PORTALES, N.M. – The Eastern New Mexico football team is set to begin Lone Star Conference play this weekend on the road at #12 Texas A&M-Commerce.
The Greyhound have been victorious in each of the first two games of the season and remained in the receiving votes category of the AFCA Division II National Coaches Poll this week. Eastern New Mexico fell to the Lions by a final score of 21-11 at home last season and will be looking for their first win over Texas A&M-Commerce since 2013.
SEVEN`S HEAVEN
Eastern New Mexico survived a wild second half of action on the road last week against Colorado Mesa to win their second game of the season by a total of seven points. After leading 10-7 at the halftime break, Eastern scored a season-high 27 points in the third quarter alone to lead by as many as 20 with 3:04 remaining in the third. Mesa stormed back and shutout the Greyhound offense in the fourth quarter to force the first overtime game for the Hounds since Sept. 3rd, 2011 against New Mexico Highlands. Senior Wyatt Strand scored the winning touchdown for the Hounds on a six-yard run to cap off the first overtime possession for Eastern. The Hound defense, which limited the Mavericks to just 100 total yards in the first half, made the final stand and clinched the 44-37 road victory.
The win over Colorado Mesa not gives the Hounds two wins over teams that were receiving votes in the AFCA National Polls the week prior to playing. The overtime win for Eastern New Mexico is the first for the program as a Division II program and pushed the Hounds to receive four additional votes in this week’s national polls.
ON THE AIR
All games will be broadcast on 105.9 KSEL-FM and KSELCountry.com with Donald “Doc” Elder calling the action.
All games will also be webcast online through the newly launched Lone Star Conference Network.
A POTENT OFFENSE
The Hound offense has been sensational throughout the first two weeks of the season, averaging 535.0 yards per game, second best in the Lone Star Conference and ninth best in all of Division II football. Eastern has rushed for 400 or more yards in both games so far
Eastern has 54 total first downs on the season, ranking fourth in the nation, and has recorded the second best third-down conversion percentage as well, converting on 63.6 percent of chances. The Greyhounds have scored touchdowns in less than five plays on five different drives this season and rank fifth in the nation in time of possession with an average ball control time of 36:36.
Senior Paul Terry ranks fourth in Division II football with 367 yards rushing after carrying the ball 32 times for 184 yards at Colorado Mesa. Terry has now rushed for 180 yards or more in each of the first two games this season.
Strand was named the LSC Offensive Player of the Week after accounting for four total touchdowns last Saturday night in Grand Junction. Three of those scores came in the second half of action, and the final trip to pay dirt served as the game winner in the overtime period. The Logan, N.M. native has rushed for 168 yards and three touchdowns on 33 attempts this season.
IT`S NOT GETTING ANY EASIER
Eastern New Mexico will hit the road for the second week in a row to open up Lone Star Conference play at #12 Texas A&M-Commerce. The 2017 Division II National Champions have picked up right where they have left off under new head coach David Bailiff, picking up a non-conference win over Western Oregon by a final score of 34-27 last week.
Texas A&M-Commerce was selected to finish third in the 2019 LSC Preseason Football poll and has been ranked in 55 consecutive AFCA National polls dating back to 2015. The Lions defeated Seleccion Nuevo Leon in week one, a game that will not officially count towards NCAA or Lone Star Conference statistics.
SCOUTING THE LIONS
The Lions needed 28 second half points to take down Western Oregon on the road in week number two last week by a 34-27 final. Running back E.J. Thompson scored three rushing touchdowns and quarterback Miklo Smalls completed 23-of-31 attempts through the air for 235 yards and a passing touchdown.
Western Oregon drove all the way down to the Lion’s 14 yard-line trailing by just one touchdown in the final minutes of the game, but were unable to punch it in to send the game to overtime. Western Oregon managed 301 total yards against Texas A&M-Commerce, managing just 75 yards on the ground.
The Lions will start a load of Division I transfers against the Hounds including Smalls, who was considered a three-star prospect by 24/7 Sports coming out of high school and spent time at Rice before transferring to Independence Community College. Junior standout Dominique Ramsey is back following a First Team All-American selection as an All-Purpose Player and a First Team All-Lone Star Conference as a defensive back. Ramsey had four tackles last week at Western Oregon and returned two punt returns for touchdowns last season.
HISTORY WITH THE LIONS
Eastern New Mexico and Texas A&M-Commerce will be meeting for the 30th time on Saturday night with the Lions getting the better of the Greyhounds in each of the last five match-ups. The Hounds brought Commerce down to the wire a season ago inside Greyhound Stadium, losing by a final score of 21-11, but have conceded 40 or more points to Texas A&M-Commerce in four out of the last five match-ups.
