Athletic Report
November 20, 2000

BEARD, STEWART EARN FIRST TEAM ALL-LSC SOUTH HONORS
Harold “Bud” Elliott is Coach-of-the-Year for 3rd year in a row Defensive back Eric Mims Chosen Freshman-of-the-Year
PORTALES, NM — The Eastern New Mexico University football team, which finished the 2000 season at 6-4 and tied for the Lone Star Conference South Division title with a 4-2 LSC record, has placed two players on the All-LSC South First Team. ENMU placed eight additional players on the Second Team. Eight Greyhounds were included on the Honorable Mention list.

Head Coach Harold “Bud” Elliott was chosen LSC South Division Coach-of-the-Year for the third consecutive season. He has guided ENMU to a 22-10 combined record the past three seasons, including back-to-back LSC South Division co-championships in 1999 and 2000. Elliott has achieved an overall record of 42-32-2 (.566) in seven seasons at ENMU. His career record over 33 seasons is 179-162-9 (.524).

Cornerback Eric Mims (Fr., Amarillo, TX/Palo Duro H.S.) was named LSC South Division Freshman-of-the-Year. Mims played in all 10 games, recorded 17 tackles, and earned 1 quarterback sack. He grabbed 1 interception, was credited with 4 pass break-ups and returned 1 kickoff for 12 yards.

1ST TEAM ALL-LSC SOUTH
Junior running back Dennis Beard (Albuquerque, NM/N.M. Military Institute) was Eastern’s only First Team selection on offense. Beard carried the ball 142 times for 781 yards and 9 touchdowns. He gained a career high 168 yards and scored 5 touchdowns on 21 carries against West Texas A&M. Beard was ENMU’s second leading scorer with 54 points, and was chosen LSC South Offensive Player-of-the-Week for Oct. 28 and Nov. 4. He has gained 1,649 yards and scored 21 touchdowns in 21 games with the Greyhounds.

Senior defensive end James Stewart (Anton, TX/N.M. Military Institute) was named to the First Team on defense. Stewart earned 30 unassisted tackles and 12 assists for 42 total tackles. He led the Greyhounds with 11 tackles for losses (41 yards lost) and also topped the squad with 5.0 quarterback sacks (29 yards lost). He forced 4 fumbles, recovered 2 fumbles and returned an interception 16 yards for a touchdown. Stewart was named LSC South Defensive- Player-of-the-Week for Oct. 21, after blocking a punt and scoring on an interception return in the final 4:00 against Tarleton State to lead ENMU to a 34-27 victory. He was also chosen National Co-Defensive Player-of-the-Week for his efforts against TSU.

Stewart was named Second Team All-LSC South in 1999. He earned Second Team GTE Academic All-District in 1999 and was named to the 1999 LSC Academic Honor Roll. Stewart finished his career with 106 tackles, including 22 tackles for losses and 10.0 quarterback sacks. He scored a touchdown against Tarleton State on a fumble recovery (1998), a blocked punt (1999) and an interception (2000).

2ND TEAM ALL-LSC SOUTH
Eastern’s four players on the Second Team offense were fullback Aaron Dunnam (So., Wheeler, TX/Wheeler H.S.), tight end Josh Lynn (Sr., Eunice, NM/Eunice H.S.), offensive guard Billy Biggar (Jr., Kemp, TX/Mayville State University), center Nathan Mastin (Sr., Odessa, TX/Permian H.S.). The Greyhounds also placed four players on the Second Team defense. They were linebacker Marcus Rivers (Jr., Vallejo, CA/Solano C.C.) and defensive backs Justin Hibbler (So., Lubbock, TX/Estacado H.S.), Tonmar Johnson (Sr., Vallejo, CA/ Henderson State) and Michael Garvin (Sr., Salinas, CA/Hartnell C.C.).

Dunnam was ENMU’s second leading rusher, with 65 carries for 329 yards and 2 touchdowns. He averaged 5.1 yards per carry, and also caught 2 passes for 18 yards. He provided quality blocking that helped the Greyhounds run for 2,120 yards on 474 carries as a team.

Lynn caught 18 passes for 327 yards, an average of 18.2 yards per catch. His longest reception covered 41 yards. Lynn concluded his career with 44 receptions for 740 yards. He caught 4 passes for 81 yards against Tarleton State this season.

Biggar helped the ENMU offense rush for 212.0 yard per game and 4.2 yards per carry. He also was a key reason the Greyhounds earned 316.7 total yards per game. His blocking was instrumental, helping the Hounds scored 264 points in 10 games, including 25 rushing touchdowns and 5 passing touchdowns.

Mastin combined with Biggar to lead Eastern’s offensive line. Mastin was named to the LSC South Second Team for the third season (1997, 1998, 2000). He missed most of the 1999 season due to injury. This year, his blocking helped the Hounds win 5 of their last 7 game, including wins against Angelo State and Tarleton State.

