Athletic Report
November 16, 1998

FOOTBALL (8-3, 6-3 LSC)
Back-up quarterback James Williams (Earth, TX/Springlake-Earth H.S.) scored on a 2-yard run with 1:39 left in the game, as the Eastern New Mexico Greyhounds edged Midwestern State, 21-18, Nov. 14 at Greyhound Stadium. With the victory, ENMU finished the year at 8-3, the Greyhounds’ best record since the team went 9-2 in 1987. ENMU finished 6-3 in the Lone Star Conference South Division, tied with Angelo State for third place.

Punt return specialist Tony Cavalier provided an exciting start to Eastern’s scoring, as he returned a punt 71 yards for a touchdown midway through the opening quarter. It was the longst punt return in ENMU football history.

A penalty for excessive celebration pushed the extra point attempt back 15 yards and the kick failed. ENMU led 6-0 with 6:47 left in the first quarter.

The Greyhounds extended their lead to 14-0 when sophomore tailback Dennis Beard (Albuquerque, NM/N.M. Mil. Inst.) completed a 7-play, 75-yard drive with a 2-yard run. The big play of the drive was a 32-yard pass from Bobby Rodriguez (So., QB, St. Teresa, NM/Las Cruces H.S.) to wide receiver Carson Joachim (Richmond, TX/Lamar Consolidated H.S.). Jonathan Hix carried the ball into the end zone on the 2-point conversion.

Midwestern State gradually rallied. The Indians cut the deficit to 14-6 with a 7-play, 56-yard drive that took just 49 seconds at the end of the first half. Ryan Graham hauled in a 24-yard pass from quarterback Mitch Brown for the touchdown with 0:21 remaining in the half.

ENMU almost scored on the kickoff at the start of the second half. Waylon Mayfield took the short kickoff at the ENMU 35-yard line. He managed to escape a potential tackle near the sideline, then reversed his field and headed toward the end zone. As he was tackled, he fumbled into the end zone from the MSU 1-yard line. The ball bounced out of the end zone.

Midwestern State was offside on the kickoff, so the Indians were forced to rekick. After the second kick went out of bounds, ENMU took over at its own 40-yard line.

The Indians cut the deficit to just two points, when Tonnell Wilson scored on a 1-yard run with 14:02 left in the game. Brown’s conversion pass failed, and ENMU stayed in front, 14-12.

Eastern fumbled on its first play following the touchdown, and MSU recovered the ball at its own 48-yard line. Eight plays later, the Indians scored on a 5-yard pass from Brown to Tim Redditt. Brown’s pass on the PAT failed.

Rodriguez injured his shoulder on the next series and was unable to return. Williams guided the offense on the game- winning drive, which started at the ENMU 48-yard line.

Penalties played a key role on the drive. An illegal procedure penalty on the defense converted a 3rd-and-2 into a first down at the MSU 29-yard line. On the next play, Williams rushed for 9 yards, but the Greyhounds were called for offensive holding.

After an incomplete pass, Eastern faced 2nd-and-23 at the 42-yard line. The Greyhounds completed a screen pass for a 2-yard loss, but picked up a critical first down when the Indians were penalized for roughing the passer. The penalty gave ENMU a 1st-and-10 at the 28-yard line.

Williams was sacked for a 9-yard loss on first down, but regained the yardage with a 9-yard quarterback draw on second down. On third down, the freshman QB scrambled out of the pocket and gained 13 yards to the MSU 15-yard line.

Todd Wallis (Sr., FB, Lewisville, TX/ Marcus H.S.) ran for 12 yards on the next play, giving Eastern a 1st-and-goal at the 3-yard line. Wallis gained another yard on first down, then Williams scored the winning points on a 2-yard run.

The game featured lots of offense and lost of penalties. Midwestern State, ranked 5th in the LSC in total offense, gained 392 yards, and the Greyhounds achieved 318 yards. MSU was called for a total of 21 penalties for 239 yards. ENMU had 11 penalties for 114 yards.

BEARD PROVIDES SOLID RUNNING
ENMU tailback Dennis Beard (So., Albuquerque, NM/N.M. Mil. Inst.) had an excellent season for the Greyhounds. He finished the year with 868 yards on 145 carries to rank 10th in the LSC in yards per game (78.9). Beard earned an impressive 6.0 yards per carry and led the Greyhounds with 72 points on 12 touchdowns. He ranked 6th in the Conference in scoring with 6.5 points per game.

Beard finished the year with four 100-yard games. He gained 100 yards against Western New Mexico, Tarleton State, Texas A&M-Kingsville, and West Texas A&M. He rushed for a season- high 147 yards on 15 carries against TAMU-Kingsville.

UP NEXT FOR THE GREYHOUNDS
The Greyhounds conclude their 1998 schedule on Sat., Nov. 14, when they host Midwestern State University. Kickoff for the LSC South Division game is set for 1:00 p.m. (MST). If the Greyhounds win, they will finish the season with an 8-3 record, ENMU’s best record since going 9-2 in 1987. Eastern has already clinched its 8th winning season in the last 13 years.