Athletic Report
November 3, 2001

BEARD RUSHES FOR 163 YARDS AND 2 TDS AS ENMU DEFEATS WEST TEXAS A&M, 41-27
PORTALES, NM — Senior running back Dennis Beard (Albuquerque, NM/N.M. Military Institute) carried the ball 22 times for 163 yards and scored 2 touchdowns, as Eastern New Mexico University defeated West Texas A&M University, 41-27, in the Wagon Wheel game at Greyhound Stadium.

ENMU finished the season at 6-4 overall and 2-4 in the LSC South. West Texas, which has one game left, dropped to 2-8 overall and 0-5 in the LSC South. Beard’s first touchdown, on a 1-yard run, came midway through the third quarter, and gave the Greyhounds a 31-14 lead.

After the Buffaloes pulled within seven points at 34-27, Beard clinched the victory on a 48-yard touchdown run with 1:15 remaining.Last year, in a 49-21 win at West Texas, Beard rushed 21 times for 168 yards and scored a school record 5 touchdowns. Beard completed his ENMU career with 1,973 yards and 24 TDs.

ENMU leads the Wagon Wheel series, 9-6, and is 9-7 all-time against WTAMU. The Hounds have won three straight Wagon Wheel games, and have kept the traveling trophy since 1999. Head Coach Harold “Bud” Elliott has recorded 6 winning seasons in 8 years at ENMU.

On Saturday, the Hounds led 3-0 on a 41-yard field goal by Mike Trimble (Sr., PK/P, Houston, TX/Adams State College) at the end of an 11-play, 56-yard drive, with 9:26 left in the first quarter. It was Trimble’s first field goal attempt since Oct. 6.

Trimble added a 21-yard field goal with 9:05 remaining in the game for a 34-20 ENMU lead. He was 5 of 5 on extra points, and finished the season 3 of 6 on field goals and 37 of 39 on PATs.

West Texas A&M took its only lead of the game with 22 seconds left in the opening stanza, when Dante Clay scored on a 6-yard run. Justin Ray’s conversion gave the Buffaloes a 7-3 lead at the end of the 11-play, 79-yard drive. Clay ran 20 times for 144 yards during the game.

ENMU quarterback James Williams (Sr., Earth, TX/Springlake-Earth H.S.), making his first start of the season after appearing in seven games in relief, led the Greyhounds on a pair of touchdown drives for a 17-7 advantage. The first drive moved the ball from Eastern’s 19 to the end zone in seven plays immediately following Clay’s touchdown.

Williams threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Cale Sanders (Roswell, NM/Goddard H.S.) for the score.On Eastern’s next possession, Williams drove the Greyhounds 64 yards to set up a 2-yard touchdown run by Koefie Powell with 7:32 left in the half. Williams provided the key play with a 5-yard run on 4th-and-1 at the West Texas A&M 7-yard line.

The Buffaloes answered with a touchdown two plays later. Clay ran 78 yards to the ENMU 2-yard line to set up a scoring strike from Josh Knight to Kaleb Clay with 6:44 on the second quarter clock. Ray’s extra point cut the deficit to 17-14. Six plays later, Williams dashed 52 yards for a touchdown. It was the longest run of his career. Trimble kicked the PAT with 3:12 to go in the half, extending Eastern’s lead to 24-14.

After Beard’s first touchdown gave the Hounds a 17-point cushion, the Buffaloes gradually cut the margin by 10 points. A 9-yard scoring pass from back-up quarterback Rick Leach to Nick Pasquale with 14:44 left in the game reduced the lead to 31-20.

The extra point was blocked by Justin Hibbler (Jr., CB, Lubbock, TX/Estacado H.S.). Trimble’s second field goal increased the lead to 34-20, but two possessions later the Buffs scored on a 13-yard pass from Leach to Chris Guillen.

ENMU was in front 34-27 with 3:38 left. Beard carried the ball 4 times for 61 yards on Eastern’s game-clinching series. He converted on 3rd-and-2 at the ENMU 39 with a 5-yard gain, then scampered 48 yards to the end zone three plays later on another 3rd-and-2. Eastern’s offense amassed 468 yards on 69 plays, with the Hounds gaining 375 yards on 57 rushes.

Beard’s 163 yards led the way, but Williams finished with 96 yards on 18 carries. He also completed 5 of 12 passes for 121 yards. Sanders caught 4 passes for 82 yards to end the year with 48 catches and 948 yards. He has 82 career receptions for 1,629 yards. He caught at least 4 passes in all 10 games this season.

West Texas A&M achieved 333 total yards, with 174 rushing yards on 27 carries. Leach was 9 of 17 passing for 115 yards (2 TDs). Knight completed 11 of 22 passes for 73 yards (1 TD).

Jonathon Solis (Jr., FS, Roswell, NM/N.M. Mil. Inst.) recorded 16 tackles for Eastern. Larry Varnado (Sr., LB, Clovis, NM/Clovis H.S.) and Ty Touchstone (Fr., DB, Lubbock, TX/Monterey H.S.) each contributed 8 tackles. Courage Idemudia (Fr., LB, Glenn Heights, TX/DeSoto H.S.) added 7 tackles, while Jared White (So., LB, Pampa, TX/Texas-El Paso) provided 6 tackles.

For West Texas, free safety Derek Turner earned 17 total tackles, including 14 solo stops. Linebacker Adam St. Clair registered 15 total tackles (11 unassisted).

Both teams committed one turnover. Linebacker Adam Shaw of WTAMU recovered a fumble by the Greyhounds, and Adrian Quigley (Fr., SS, Lubbock, TX/Monterey H.S.) pounced on a fumble by the Buffaloes.