight or more games nine times in program history and have posted 25 seasons of seven or more wins.
• ENMU has won a school-record nine games two times (1957 & 1987).
• Since joining the NCAA in 1984, ENMU has won seven or more games in 11 seasons and posted six seasons of eight or more wins, with the most recent coming in 2017.
• ENMU has won or shared two LSC Championships in school history with the last coming in 2013.
• The Hounds have qualified for the postseason two times in their history, with both being berths to the Heart of Texas Bowl in 2015 and 2016.