PORTALES, N.M. – Eastern New Mexico suffered a 35-14 defeat at the hands of West Texas A&M on Saturday night inside Greyhound Stadium.
The Greyhounds were able to out gain the Buffs by a final total of 373-to-286 on the night, but were unable to overcome multiple turnovers and good starting field position for West Texas A&M. Senior Paul Terry kept his 100 yards or more rushing streak alive with 123 yards on 26 attempts on a night in which the Hounds totaled 239 yards on the ground.
The Buffs had their first two drives of the ballgame start on the Eastern New Mexico side of the field and were able to jump out to a quick 14-0 lead with 8:22 remaining in the first quarter. Senior Ricky Barfield looked to turn the tide of the ball game with an interception inside the Eastern New Mexico end zone after a 12-play, 60-yard drive for the Buffs, but fumbled the ensuing return to give the Buffs the ball back at the Eastern New Mexico 10-yard line.
West Texas A&M converted on the break and recorded their third touchdown of the opening quarter. The Hounds cost themselves another bad break on the field position battle with another fumble on their side of the field that set West Texas A&M with good field position again and led to the fourth straight touchdown to open up the game with 13:49 remaining in the second quarter.
The Hounds responded with their first touchdown of the contest on a three-yard touchdown score from senior Johnny Smith to draw the score to 28-7, a score which would hold until the halftime break.
Eastern New Mexico blocked a punt on fourth down of the opening drive for West Texas A&M to open up the second half of action and drove all the way down to the Buff four-yard line before unsuccessfully converting on a fourth-down attempt. West Texas A&M tacked on their final points of the night with a five-yard rushing touchdown at the 12:39 mark of the fourth quarter.
Senior Wyatt Strand scored on a 10-yard rush with 50 seconds remaining in the game to draw the score to a 35-14 decision in favor of the Buffs.
Strand finished the night with 78 yards on 15 carries and a score to provide support for Terry’s rushing effort. Senior Noah Sweitzer was one of two Hounds to finish the evening with 3.5 tackles for a loss alongside freshman Mazin Richards, who finished the evening with 2.5 sacks.
Barfield led the team with 12 tackles and the aforementioned interception.
Eastern New Mexico will take the field next week in Odessa, Texas against UT Permian Basin. Kick-off for that match-up is scheduled for 5 p.m.
