October 20, 1997
For Immediate Release
Contact: Judy Willson, SID
505.562.4309 or 356-4755

Saturday, October 25
Texas A&M University-Commerce at Eastern New Mexico 2:00 pm (MT)
Greyhound Stadium, Blackwater Draw, New Mexico
Academic Recognition Day

Seventy-six...student-athletes and support staff will be recognized at halftime of this week's football game for being named to the Spring 1997 Athletic Honor Roll. Members of the honor roll must earn a 3.0 grade point average during the semester. ENMU Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. George Mehaffy and Faculty Athletic Representative Dr. Thurman Elder will make the presentation.

The Teams...Eastern New Mexico is currently 4-3 overall, 2-3 in the LSC and 1-2 in the LSC-South. ENMU stopped a three-game losing streak on Saturday with a 26-20 win over Tarleton State in Stephenville, Texas.

Texas A&M-Commerce is currently 3-4 overall, 3-2 in the LSC and 2-1 in the LSC-South. After struggling early in the season, the Lions have gotten on track in conference action with their latest win coming on Saturday against West Texas A&M, 21-14.

The Series...Texas A&M-Commerce, formerly known as East Texas State, holds an 8-5 series lead. The Lions are the only remaining charter member of the Lone Star Conference. The series began when Eastern New Mexico joined the conference in 1984.

1984 AMC, 40-30
1985 AMC, 51-38
1986 ENM, 21-6
1987 ENM, 34-12
1988 AMC, 28-13
1989 ENM, 45-28
1990 AMC, 19-0
1991 ENM, 17-14
1992 AMC, 30-21
1993 ENM, 15-0
1994 AMC, 23-7
1995 AMC, 28-14
1996 AMC, 42-10

Against Tarleton State...the Greyhounds got four field goals out of senior kicker Brian Cocking (Los Alamos), including a 45-yarder to tie the ball game at 10-10 and tie Cocking's record long kick. Cocking also put up two extra points to account for 14 of the Hounds 26 points against Tarleton State.

Sophomore fullback Bruce Hatch (Bloomfield) had a season-high 186 yards rushing on 21 carries. His long run of the day was a 73-yard touchdown in the second quarter. Hatch is the fourth leading rusher in the LSC at 93.0 yards per game. He is the top rusher in the South Division. In all-purpose yards he is eighth with a 101.3 yard average.

Sophomore linebacker Michael Walton (Earth, Texas) was the top tackler, again, for the Hounds. Walton had 12 total tackles and a key interception. He leads the Lone Star Conference in tackles with 90 in seven games. Junior defensive backs Danny Cummings (Raton) and Tony Cavalier (Pampa, Texas) followed close behind with 10 and 9 tackles, respectively.

Grounded Hounds...senior quarterback Andy Cavalier (Pampa, Texas) will go to the doctor on Tuesday with a possible torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. He hurt the knee in Saturday's game against Tarleton State. Cavalier had surgery on his right knee in August that sidelined him for the first four games of the season.

Off of suspension...seniors Charlie Ragle (HB, Playas) and Jason Swindle (FS, Albuquerque) have served their one-game suspension for violation of team rules and policies and will be dressed out for this week's game against A&M-Commerce. Freshman quarterback Brady Bazzell (Mineral Wells, Texas) and sophomore linebacker Spencer Braxton (Forest, Va.) are still on suspension for team rules violations.

About A&M-Commerce...the Lions have won three of their last four games to get back on track this season after starting out 0-3. The Lions have used three quarterbacks to accumulate 1,188 yards thru the air this season. Current starter Matt Morris (Jr., Allen, Texas) is tenth in the LSC in pass efficiency, completing 53 of 120 passes with 7 interceptions and 6 touchdowns for 721 yards. A&M-Commerce has four receivers with over 140 yards receiving. Casey Cowen (Sr., Balko, Okla.) leads the way with 18 catches for 460 yards, including 4 for touchdowns and long of 99 yards. Richard Ducksworth (Jr., Garland, Texas) upped his numbers this week with 9 receptions for 75 yards and one touchdown. He now has 21 catches for 192 yards. The top rusher for the Lions is freshman Ronnie Humphrey (Rosenberg, Texas). Humphrey has 198 yards and two touchdowns on 80 carries.

