Athletic Report
November 2, 1998

FOOTBALL (7-2, 5-2 LSC) Ranked #19 (Tied)
Texas A&M-Kingsville scored a second half touchdown on a 58-yard interception return and set up another score with a 33-yard interception return, as the Javelinas moved past Eastern New Mexico, 28-14, at Greyhound Stadium, Oct. 31. TAMUK improved to 7-2 overall and 6-1 in the Lone Star Conference. The Greyhounds fell to 7-2, 5-2 in the LSC.

ENMU led 14-7 midway through the second quarter and the game was tied 14-14 at the half. The two ENMU turnovers in the final 30 minutes made the difference for Kingsville, as the Eastern defense limited the TAMUK offense to just 23 yards on 22 plays in the second half.

The Greyhounds took advantage of an early TAMUK turnover to take a 7-0 lead. The Javelinas received the opening kickoff and took over at their own 18-yard line. On the third play, Derrick Foster fumbled and John Williams (Jr., DT, Earth, TX/Springlake-Earth H.S.) recovered for ENMU.

Six plays later, sophomore tailback Dennis Beard (Albuquerque, NM/N.M. Mil. Inst.) scored on a 6-yard run. Jeff Wareing (Fr, PK, Alamogordo, NM/Alamogordo H.S.) made the extra point.

TAMU-Kingsville responded with an 8-play, 80-yard drive to tie the score. The big play was a 53-yard run by quarterback Terrance Bennett. Running back Jeremy Burnell reached the end zone on a 2-yard carry with 6:38 remaining in the first quarter.

The Greyhounds put together their own lengthy drive — 80 yards in 16 plays — to move back in front. Quarterback Bobby Rodriguez (St. Teresa, NM/ Las Cruces H.S.) gained a total of 15 yards on two carries early in the drive, but suffered a blow to the head and missed the rest of the game. Back-up QB James Williams (Fr., Earth, TX/Springlake-Earth H.S.) finished the drive and gained 28 yards on 4 carries.

Beard added 60 yards on 7 carries during the drive. One rush went for 22 yards, and another scored the TD from 1-yard out. Wareing kicked the PAT for a 14-7 advantage with 8:49 left in the half.

Eastern’s two turnovers made the difference in the second half. The first theft was earned by Glenn Jones, who grabbed Williams’ pass at the ENMU 40-yard line and returned it to the 7-yard line. On TAMUK’s third play, Bennett scored on a 1-yard run.

Early in the fourth quarter, Eastern drove from its own 39-yard line to the Kingsville 28-yard line. An intentional grounding penalty moved the ball back to the 43-yard line. Williams’ pass on second down was picked off by Cedric Johnson, who dashed untouched into the end zone with a 58-yard return.

Neither team scored the rest of the way, as TAMU-Kingsville, ranked #13 in NCAA Division II, held on for the win. ENMU, ranked #16 in last week’s poll, dropped into a tie for #19 this week.

The ENMU defense gave up three big plays in the first half, but otherwise played an outstanding game. TAMUK finished the evening with 261 total yards, but gained just 124 yards on the ground — well below the Javelinas’ average of 276.0 rushing yards per game. In the second half, the Javelinas gained only 20 yards on 18 carries.

Eastern concluded the game with 212 total yards, including 204 rushing yards on 60 carries. Beard led the way with a season-high 147 yards on 15 carries. His 2 touchdowns in the game give him 11 TDs for the year.

BEARD PROVIDES SOLID RUNNING
ENMU sophomore tailback Dennis Beard (Albuquerque, NM/N.M. Mil. Inst.) is near the 700-yard mark in rushing yards this season. He has gained 693 yards on 118 carries, an average of 5.9 yards per carry. He is averaging 77.0 yards per game and has scored 11 touchdowns.

His 66 points lead ENMU and his 7.3 points per game rank him 5th in the Lone Star Conference in scoring.

GREYHOUNDS RANK 4TH IN TEAM DEFENSE
ENMU is 4th in NCAA Division II in total defense. The Greyhounds have allowed only 231.2 yards per game. Opponents have gained 848 rushing yards on 319 carries (2.7 yds. per rush; 94.2 yds. per game), while passing for 1,233 yards (36.8%; 137.0 yds./game).

UP NEXT FOR THE GREYHOUNDS
The Greyhounds travel to West Texas A&M on Sat., Nov. 7 for an important LSC South Division game. Eastern, tied for 19th in NCAA Division II, and West Texas, ranked 15th, are both fighting for an NCAA Playoff berth. The game, set to start at 1:00 p.m. (MST), is also the annual Wagon Wheel game. Both teams have won the Wagon Wheel 6 times in 12 meetings.