After leading the Hounds to their first shutout of the season, sophomore linebacker Noah Sweitzer was named the Lone Star Conference Defensive Player of the Week by the conference office on Monday.
Sweitzer was one of the key pieces to a defense that limited West Texas A&M to just 134 yards of total offense, limiting the Buffs to just 2.8 yards per play on their home field. The Rio Rancho, N.M. native finished with a team-high 10 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss while also coming away with a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
It was also the first shutout the Hounds have pitched against West Texas A&M since 1992 when Eastern defeated then West Texas State 56-0. ENMU has now won three-straight Wagon Wheel Trophy games against the Buffaloes, while winning the last two in Canyon, Texas.
Sweitzer has been paramount to the Hounds defense in their back-to-back trophy game wins against Western New Mexico and West Texas A&M. In the two games combined, Sweitzer has 21 tackles and 6.5 tackles for loss, while leading a defense that has limited opponents to just nine points total in the two contests combined.
The Hounds will look to continue their recent defensive prowess as Eastern New Mexico will host UT-Permian Basin Saturday night. The Falcons rank second-to-last in the LSC in scoring offense at 21.3 points per game. Kickoff for Saturday’s game is slated for 7 p.m. at Greyhound Stadium.