Carl Mitchell, a junior from Arlington, Texas, leads the Lion defense from his linebacker spot with 74 total tackles. He also leads the team in tackles for loss with 7 (-17 yards). Defensive backs Terry Mills (Sr., Tyler, Texas) and Shon Adams (Sr., Gainesville, Texas) lead the team with three interceptions each.

Quotes from Bud...About the Tarleton State game - "It was good to see us come back from a slow start. Brian Cocking performed great with a 45-yard field goal to tie the game. I was pleased with his execution. I was glad to see us crank it up and get our ground game going. It was also to get points on the board and on the road. I think our players are beginning to see the improvement as well. The last two weeks our ball security has been much better and we have more balance in our running game from Siegan Keys and Isaiah Jackson."

"Chad Cole (TSU QB) has thrown the ball on everyone. Michael Walton played great defense and Brian Hulett did a good job stepping into the free safety spot. We still need to improve our overall tackling and be more aggressive at the offensive tackle spots."

About A&M-Commerce - "They are a good defensive football team. They have good quickness and are showing more consistency on offense the past few weeks. They have a fairly young offense, but they are a big play offense. I am impressed with their linebackers and defensive secondary. I think we can play with them. It ought to be a heckuva ball game."

Coaches Awards for TSU Game...

Leader of the Pack (offense) - Bruce Hatch, FB, So., Bloomfield

Mean Green (defense) - Michael Walton, LB, So., Earth, Texas

Hungry Hound (special teams) - Tony Cavalier, SS, Jr., Pampa, Texas; James Lawson, DT, Jr., Freeport, Texas; Cam Sanders, QB/H, Sr., Arlington, Texas; Brian Cocking, K/P, Sr., Los Alamos

Hustler - Randall Harris, OG, Fr., DeSoto, Texas; Brian Hulett, FS, Jr., Earth, Texas

Big Hit - Tony Cavalier, SS, Jr., Pampa, Texas

Pride (scout team) - Bart Notaro, LB, Sr., Hobbs; Pete Tarin, RB, Fr., Roswell

The New LSC...the 1997 season begins expanded conference competition with 15 schools competing for the Lone Star Conference title. ENMU will compete in the South Division with Abilene Christian University, Angelo State University, Midwestern State University, Tarleton State University, Texas A&M University-Commerce, Texas A&M University-Kingsville and West Texas A&M University. The Greyhounds were picked sixth in the 1997 LSC-South Division Pre-season Football Poll with 136 points behind Texas A&M-Kingsville (334), Angelo State (274), Texas A&M-Commerce (248), Abilene Christian (210) and Tarleton State (144). They will play each team in the South Division once, with two crossover games thrown in against North Division opponents. Each division will name a champion with the conference champion being determined on a combined divisional and crossdivisional record.

Hounds on the Airwaves...107.5 KSMX-FM will carry all the Greyhound football games at home and on the road. Don Elder will call the play-by-play as the "Voice of the Greyhounds" for the 1997 season. He will be joined on home broadcasts by color man Travis Barger. Elder will also host the weekly Bud Elliott Show on Thursday evenings at 6:30 pm from Juanito's Restaurant in Portales. KSMX is a member of Bergman Broadcasting, Inc.

Hounds on the Tube...the weekly television sports show, Sports Look, will air every week on Thursdays at 9:00 pm on KENW-TV, Channel 3. Dallan Sanders will host the program that takes a look at all the college and high school sports action in the eastern portion of New Mexico.

Coming Up for the Hounds...ENMU will travel to Texas A&M University-Kingsville on November 1 for a 6:00 pm game in Kingsville