The Eastern New Mexico football team will travel over to Canyon, Texas for the 33rd edition of the Wagon Wheel Game against West Texas A&M at 5 p.m. mountain time, 6 p.m. local time.

ON THE AIR
• All games will be broadcast on 105.9 KSEL-FM and KSELCountry.com with Donald “Doc” Elder calling the action.
• The game will also be webcast online through Eastern New Mexico’s SIDEARM site GoEasternAthletics.com/watch.
• All ENMU football games are also available for viewing on demand through the Eastern New Mexico University athletics website.

THE RULERS OF THE LAND OF ENCHANTMENT
• Eastern New Mexico once again proved to be the kings of Division II football in the state of New Mexico last week with their 14th straight win against Western New Mexico in dominating fashion, 55-9.
• The Hounds jumped out to a 28-3 lead over the Mustangs and never looked back, recording 27 unanswered points to end the game and set season high marks in multiple offensive categories. Eastern recorded seven rushing touchdowns in the game and accumulated 457 yards rushing as a team along the way.

THE GRANDADDY OF THEM ALL
• Eastern New Mexico football will now square off with their second rival in as many weeks as they travel over to Canyon, Texas to take on arch-rival West Texas A&M in the annual Wagon Wheel Game. The Hounds have won five out of the last six meetings between the two schools to bring the official series record back to all square at 16-16.
• The 33rd edition of the annual rivalry game will be the 19th contest in which the two storied programs with meet in Canyon, Texas, with the record also tied at 9-9.

BATTLE FOR THE TOP SPOT
• On top of the emotions and pride that are associated with the annual Wagon Wheel Game, the winner of this year’s match-up barring the results of the other games accross the LSC will position themselves to be the top unranked team in the league heading into the final three weeks of the season.
• That position is key because the LSC receives an at-large bid to the Corsicana Bowl at season’s end. There are obviously a number of factors that would lead to the Hounds selection in the game, but a win this week would be a huge step in receiving that invitation.

THE SPOILERS
• West Texas has been, along with Tarleton State, a major surprise team this season and are still in the running for a LSC Conference Championship. The Buffs are currently in a three-way tie for second place in the LSC with Midwestern State and Texas A&M-Commerce and still have the Lions and Mustangs remaining on their regular season schedule.
• A loss this week to Eastern would all but ruin the Buffs chances at hoisting the LSC crown, a mission that head coach Kelley Lee and company would surely love to complete.

SCOUTING THE BUFFS
•West Texas A&M will be seeking their fifth straight win this weekend against Eastern New Mexico. The Buffs have been highlighted this season with a strong rushing attack, led by the LSC’s leading rusher in Duke Carter IV, who has totaled 772 yards on the ground this season.
• Freshman Justin Houghtaling has taken control of the offense under center and totaled a season-high 238 yards last week in the Buffs win over Angelo State.
• Much of West Texas’s success in recent weeks can be attributted to a strong effort in the special teams facet of the game. The Buffs have blocked an NCAA-best four punts and have also returned two punts for a touchdowns. Punter John Cummings ranks at the top of the LSC and 11th nationally in punting average with 43.2 yards per punt.
• West Texas ranks third in the LSC in scoring defense (21.4 ppg) and have been paced by freshman linebackers Christopher Thomas, who is second in the LSC with an average of 10.1 tackles per game.

A STRONG SECOND
• Eastern New Mexico blitzed the Buffs in last year’s version of the Wagon Wheel game with 28 unanswered second half points to roll to a 28-14. The Hounds dominated the Buffs physically, limiting West Texas to just 154 total yards on offense.
• Brad Hardin totaled six tackles on the game, one of which was for a loss, and also recorded an interception to lead the effort for Eastern New Mexico. Both Wyatt Strand and Kamal Cass rushed for over 100 yards as the Hounds racked up 377 yards on the ground.

MAKING A NAME FOR HIMSELF
• Wyatt Strand has continued to see his name rise up the ranks in multiple statistical categories in Eastern New Mexico football history. Strand has rushed for 429 yards so far this season, ranking eighth in the LSC, and has totaled five rushing scores.
• The New Mexico native currently ranks fifth all time with 21 rushing touchdowns fifth in rushing yards with 1,809, and fourth in total offense with 4,279 yards over his three year playing career.

MIDDLE OF THE PACK
• With the strong performance last week, Eastern now ranks right in the middle of the pack of the conference in both scoring offense (26.1 ppg) and scoring defense (26.9 ppg).
• Only Angelo State’s offense (31.0) ppg and West Texas’s defense (21.4) ranks higher than the Hounds when looking at the final four opponents of the 2018 season for Eastern New Mexico.

NO NO NOAH STAY OUT OF OUR BACKFIELD
• Sophomore linebacker Noah Sweitzer has caught the eye of many fans and opposing coaches as the season has progressed for Eastern and produced a career night last weekend against Western New Mexico. Sweitzer totaled a career high 11 tackles in the match-up, four of which were recorded for a loss.
• Sweitzer will look to build upon that performance this weekend in the Wagon Wheel game against his former team West Texas A&M.

ALL OVER THE FIELD
• Runningback Johnny Smith has been a weapon all over the field this season, and ranks second in the LSC with 148.4 all-purpose yards per game.
• Smith totaled just 36 yards on five carries a season ago in the Wagon Wheel, and will be looking to do much more damage with the ball in his hands this year.

MAKE IT A THREEPEAT
• The Hounds will be looking to take home the Wagon Wheel for the third straight time and will attempt to defeat West Texas in consecutive attempts on their home turf for the first time since the 2000 and 2002 seasons.