Greyhounds Rally Past Western New Mexico, 27-20

PORTALES, NM – Senior running back Taryll Boxton (Albuquerque, NM/Del Norte HS) scored on a 14-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Heath Ridenour (Lovington, NM/Lovington HS) with 1:13 remaining, as Eastern New Mexico University rallied past Western New Mexico University, 27-20, Sept. 7 at Greyhound Stadium. The Greyhounds, who trailed 20-13 with 11:54 remaining, scored two times late in the fourth quarter for a successful season opener. WNMU fell to 1-1 on the season.

Boxton scored both the tying and winning touchdowns. He pulled Eastern within one point of a 20-20 deadlock when he crossed the goal line on a 1-yard run with 7:30 left in the game. Freshman kicker Joe Barnes (PK/P, Andrews, TX/Andrews HS) converted the extra point.

Later, on fourth down near midfield, Barnes provided a 42-yard punt that rolled out of bounds at the Mustangs’ 6-yard line. The Greyhounds held Western on three consecutive downs, forcing the Mustangs to punt. The ball carried just 32 yards to the WNMU 38-yard line, where the Hounds took over for their game-winning drive.

The Greyhounds scored in just three plays. Redshirt freshman running back Dwayne Davis (Lubbock, TX/Monterey HS) rushed for 31 yards on the first play, but was tackled for a 7-yard loss on the second play. The third plays was the scoring pass from Ridenour to Boxton.

Boxton gained just six yards on six running plays, but still reached the 1,000-yard mark in career rushing. He now has 1,002 yards on 168 carries at ENMU. He has scored 10 rushing TDs for the Greyhounds.

Ridenour led the ENMU offense with 161 rushing yards on 15 carries, plus 69 passing yards and 5 completions on 11 attempts. He opened the game’s scoring on a 50-yard run just 1:39 into the game.

WNMU countered with the next two touchdowns for a 14-7 lead. Senior quarterback Damien Ocampo, who attended New Mexico State University before transferring to WNMU a year ago, hit Bobby Willcox with a 16-yard TD pass at the end of a 9-play, 71-yard drive with 4:59 remaining in the first quarter. Ocampo also connected with tight end Richard Angulo on a 58-yard scoring strike with 4:16 left in the first half. Ramsey Yamini kicked both extra points.

Ocampo concluded the game with 266 passing yards. He completed 17 of 37 passes with 2 TDs and 2 interceptions.

ENMU pulled within a single point late in the second quarter. The Hounds moved 69 yards on six plays, with Davis completing the drive on a 17-yard run to the left corner of the end zone. Barnes, who earlier missed field goal attempts of 49 and 31 yards, failed on the extra point attempt.

The Mustangs gradually extended their lead to 20-13. Yamini kicked a 45-yard field goal at the 8:19 mark of the third quarter. He also converted a 35-yard field goal with 11:54 left in the game.

Ty Touchstone (So., FS, Lubbock, TX/Monterey HS) led the Greyhounds with 10 tackles, forced a fumble and also provided several big plays. He intercepted a pass at the ENMU 12-yard line with 1:51 left in the third quarter and the Greyhounds trailing 17-13. Later, he made two key plays on WNMU’s final possession.

Western New Mexico had the ball 1st-and-10 at the ENMU 33-yard line with 28 seconds left when Touchstone, 5’11” and 180 pounds, knocked down a pass in the end zone that was intended for WNMU tight end Richard Angulo, 6’8” and 260 pounds.

The Mustangs lost five yards on second down, when Ocampo was called for an illegal forward pass after crossing the line of scrimmage. On third down from the ENMU 38-yard line, Ocampo threw for the end zone. Touchstone intercepted the pass several yards behind the goal line, giving ENMU possession with 5.3 seconds remaining. The Greyhounds snapped the ball and ran out the clock.

Eastern gained 446 yards of total offense, while WNMU amassed 328 yards. The Greyhounds carried the ball 59 times for 359 yards, an average of 6.1 yards per carry. Eastern also gained 87 passing yards. In addition to the 69 passing yards supplied by Ridenour, the Hounds received 18 yards from back-up quarterback Steven Hinson (So., Olney, TX/Olney HS), who completed 1 of 2 pass attempts.

Davis rushed for 93 yards on 14 carries. Sukora Cooper (So., FB, Dallas, TX/Samuell HS) added 61 yards on 7 carries. Derrick Hunter (Fr., WR, Lamesa, TX/Lamesa HS) led the Hounds in receiving, with 3 catches for 41 yards. Tight end Artemus Tennison (Fr., Lubbock, TX/Monterey HS) caught 2 passes for 32 yards.

Ocampo completed two passes to Angulo for 64 yards and two passes to Willcox for 26 yards. Running back Robert Muro gained 19 yards on 7 carries for the Mustangs, who finished with just 25 rushing yards on 14 carries.

The Greyhounds return to action on Saturday, Sept. 14, when they travel to Las Vegas, New Mexico to take on New Mexico Highlands University. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. (MST). Last year, the Greyhounds defeated the Cowboys, 41-6, at Greyhound Stadium.