10/3/2019 | Football

PORTALES, N.M. – Eastern New Mexico will look to make a big splash in the Lone Star Conference standings this weekend on the road at Midwestern State.

The Hounds and Mustangs enter Saturday night’s game with identical 3-1 overall records and 1-1 conference records and have decided the last five match-ups between the two teams by an average of just 6.4 points. Kick-off for the game is set for 6 p.m. MST.

THE DEFENDERS OF GREYHOUND STADIUM

Eastern New Mexico overcame a slow start coming out of an hour long lightning delay last Saturday night to win their fifth consecutive game inside Greyhound Stadium. The Hounds forced four second half turnovers to overcome a 31-17 deficit with 8:46 remaining in the third quarter.

Senior’s Wyatt Strand and Paul Terry each eclipsed the 100 yard mark as the Hounds rolled for 515 rushing yards and paddened their lead as the nation’s top rushing attack. The win also served as the first Lone Star Conference victory of the season and sets the stage for a monumental match-up for Eastern this week on the road at Midwestern State, who enters the week with an identical record.

Strand rushed for a career-high 195 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries while Terry put in 179 yards and a score on 26 carries of his own. The Hound defense showed up when it mattered once again and forced four turnovers and recorded four sacks throughout the contest to help lead the Hounds to 17 points off of turnovers for the game.

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.

THE UNDISPUTED KINGS

Eastern New Mexico strengthened it’s grip as the nation’s top rushing offense and has averaged 426.8 yards per game through the first four contests of the season. That average is 131.8 yards better than the next closest team and has led the Hounds to the nation’s 11th best total offense (490.5 ypg) and 25th best scoring offense (38.5).

The Hounds rank first in the LSC and 13th in the nation with a third-down conversion percentage of 51.6 percent and are averaging a league-best 26.8 first downs a game. Terry moved up to second in the nation with 662 rushing yards for the season while Strand ranks 11th with 466 yards on the year.

IT’S TIME FOR A SHOWDOWN

The Hound’s win on Saturday night moves their overall record to 3-1 on the season and 1-1 in conference play, setting the stage for two crucial games in the LSC the next two weeks. The Hounds are one of three teams to enter the fifth week of the season with a conference record of 1-1, while Angelo State and Tarleton State are each undefeated with a record of 2-0.

Eastern will take on Midwestern State in Wichita Falls, Texas on Saturday night and then will return home against Tarleton State in two games that will prove vital in how the conference standings will stand at the midway point of the season.

SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS

Midwestern State fell down to the receiving votes categories in the AFCA Division II National Polls this week after a 28-6 loss on the road against Angelo State last week. The Mustangs began their season with a 33-7 win over FCS foe Northwestern State (La.), but struggled in one-possession wins over Lindenwood (Mo.) and UT Permian Basin before last week’s loss at Angelo State.

A surprising weak point for a traditionally explosive unit for Midwestern State has been their inability to put points on the board, ranking last in the LSC with just 20.3 points scored per game. On the flip side of the coin, Midwestern ranks third in scoring defense (17.5 ppg) and has allowed a league-best two rushing touchdowns this season.

Quarterback Zach Purcell has struggled since taking over the reigns of the offense for the graduated Llayton Rabb, completing less than 60 percent of his passes for just 795 yards and five touchdowns through four games. Preseason Offensive Player of the Year Juwan Johnson has also gotten off to a slow start on the year, catching just eight passes for 105 yards and two touchdowns in three games played.

Sophomore Melik Owens leads the LSC with 6.0 sacks on the defensive side of the ball and leads a formitable front seven that has been difficult for all four offenses it has faced. Senior Rigoberto Carrillo has also been productive from his linebacker spot and is second on the team behind Owens with 24 total tackles for the year.

A STABLE OF BACKS

Terry has been the obvious work horse so far this season for Eastern New Mexico as the nation’s second leading rusher, but slotbacks Johnny Smith and Darryl Wiggins have continued to provide electrifying runs when the ball gets in their hands. Smith has averaged 6.1 yards a carry on his 28 touches for the season while Wiggins has averaged 7.7 yards a carry and scored twice last week against Texas A&M-Kingsville.

With Strand and junior Justin Manyweather, who is averaging 10.9 yards per touch also in the backfield, teams will be simply unable to key in on Terry as the season rolls along.

