Athletic Report
October 19, 1998

FOOTBALL (7-0, 5-0 LSC, Ranked #12 — NCAA Div. II)
Eastern New Mexico scored on two fumble recoveries and a blocked punt, as the Greyhounds defeated Tarleton State, 42-7, Oct. 17 at Greyhound Stadium. The win improved ENMU to 7-0 overall and 5-0 in the Lone Star Conference. Eastern is now ranked #12 in the NCAA Division II Poll. TSU fell to 0-7 on the season and 0-5 in the LSC.

Tarleton fumbled 11 times, with ENMU recovering on 4 occasions. The Texans were also intercepted once by senior free safety Tony Cavalier (Pampa, TX/Pittsburg State).

The Texans had a chance to take a 7-0 lead when they drove from their 46 to the ENMU 1-yard line. The drive ended on 4th-and-goal at the one, when Bret Bethke fumbled into the end zone and Adrian Thomas (Fr., DB, Albuquerque, NM/Del Norte H.S.) recovered.

ENMU took over at its own 20 and drove 80 yards in 13 plays. Bobby Rodriguez (So., QB, St. Teresa, NM/Las Cruces H.S.) threw a 2-yard pass to Josh Lynn (So., TE, Eunice, NM/Eunice H.S.) for the score. Placekicker Jeff Wareing (Fr., Alamogordo, NM, Alamogordo H.S.), made the extra point with 10:50 left in the half (he was 7 of 7 on PATS).

Another TSU miscue led to ENMU’s second touchdown. The Texans had the ball at their own 9-yard line when a punt snap was fumbled and the punter was forced to run. ENMU took over at the 4-yard line. On the next play, Rodriguez kept the ball and scored.

Tarleton cut the deficit to 14-7 on a 23-yard pass from Jake Smith to Tryone Wall with 1:05 remaining in the half. The Texans drove 55 yards in 3 plays.

ENMU took over with 0:59 left . The Greyhounds gained 5 yards on three plays, then TSU called timeout with 0:07 left. Eastern punter Erick Hernandez (Fr., Amarillo, TX/Palo Duro H.S.) kicked the ball to the TSU 15-yard line.

Returner Devon Dorris was hit by Justin Stephens (Jr., LB, Roswell, NM/Goddard H.S.) at the 20, causing a fumble. The ball bounced back to the 15, where James Stewart (Jr., LB, Anton, TX/N.M. Mil. Inst.) scooped it up and scored for ENMU as the half ended.

Neither team scored in the third quarter, but ENMU scored three times in the final period. All three scores followed Tarleton mistakes.

The first came with 5:38 left when Danny Cummings (Sr., SS, Raton, NM/Raton H.S.) blocked a punt. Justin Stephens (Jr., LB, Roswell, NM/Goddard H.S.) recovered in the end zone for a 28-7 lead.

The second occurred after TSU missed on 4th-and-1 at its own 34-yard line. ENMU took over on downs and Dennis Beard (So., Albuquerque, NM/N.M. Mil. Inst.) scampered 25 yards for a touchdown 2 plays later with 2:51 left.

The third TD came on Tarleton’s next play, which began at the TSU 26-yard line. Smith was pressured by junior linebacker Michael Walton (Earth, TX/Texas Tech). To avoid being sacked, Smith made an errant lateral. Defensive end Eric Williams (Sr., Odessa, TX/Permian H.S.) retrieved the ball at the 1 and scored.

ENMU gained 196 rushing yards. Beard led the way with 125 yards on 18 carries. Wide receiver Carson Joachim (Jr., Richmond, TX/Lamar Consolidated H.S.) caught 4 passes for 31 yards. Eastern had 264 total yards.

The ENMU defense limited TSU to just 155 total yards. The Texans gained minus-38 yards on 32 rushing plays, and completed 16 of 37 passes for 193 yards through the air. Loften Swint was the top receiver for the Texans, hauling in 9 passes for 103 yards.

ENMU BLOCKS KICK IN 6TH STRAIGHT GAME
When Danny Cummings (Sr., SS, Raton, NM/Raton H.S.) blocked a TSU punt in the 4th quarter, it allowed the Greyhounds to extend their string of games with at least one blocked kick. The streak, now at 6 games, includes 4 blocked punts, 2 blocked field goals and one blocked extra point:

EASTERN DEFENSE SACKS THE QB
The Eastern New Mexico defense has recorded 25 quarterback sacks in seven games of the season. Opponents have lost a total of 154 yards on the plays.

Junior defensive end Doug Hall (Albuquerque, NM/N.M. Military Inst.) leads the sack attack with 5.5 sacks. He is followed by Floyd White (Jr., LB, Pampa, TX/Pampa H.S.) with 5.0 sacks, and by Michael Walton (Earth, TX/Texas Tech) and Eric Williams (Jr., DE, Odessa, TX/Permian H.S.) with 4.5 sacks each.

Opponents have achieved 10 sacks against Eastern. The sacks have resulted in 66 yards in losses.

UP NEXT FOR THE GREYHOUNDS
The Greyhounds play at Texas A&M-Commerce on Sat., Oct. 24 at 1:30 p.m. (MST). Last year, Eastern edged the Lions, 10-9, at Greyhound Stadium. The game was played in a freezing wind, with ENMU winning on a 20-yard field goal with 10:25 left.

The Greyhounds return to Portales on Sat., Oct. 13 to play Texas A&M-Kingsville. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. (Mountain).