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Defense shines for ENMU at annual Green and Silver scrimmage

BLACKWATER DRAW — Safety Jayson Serda pointed out that the Eastern New Mexico University's No. 1 defense got the better of the team's No. 1 offense during spring drills, including during Saturday's 21-0 victory for the Green (primarily the No. 2 offense and No. 1 defense) in ENMU's annual Green and Silver clash at Greyhound Stadium.

Joshua Lucero: CMI correspondent

Silver receiver Michael Matthews jumps for a pass that was swatted away by Green's Jayson Serda during the first half of Eastern New Mexico University's annual Silver and Green scrimmage on Saturday at Greyhound Stadium.

Silver guard Chris Kyles, though, said the whole team is adjusting well to a new coaching staff, led by Josh Lynn.

"The whole spring was a battle between the offense and defense," said Kyles, a senior-to-be from Dickinson, Texas. "I feel like our schemes, both on offense and defense, are good for us, and I feel we have the right players to run those schemes."

The teams played a 60-minute scrimmage, although they used a running clock for all but the final four minutes of the half and the entire fourth quarter.

Green scored late in the half on a 10-yard run by running back Andy Lopez, capping a 77-yard drive, then added single scores in each of the final two periods, including a 35-yard, fourth-and-long scoring pass from Sawyer Cornelius to Adrian Horton to finish an 81-yard march.

Serda, of course, will be rooting for the ENMU offense once the season starts in September. Still, there's been a bit of competition between the sides during the spring.

"I'm anxious to see what happens," said Serda, a Manzano grad who will be a junior in the fall. "I think we're ready to work hard and compete better than we did last year."

Serda, who was credited with a team-high five tackles and also had an interception, also returns punts and kicks for the Hounds, although that wasn't part of Saturday's contest.

He was one of numerous players to go down with injuries last season. Serda suffered a dislocated elbow against Midwestern State and missed the final two games, but said he's "100 percent" recovered.

Lynn acknowledged the defense was a little farther along than the offense at this point.

"Defensively, I thought we flew around the ball in general," he said. "And we tackled well today.

"Our defensive front controlled the line of scrimmage, although the offensive line didn't perform as well as they could."

Inside linebacker Seth Bailey, safety Linvel Mosby and cornerback Nick Jones had good games on defense, Lynn added.

Joshua Lucero: CMI correspondent

ENMU freshman Adrian Horton grabs a pass over Silver's Endurance Childers for a touchdown during the second half of Saturday's Green and Silver scrimmage at Greyhound Stadium.

"Offensively, I thought our tight ends caught the ball well," he said, pointing to Kendall Thompkins and Carlos Garcia.

Lynn said the team came through the spring relatively injury-free. He's expecting around 130 players to report for the start of preseason drills in early August.

"Our effort was great," he assessed of the April workouts. "Our kids worked hard, and they're hungry and ready to go."

Summary

Saturday

ENMU Silver&Green game

At Greyhound Stadium

Green 21, Silver 0

Silver 0 0 0 0 — 0

Green 0 7 7 7 — 21

Scoring summary

Second quarter

G — Andy Lopez 10-yard run (kick good), 2:54

Third quarter

G — Kyle Stephens 5-yard run (kick good), 3:04

Fourth quarter

G — Adrian Horton 35-yard pass from Sawyer Cornelius (kick good), 6:50

Team statistics

Sil Gre

First downs 10 18

Rushes-yards 28-92 41-153

Passing yards 41 102

Total yards 133 255

Comp-att-int 11-23-1 9-17-1

Punting 4-35.8 5-29.8

Fumbles-lost 5-2 0-0

Penalties-yards 3-22 6-51

Joshua Lucero: CMI correspondent

ENMU's Rashan Lawrence dives in vain to try to catch a pass during Saturday's Green and Silver scrimmage at Greyhound Stadium.

Individual statistics

Rushing — Silver, Rashan Lawrence 6-68, Coby Blocker 7-31, Wes Wood 8-18, Chase Kyser 1-1, Michael Matthews 1-0, Arvin Jackson 2-minus 4, Logan O'Brien 1-minus 5, team 2-minus 17. Green, Andy Lopez 7-52, Sonny Duran 8-38, Stephens 9-37, Dillon Metzger 5-35, Anthony Owusu 2-11, Cornelius 8-minus 6, Josh Hoghtaling 2-mnus 14.

Passing — Silver, Wood 9-18-1-26, Logan O'Brien 2-5-0-15. Green, Cornelius 8-11-1-105, Hoghtaling 1-6-0-minus 3.

Receiving — Silver, Jackson 4-16, Kyser 2-20, Matthews 2-minus 5, Kendall Thompkins 1-11, Lawrence 1-1, Noelin Henry 1-minus 2. Green, Owusu 3-24, Carlos Garcia 2-19, Robbey Arrington 2-18, Horton 1-35, Metzger 1-6.