The Eastern New Mexico football program will get their 2018 regular season underway this Thursday, Aug. 30 on the road against Missouri S&T.
The game is scheduled for a 6 p.m. kickoff and will be the second meeting all time between the two squads, with Eastern winning the previous match-up back in 1971, 37-7. The Hounds opened up the 2018 season receiving votes in the 2018 Preseason AFCA Poll a year removed from finishing at 8-2.
Head coach Kelley Lee begins his second year at the helm of program and will once again sport the “Ground Strike” offense that led the nation in rushing a season ago with an average of 352.7 yards per game. Eastern will be tasked with replacing their leading tailback in Kamal Cass, but will return a stable of capable running backs and an experienced quarterback in junior Wyatt Strand.
On the defensive side of the ball, new defensive coordinator Micheal Walton and a host of new defensive assistants will look to spark life into the Hounds defense. Walton returns to Portales with experience at multiple Division I programs and is the school’s all-time leader in career tackles.
Defenive backs Charles Countee and Dante Urrea highlight the returners on the defensive side of the ball while veteran linebacker Brad Hardin will also look to contribute to a run defense that ranked first in the Lone Star Conference a season ago, giving up just 80.8 yards per game. Countee and Urrea recorded 47 and 46 tackles respectively last season, while Hardin finished the season with 6.5 tackles for a loss.
For an in-depth preview of the 2018 Greyhounds and a look at the match-up with the Miners, see the weekly game notes HERE.