Rivers finished second on the squad with 67 total tackles (36 unassisted). He also earned 8 tackles for losses (32 yards lost) and 2.0 quarterback sacks (20 yards lost). He recovered 2 fumbles and earned 1 pass break-up. Many of his tackles were either in the backfield or in the open field, providing ENMU with important momentum throughout the season.

Hibbler led the Greyhounds with 5 interceptions for 206 yards and 2 touchdowns. His longest return covered an NCAA record 100 yards on the final play of the first half in a 35-7 victory over Texas A&M-Kingsville. He also returned an interception 78 yards for a touchdown in ENMU’s 49-21 win over West Texas A&M.

Hibbler also led the Hounds with 7 pass break-ups, and ended the year with 31 total tackles (20 unassisted), while forcing 1 fumble and blocking 1 kick. He was named National Defensive Player-of-the-Week by “Division2insider.com” for his efforts against TAMU-Kingsville on Oct. 28.

Johnson achieved 30 total tackles during the season, including 23 solo stops. He broke up 5 passes, earned 1 interception, and registered 2 tackles for losses. He also averaged 22.0 yards per kickoff return, 15.9 yards per punt return, and was chosen LSC South Special Teams Player-of-the-Week after returning a punt 81 yards for a TD against Western New Mexico. In two seasons at ENMU, he made 54 total tackles (41 solo) and intercepted 4 passes.

Garvin topped the ENMU tackle chart with 98 total tackles (57 unassisted). He made numerous big plays, while recording 7 tackles for losses and 1.0 quarterback sack. He also forced 1 fumble and broke up 1 pass. Garvin registered 18 tackles against Texas A&M-Commerce and provided 17 tackles against Central Oklahoma. In his two seasons with the Greyhounds, he earned 151 total tackles.

H.M. ALL-LSC SOUTH
There were a total of eight Honorable Mention selections from Eastern New Mexico. They were quarterback Heath Ridenour (So., Lovington, NM/Lovington H.S.), wide receiver Cale Sanders (So., Roswell, NM/Goddard H.S.), defensive tackles John Williams (Sr., Earth, TX/Springlake-Earth H.S.) and Nelson Smith (Sr., Albuquerque, NM/U. of Miami), linebackers Garett Williams (Sr., Monahans, TX/Monahans H.S.) and Jimmy Hamilton (So., Artesia, NM/N.M. State), punter Steven Todd (Fr., Lubbock, TX/Frenship H.S.), and place- kicker Mike Trimble (Jr., Houston, TX/Adams State).

Ridenour completed 40 of 80 passes for 641 yards and 2 touchdowns, while sharing the starting quarterback duties with James Williams (Jr., Earth, TX/Springlake-Earth H.S.). He earned a 113.05 efficiency rating and threw just 5 interceptions. Ridenour also carried the ball 63 times for 218 yards and 2 touchdowns. The Greyhounds were 4-0 in the game’s he started.

Sanders was Eastern’s top receiver, with 22 catches for 399 yards and 3 touchdowns. He averaged 18.1 yards per catch. Sanders’ also provided strong blocking in support of ENMU’s option attack. He has 34 career receptions for 681 yards and 6 touchdowns.

John Williams totaled 42 tackles on the season, including 7 tackles for losses and 1.5 quarterback sacks. He increased his career totals to 135 tackles, 22 tackles for losses and 7.8 quarterback sacks. He helped the ENMU defense limit opponents to just 18.0 points per game this season. Williams played in all 43 games in 1996, 1997, 1998 and 2000 (38 starts).

Smith was named Second Team All-LSC South in 1998 and 1999. He concluded his Greyhound career with 101 career tackles, including 22 total tackles this fall. He made 7 of his tackles in 2000 behind the line of scrimmage, and was credited with 2.5 sacks. During his career, he achieved 27 tackles for losses and 6.5 quarterback sacks.

Garett Williams provided the Hounds with 64 tackles this season. He made 6 tackles in the backfield, forced 2 fumbles and recovered 2 fumbles. Williams started all 32 games the past three seasons, after playing in 10 games as a freshman in 1997. He made 169 total tackles during his ENMU career.

Hamilton registered 44 tackles this season, after making 15 tackles as a freshman in 1999. A solid tackler, he forced 2 fumbles, recovered 2 fumbles and made 5 tackles for losses during the 2000 season. He was a key player in the final half of the season, as the Greyhounds played excellent defense, while winning 4 of their last 5 games.

Todd supplied quality punting throughout the season. He averaged 36.6 yards per punt, despite often punting inside the opponents’ 40-yard line. He placed 16 punts inside the 20-yard line. His longest punt of the season covered 65 yards. Todd was named LSC South Special Teams Player-of-the-Week three times, on Sept. 9, Sept. 16 and Sept. 30.

Trimble was Eastern’s leading scorer with 58 points. He connected on 9 of 12 field goals and made 31 of 32 extra points. His missed PAT was on Eastern’s first touchdown of the season. Trimble was selected LSC South Special Teams Player-of-the-Week after making three field goals and scoring 10 points in an 18-8 victory at Angelo State on Oct. 7. Trimble’s kickoffs frequently resulted in touchbacks.