WELL HELLO MR. RICHARDS

Freshman Mazin Richards burst onto the scene last week against Texas A&M-Kingsville, finishing second on the team with five total tackles, three sacks and an interception. Those three sacks are the most recorded by a Greyhound since Denzel Phillip recorded three against Arkansas Tech in the Heart of Texas Bowl on Dec. 5, 2015.

Richards along with junior Quincy Arceneaux provided two disruptive forces for defensive coordinator Michael Walton last week against Texas A&M-Kingsville and were instrumental in the Hound’s third quarter comeback. Eastern recorded 17 points off of turnovers and the constant pressure on the quarterback by the likes of Richards and Arceneaux will be vital against an inexperienced quarterback like Purcell this weekend.

RISING UP THE RECORD BOOKS

Strand and Terry moved up to the third and fourth highest career rushing totals since 1998 on Saturday night as Strand has now rushed for 2,478 yards for his career and Terry has accumulated 2,299. Strand also moved into third place since 1998 with 30 rushing touchdowns for his career and has averaged the fifth best rushing average per game with 67.0 yards per rush throughout his four-year career.

Strand is just two touchdowns behind Kamal Cass for the third most touchdowns responsible for with 51 for his career.

Senior kicker Tyler Vargas moved into fourth all-time with 13 field goals made after connecting on both attempts against Texas A&M-Kingsville. Vargas also ranks seventh since 1998 with 48 PAT’s made for his career.

OFF TO A HISTORIC START

With four games down and a load of rushing yards on the board, this year’s 2019 offense for the Hound’s figures to make their way into the history books. This year’s squad is averaging 6.02 yards per carry, the most since the 2007 team averaged 5.76 yards a rush. The 427.5 rushing yards per game this year’s team has averaged would shatted the previous best average mark which was set in 2017 with 352.7 yards per game.

Eastern New Mexico is also averaging the second best total offense per game mark in school history with 491.2 yards per game, just behind the 511.5 total yards the 2009 team averaged.

SECOND HALF DOMINANCE

Eastern New Mexico has been absolutely dominant in the second half this season, scoring 93 points this season in the second half. The Hounds have scored 54 points in the first half of games, including just 20 points in the first quarter alone.

The Hounds have been particularly potent in the third quarter and have outscored opponents 59-38 in the third for the season.

JUST CALL IT OCTOBERLEE

Head coach Kelley Lee has led the Hounds to a record of 6-1 during the month of October in his third season as head coach. The Hounds won three games last season against Western New Mexico, West Texas A&M and UT Permian Basin and went a perfect 3-0 throughout the month during the 2017 season.

With critical games in the next two weeks against traditional powers Midwestern State and Tarleton State and rivalry games against Western New Mexico and West Texas A&M slated for later in the month, that continued October success will be put to the test.

NOT A FRIENDLY HISTORY

Midwestern State is 18-6 all-time against the Hounds and has gotten the better of Eastern New Mexico in eight out of the last ten meetings between the two programs. The average margin of victory in the last five games of the series has been just 6.4 points, setting the stage for another closely contested battle.

The Hounds have won just three games on the Mustang’s home turf, but won 30-28 in the team’s last trip to Wichita Falls back in 2016.

THE MOST SINCE…

The 515 rushing yards produced by the Eastern New Mexico offense last week was the second highest total since 1998. Eastern rushed for 583 yards against Angelo State on Oct. 24th, 2015.

The three recovered fumbles for the Greyhounds last Saturday night is the 16th time since 1998 that Eastern has recovered at least three fumbles in a single game. Strand’s 195 yards rushing against Texas A&M-Kingsville is the ninth highest rushing total since 1998 for Eastern New Mexico.

Arceneaux’s two forced fumbles against Kingsville is just the 10th time a Greyhound has forced multiple fumbles in a game since 1998.

UNDER LEE

Eastern New Mexico head coach Kelley Lee has a record of 16-9 during the Lee era.

Through two seasons, Lee holds a perfect 3-0 record in trophy games. Last season, the Hounds won the inaugural Chile Bowl game at home against Western New Mexico by a score of 55-9. The Hounds followed it up with their third straight Wagon Wheel game win over West Texas A&M, pitching a 28-0 shutout over the Buffs in Canyon.