The Eastern New Mexico football team couldn’t overcome a huge first half deficit as the Hounds fell to No. 21 Tarleton State 41-21 Saturday night.
The Hounds (1-5, 1-3 Lone Star) struggled to get an offensive rhythm going in the first half while the Texans (5-0, 4-0 LSC) took advantage of several big plays as TSU took a 24-0 lead into the halftime break. The Texans added to that lead on the first play of the second half as they scored a defensive touchdown on a Hounds fumble to make it 31-0.
On the following possession, the Hounds were stopped on third down at their own 23-yard line, but an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Tarleton State kept the Eastern drive alive. On the very next play, the Hounds hit the Texans with a big trick play. ENMU ran a reverse to senior receiver Russell Montoya, but instead of running it, he threw a 62-yard touchdown pass downfield to junior running back Johnny Smith for the Hounds first score of the contest, making it 31-7.
After TSU drove down the field and kicked a field goal on the ensuing possession, the Hounds put together yet another scoring drive as they went 12 plays and 57 yards, capped off on a two-yard touchdown plunge by junior running back Paul Terry to make it a 34-14 game.
The Texans scored a touchdown on the following possession to reclaim a 27-point advantage, but the Hounds had a quick answer to the Texans scoring drive. Eastern would score a touchdown on the third consecutive possession as the Hounds went five plays for 66-yards in just one minute and 34 seconds as junior quarterback Wyatt Strand ended it on a five-yard quarterback keeper, cutting the deficit back to 20 at 41-21.
Unfortunately, Eastern could not keep the offensive pressure on Tarleton in the fourth quarter as the Hounds only got one more score with 14 seconds left on a one-yard touchdown run by redshirt freshman running back Kazyan Martin.
The Texans outgained the Hounds 552-to-329, but Eastern did manage to outgain TSU 261-to-210 in the second half of the contest.
Terry led the rushing efforts for ENMU, gaining 63 yards on 13 carries and Strand added 60 yards on 18 carries.
Leading the Hounds receivers was Smith with one reception for 62 yards and freshman wideout Nathan Betts with one reception for 37 yards.
Defensively, Eastern was led by sophomore defensive back Dante Urrea, who finished the game with 10 tackles and three pass breakups. It was the third consecutive game that Urrea finished with 10 or more tackles in a game.
The Greyhounds will look forward to returning home next week as Eastern New Mexico will host Western New Mexico for their Homecoming game on Saturday, Oct. 13 and is slated for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
