Hounds take on Angelo State in home finale

PORTALES — Onward and upward for the Eastern New Mexico football team.

The Greyhounds suffered a somewhat stunning road loss to UT Permian Basin, 48-38, this past Saturday, allowing the Falcons to pick up their first Lone Star Conference victory of the season.

So this week it’s indeed onward and certainly upward — as in caliber of opponent — when the Greyhounds play their last home game of 2019. Angelo State visits Portales this coming Saturday, beginning at 6 p.m.

And if Eastern New Mexico is going to finish this season with a winning record, top last year’s 5-6 mark, the Greyhounds are running out of time.

Last Saturday’s loss at UTPB dropped the Hounds to 5-4 overall with two games remaining. To finish on the fun side of .500, ENMU will have to win at least one of its two remaining games. The first opportunity comes Saturday at Greyhound Stadium, and it won’t be an easy one. The Rams head in at 8-1 overall, 5-1 in the LSC, their lone defeat coming against fourth-ranked Tarleton State.

Yes, that’s upward on the talent ladder, for sure.

While the Greyhounds are on a two-game losing skid that has dropped them to 3-4 in the Lone Star Conference, Angelo State comes in on a four-game winning streak. The Rams have outscored their opponents 339-96 in their eight victories this season, and 352-126 overall, an average of 39-14 per game. They’ve outgained their opposition by an average of 352 yards to 126.

Angelo State has outscored its LSC opponents 198-78 — including the Tarleton loss — and 33-13 per contest.

The Rams have had three different quarterbacks — Payne Sullins, Charlie Rotherham and Austin Landry — take snaps for them this season, with the senior Sullins out of Gatesville, Texas, taking the most. The 6-2, 210-pound Sullins is 164-of-265 (62 percent) for 2,149 yards and 19 touchdowns against six interceptions, with a 149.14 QB rating. He has played in all nine of Angelo State’s games this year.

In last week’s 41-21 victory over Adams State in Alamosa, Colorado, Sullins completed an efficient 17-of-23 for 211 yards, two scores and no interceptions.

Angelo State’s top rusher is Lloyd Howard, who has 546 yards and five touchdowns. The Rams’ top receiver is Keke Chism with 54 catches for 794 yards and six touchdowns.

It seems Eastern’s offense may have to be sharp to keep up, but the Greyhounds have the talent available to do it, led by the vaunted rushing attack that has compiled 3,376 yards through nine games as opposed to just 727 through the air (689 from starting quarterback Wyatt Strand). Leading Eastern’s ground game is senior Paul Terry, who has already rushed for 1,448 yards and nine touchdowns, and ENMU still has two games remaining. Strand is second on the team in rushing yardage with 805, though he is the Greyhounds’ rushing touchdown leader with 10.

It could be offense aplenty on a night when ENMU honors its departing players on Senior Day, including Strand, Terry, running back Johnny Smith (353 yards, 4 TDs rushing this season) and defensive back Charles Countee (36 tackles, 2 INTs, one fumble recovery and a blocked kick this season).

Attempts to reach Eastern head coach Kelley Lee for this story were unsuccessful.