Central Arkansas Piles up 553 Yards, as Bears Defeat Greyhounds, 51-0
ENMU Plays Without Hunter, Tezeno, Jennings, Davalos

Box Score

LITTLE ROCK, ARK. — The University of Central Arkansas gained 553 yards of offense and held Eastern New Mexico University to just 125 total yards, as the Bears defeated the Greyhounds, 51-0, in the season-opener for both teams, Thursday, Aug. 25 at War Memorial Stadium. The game, which was a fund-raiser for the Arkansas Children’s Hospital, was watched by 7,524 fans in the spacious 53,727-seat stadium.

ENMU played virtually the entire game without four of its top offensive threats. Derrick Hunter (Sr., WR, Lamesa, TX/Lamesa HS), Jason Tezeno (Sr., RB, Levelland, TX/Levelland HS) and J.J. Jennings (So., RB, Fort Worth, TX/Everman Joe C. Bean HS) missed the entire game, while junior running back Fide Davalos (Portales, NM/Floyd HS) saw action on just one play and recorded no statistics.

Playing without the team’s top three returning rushers and top returning receiver, Michael Benton (So., QB, Everman, TX/Everman Joe C. Bean HS) had a tough night in his first start for ENMU. The reduced offense also complicated the evening for first-year Head Coach Mark Ribaudo, who was an assistant coach and defensive coordinator for the Greyhounds the past eight years.

The Greyhounds hope to have part — if not all — of the foursome back in the lineup when they play their home-opener on Saturday, Sept. 3 versus Southeastern Oklahoma State University in a Lone Star Conference crossover game. Kickoff at Greyhound Stadium is set for 6 p.m. MST.

Central Arkansas played well against Eastern, with starting quarterback Chris Reil completing 11 of 15 passes for 227 yards and three touchdowns. Nathan Brown completed 6 of 8 pass attempts for 91 yards and one TD. Running back Kentrel Rogers, who gained 1,012 yards on the ground in 2004, rushed for 107 yards on 17 carries against the Greyhounds.

UCA also had a bit of luck on its side. The Bears fumbled on the game’s first play from scrimmage and ENMU recovered the ball, but the play was negated by an offside penalty against the Hounds. The Bears scored two plays later on a 43-yard pass from Reil to Aaron Fairooz.

On UCA’s next possession, Reil connected with Austin Cade for a 49-yard pass to the ENMU four, only to have Eastern’s Corey White (Sr., CB, Lubbock, TX/Estacado HS) force a fumble. Wide receiver Ben Faires picked up the ball for UCA at the 1-yard line and scored the game’s second touchdown. UCA led 17-0 at the end of the first period.

Eastern had two chances to reduce the Bears’ lead in the second quarter. The first opportunity occurred when Brandon Dominguez (Fr., QB, Anton, TX/Anton HS) provided a 56-yard kickoff return on the final play of the first quarter. Running back Zach Gerleve (So., RB, Truth or Consequences, NM/Hot Springs HS) rushed for five yards to the UCA 38-yard line to open the second period, then Patrick Hemphill (So., FB, Paducah, TX/Paducah HS) ran for nine yards. Hemphill fumbled as he was tackled by Jacob Ford at the end of the play, and Leroy Hamilton recovered the ball for the Bears.

The second ENMU scoring opportunity was set up on a 14-yard interception return by J.J. Ortiz (Jr., FS, Moriarty, NM/Moriarty HS) with 7:30 left in the first half. Sukora Cooper (Sr., FB, Dallas, TX/W.W. Samuell HS) started the drive with a 7-yard run, but the Hounds lost six yards on the next two plays and were forced to punt.

After a personal foul by the Hounds on the first punt, Lee Price (Jr., PK/P, Holliday, TX/Holliday HS) kicked again and the Bears took over at their own 31. Seven plays later, Che Jones hauled in a 13-yard scoring pass from Reil. Garrett Morgan tacked on the extra point, as UCA built a 24-0 lead.

The Bears forced ENMU to punt again after three plays. Central Arkansas took over at its own 42-yard line with 1:06 remaining in the half, then converted on third-and-three when Reil found Willie Hopson with a 34-yard pass to the ENMU 17. After a five-yard penalty, Reil threw for 19 yards to Michael Norvell to the 3-yard line. Morgan nailed a 20-yard field goal on third down as the half ended.

In the third quarter, Central Arkansas added two touchdowns for a 41-0 lead. Hopson scored on a 7-yard run to open the second-half scoring with 9:10 left in the period. Cade tacked on a 4-yard TD pass from Brown at the 6:22 mark.

Rogers reached the end zone on a 17-yard run to start the fourth quarter at the end of a nine-play, 70-yard drive. Morgan capped off the scoring with a 27-yard field goal 2:07 later, after Eastern’s defense limited UCA to minus 1-yard following a fumble recovery at the ENMU 9-yard line.

UCA achieved 24 first downs and held Eastern to seven first down. The Bears achieved 318 yards through the air on 17-of-23 passing by Reil and Brown. UCA rushed for 235 yards on 48 carries.

The Greyhounds were charged with four turnovers, as Eastern lost 3 of 5 fumbles and Benton threw one interception. Reil committed UCA’s only turnover on the interception by Ortiz in the second quarter. Cade was credited with the Bears’ only fumble, but UCA retained possession.

Eastern rushed for 124 yards on 37 carries, led by Robert Garza (Jr., FB, Idalou, TX/Idalou HS), who gained 53 yards on eight carries. Hemphill rushed for 26 yards on five attempts. Benton was 2 of 8 passing for just one yard. Christian Coronado (Jr., RB, Levelland, TX/Levelland HS) caught both passes.

Defensively, the Greyhounds were led by Landon Morton (Jr., ILB, Sunray, TX/Sunray HS) and Jorge Melendez (So., DE, Las Cruces, NM/Onate HS), each with seven total tackles. The Hounds made four tackles for losses, including two quarterback sacks. Five UCA players recorded four tackles each.