A&M-Commerce upends Hounds

COMMERCE, Texas — Texas A&M-Commerce put together two long-but-quick scoring drives in the fourth quarter on Saturday and the Lions, ranked 20th in NCAA Division II, rallied for a 42-31 Lone Star Conference football victory over Eastern New Mexico University.

Junior running back Richard Cooper rushed for 153 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries and also caught a 5-yard TD pass from 6-foot-5. 245-pound senior quarterback Harrison Stewart for the Lions (3-1, 2-0 LSC).

The teams combined for just shy of 1,100 total yards, with the Greyhounds outgaining Commerce 550-547. Junior fullback Jeremy Doucette rushed for 97 yards on 18 carries and scored twice for ENMU (2-2, 0-2).

The teams combined for five touchdowns in a span of less than seven minutes in the first quarter before the game settled down a bit.

Doucette’s 4-yard run capped a 10-play, 65-yard drive and gave the Hounds a 7-0 lead following the opening kickoff, but the Lions countered with a six-play, 89-yard march ending in a 1-yard run by sophomore Gabriel Rodriguez.

Commerce then took advantage of a fumble by ENMU senior QB Jeremy Buurma at the ENMU 41, and grabbed the lead four plays later on Cooper’s 2-yard run. ENMU tied it with 4:18 left in the period on a 65-yard pass from senior wide receiver Adrian Horton to sophomore running back Kamal Cass.

But it took the Lions only 20 seconds to regain the lead. Senior running back Theo Wofford, who finished with 133 yards on just seven carries, got 81 of them on the first play following the kickoff to make it 21-14.

ENMU’s defense then took over, allowing only the Stewart-to-Cooper TD pass in the final minute of the half to give the Lions a 28-24 advantage at the intermission. The Hounds regained the lead in the final minute of the third quarter when Horton caught a 6-yard TD pass from Buurma, capping a 15-play, 80-yard drive that covered more than seven minutes.

Commerce went 73 yards in just four plays to move ahead for good 35-31 on an 18-yard pass from Stewart to junior wide-out Darby Smith with 13:32 left, then went 85 yards in only five plays for Cooper’s 6-yard run for an insurance TD at the 5:48 mark.

Horton finished with eight catches for 95 yards for ENMU, while junior WR Aaron Johnson caught six passes for 116 yards. Buurma went 17-of-23 for 228 yards for the game.

Stewart was 13-of-22 for 219 yards for the Lions, with Smith and Lance Evens each catching five passes.