Athletic Report
September 8, 1998

FOOTBALL
The Eastern New Mexico University Greyhounds opened the 1998 season with a 62-3 rout of cross-state rival Western New Mexico University at Greyhound Stadium. ENMU built a 35-0 first half lead and coasted to the season opening win.

Fullback Bruce Hatch (Jr., Bloomfield, NM/Bloomfield), who rushed for 862 yards on 140 carries last year, opened the scoring on a 48-yard run. ENMU led 7-0 with 2:18 remaining in the first quarter.

After tailback Dennis Beard (So., Albuquerque, NM/New Mexico Military Institute) scored on a 33-yard run early in the second quarter, Hatch put the Greyhounds on the scoreboard again. He hauled in a 16-yard TD pass from quarterback Bobby Rodriguez (So., Santa Teresa, N.M./Las Cruces).

Todd Wallis (Sr., Lewisville, TX/Marcus) added a 13-yard touchdown run and safety Danny Cummings (Sr., Raton, N.M./Raton) provided a 31-yard fumble recovery return, as ENMU increased its lead to 35-0 at the intermission. Placekicker Jeff Wareing (Fr., Alamogordo, N.M./Alamogordo) was 5 for 5 on PATs in the first half.

Eastern remained in control over the final 30 minutes. ENMU’s lead moved to 42-0 when halfback Scott Schroeder (So., Fairacres, NM/Las Cruces) reached the end zone on a 17-yard run with 7:45 left in the third quarter.

The Mustangs finally scored with 0:42 remaining in the third period on Mark Kilian’s 35-yard field goal. The Greyhounds answered quickly when Terrance Smith (Jr., Miami, FL/U. of Tenn.-Martin) dashed 97 yards for a touchdown on the ensuing kickoff. WNMU blocked the extra point.

Eastern’s back-up quarterback, James Williams (Fr., Earth, TX/Springlake-Earth), completed the scoring with a pair of 1-yard touchdown runs in the final quarter. ENMU ended the game with 392 total yards, including 307 rushing yards on 48 carries.

Beard and Williams led the Eastern rushing attack, as both players finished with 61 yards on 6 carries. Hatch added 52 yards on 5 carries, Rodriguez contributed 44 yards on 6 carries, and Wallis produced 44 yards on 8 carries.

Rodriguez was 6 of 11 passing for 85 yards and one touchdown. Brian Wiemer (So., Clovis, NM/Clovis) led ENMU’s receivers with 3 catches for 24 yards, and Hatch caught 2 passes for 40 yards (1 TD).

Anthony Gray, who rushed for an NCAA Division II record 2,220 yards for Western last season, was limited to 70 yards on 20 carries by the ENMU defense. Overall, the Mustangs gained just 144 yards — 57 on 34 running plays and 87 on 12 of 31 pass attempts.

Cummings, in addition to returning a fumble for a touchdown, intercepted a pass (29-yard return) and provided 5 tackles and 3 assists. Chris Mathis (Sr., Cuero, TX/Cisco J.C.) also intercepted a pass for the Greyhounds.

RODRIGUEZ NAMED PLAYER OF THE WEEK
ENMU sophomore quarterback Bobby Rodriguez (6’2”, 180 lbs., Santa Teresa, N.M./Las Cruces H.S.) was named Lone Star Conference South Division Offensive Player-of-the-Week for his efforts in ENMU’s 62-3 rout of Western New Mexico on Saturday (Sept. 5). The game was his first ever start at the college level.

Rodriguez led a powerful ENMU attack against the Mustangs, completing 6 of 11 passes for 85 yards and 1 touchdown. He added 44 rushing yards on 6 carries. Overall, he contributed 129 yards to ENMU’s offense.

In addition to earning Player-of-the-Week honors, Rodriguez also registered the top quarterback rating in the LSC. His rating of 149.5 tops all quarterbacks in the 15-team conference. He also ranks fourth in the LSC in total offense.

UP NEXT FOR THE GREYHOUNDS
Eastern New Mexico, 1-0, travels to Las Vegas, N.M. on Sat., Sept. 12 to take on New Mexico Highlands at 6:00 p.m. (Mountain Time). The Greyhounds play at Southwestern Oklahoma State on Sept. 19 (6:00 p.m. Mountain), before returning home for the Homecoming game against Southeastern Oklahoma State on Sept. 26 at 2:00 p.m. (Mountain). The game against Southeastern Oklahoma is also SELLOUT ’98, as the Greyhounds hope to play before their first ever sellout crowd.