The last win on Commerce soil came back in 2013 by a final score of 42-35, one of just four road victories that the Greyhounds have secured in Commerce, Texas all time. Eastern New Mexico picked up two road Lone Star Conference wins last season over West Texas A&M and Texas A&M-Kingsville.
DOUBLE WHAMMY ACCOLADES
Along with Strand’s LSC Offensive Player of the Week selection, junior Quincy Arceneaux was tabbed the league’s Defensive Player of the Week after recording five tackles and returning a fumble 56 yards for a touchdown last week at Colorado Mesa, the first fumble return for a touchdown for the Hounds since Brad Hardin returned two for scores at Bacone College back in 2015. Strand and Arceneaux gave Eastern two out of the three player of the week selections for the Lone Star Conference, which has historically been proven as a tough accomplishment for a team to accomplish.
Arceneaux has provided a stable option for defensive coordinator Michael Walton, totaling nine tackles, a quarterback hurry, a pass break up and now a fumble recovery for a touchdown in his first two games as a Greyhound.
THE CLINCHERS
Eastern New Mexico has been as productive as possible in closing out games with the lead during the Kelley Lee era, a pattern that was in jeopardy last Saturday at Colorado Mesa. Eastern has never surrendered a lead during Lee’s two years and counting as head coach when leading entering the fourth quarter.
The Hounds are now 14-0 when leading after three quarters of play following last Saturday’s overtime win. Eastern is also a perfect 11-0 when leading at the halftime break under Lee.
HOUNDS IN THE RECORD BOOKS
Wyatt Strand continues to establish himself as one of the best offensive weapons in Eastern New Mexico football history entering his 34th consecutive start at quarterback. Strand has moved into third place in career rushing yards since 1998 with 2,180 yards over the course of his four-year career.
Strand is also third all-time in rushing attempts (511), rushing touchdowns (26) and touchdowns scored (26). He also ranks fourth since 1998 with 5,047 total offensive yards responsible for. Paul Terry’s outstanding start to the season has moved the senior up to fifth in career rushing yards since 1998 with 2,010 in his career. The Amarillo, Texas native has recorded 18 rushing touchdowns, good enough for the eighth most since 1998.
Senior Tyler Vargas has made nine field goals so far in his Greyhound career, the ninth most since the 1998 season. Arceneuax’s 56-yard fumble return for a touchdown is the fourth longest fumble return since 1998.
Senior Charles Countee has defended 34 passes through his career, the third most since 1998, just eight breakups behind the record.
RELOADING WITH A DYNAMIC DUO
Much of the preseason defensive story lines centered around the departure of multi-year starter Brad Hardin from last year’s team and how that would effect the production of junior standout Noah Sweitzer. Sweitzer has continued to play well in the heart of the Hound defense and has teamed up with transfer Lamontre Huval to provide what has quickly become one of the Lone Star Conference’s best linebacking cores.
Sweitzer and Huval have combined to make 35 tackles this season and each proved responsible for a turnover in the game against Colorado Mesa. Huval leads the team with 16 tackles while Sweitzer ranks second on the unit with 16.
LET`S GET THIS CONFERENCE THING STARTED
The Hounds finished 4-4 in conference play in 2018 and placed in a tie for fourth in the league standings. By finishing .500 in conference play on the season, it marked the the fourth consecutive year that the Greyhounds finished with a record of .500 or better in conference play, which includes a 6-2 mark and a third place finish during the 2017 campaign.
Eastern New Mexico is 95-123-2 all-time in Lone Star Conference play after joining the league in 1985. The Hounds are 43-68 all-time on the road and have won three LSC road games six different times, including back-to-back years in 2017 and 2018.
The Lone Star Conference currently has seven teams that are undefeated throughout the first two weeks of the season. Texas A&M-Kingsville and Western New Mexico are the only two program’s to have suffered a loss in the opening two weeks of the season.
There will be four games on Saturday that feature all-LSC competition including a huge game between West Texas A&M and Tarleton State. As the conference schedule officially gets under way this weekend, a win over Commerce would be huge in establishing the Hounds chances of finishing the season at the top of the conference standings.
COVER THE FIELD
Junior wide receiver Zachery Fields exploded onto the scene last weekend at Colorado Mesa with four catches for 110 yards and a touchdown in the first half alone. The junior college transfer recorded receptions of 50 yards and 39 yards in the second quarter at Colorado Mesa and is currently averaging 21.7 yards per catch this season.
Fields has now recorded touchdown receptions in each of the first two games of the season and has recorded six receptions for 130 yards.
