Hounds looking to maintain positive outlook

Eastern New Mexico University's football team got off to a nice start under first-year coach Josh Lynn, winning two of its first three games.

Then the schedule stiffened a bit, and the Greyhounds find themselves at 2-4 (1-3 Lone Star Conference) as they hit their bye this week.

With upcoming league outings the next two weeks against rival West Texas A&M and at Midwestern State, both ranked in the NCAA Division II's top 20, things don't soon figure to get any easier.

"The whole thing with us is we've just got to hold it together and stay positive," Lynn said. "Our freshmen that are getting to play are getting better, and that's encouraging."

So far, Lynn said, the Hounds have managed to avoid a lot of devastating injuries, although nagging hurts have limited players' practice time.

An ongoing investigation into athletes' eligibility at the school — mainly over paperwork oversights — has had more impact, Lynn acknowledged. He estimates perhaps 15-20 players have been impacted, mainly sophomores and above, and it hurts the team's depth.

"We're down to where you go from having No. 2s (backup players) on specials (special teams), mixed in with some No. 1s, to having 2s and 3s," he said.

Some players are becoming cleared, Lynn said, but at this point in the season anyone declared eligible may simply be redshirted.

"At some point, you've got to look at the best interests of the kid, and of Greyhound football," Lynn said. "Do you want these kids for four games, or do you want them for a full year?"

Still, the team is making the best of it.

"You just have to do the best you can with what you have," said sophomore punter/placekicker Dylan Baca of Carlsbad, who himself wasn't cleared until the second game. "We've got good people, though. We've had a lot of new people that are stepping up."

Despite the handicaps, the Hounds wish their record was a little better.

"I think there'd be no way you couldn't be disappointed," Baca said. "There definitely are things we could get better at."

ENMU is transitioning from the "Air Raid" offense the last few seasons under Mark Ribaudo back to its more familiar triple-option attack, led by senior quarterback Wes Wood.

Wood, who threw for more than 2,000 yards last season, has accounted for roughly 60 percent of the team's nearly 2,000 yards of total offense this year. He's completed 58-of-99 passes for 723 yards and five touchdowns, and has team-high totals of eight touchdown runs and a net of 447 rushing yards

"We're right there," said sophomore slot receiver/kick returner Dillon Metzger of Rio Rancho. "We miss everybody that's ineligible, but we have other people stepping up in different roles.

"We're working with what we've got and doing the best we can."

Generally, byes are most useful somewhere in midseason, and the Hounds are hoping it recharges them a bit.

"It's good to rest and let guys recover from little nagging injuries," Lynn said.

The smallish (5-foot-7, 175 pounds) Metzger, who has nine catches for 179 yards and two touchdowns and a team-high 12 kickoff returns for an 18.1-yard average, said he certainly appreciates the bye.

"It's nice to give our bodies a little rest," he said. "We've had a good week of practice and started working on WT a little bit. They're a good team, but we're just going to go out and play hard every play."

Lynn figures better days are ahead for his squad.

"Our kids are positive; nobody's getting down," he said. "They're doing a good job of just working and getting better."