Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
ENMU sophomore quarterback Mario Sanchez dives ahead trying to pick up a first down as Western Oregon sophomore linebackers J.J. Tofaeono (44) and Malcolm Linfau close in on him during Saturday's Lone Star Conference opener at Greyhound Stadium. Sanchez threw a late touchdown pass to sophomore Andre Jones to lift the Greyhounds to a 30-29 victory over the Wolves.
Things certainly didn't look good for Eastern New Mexico University's football team when Western Oregon stormed in front with three touchdowns in the final four minutes of the half.
Trailing 29-17 at the break, the Greyhounds found the formula in the final two periods, blanking WOU in that time and getting the winning touchdown on a 34-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Mario Sanchez to sophomore wide receiver Andre Jones with 1:06 left for a 30-29 Lone Star Conference-opening victory at Greyhound Stadium.
Sanchez went 5-for-6 on the final drive, covering 84 yards and taking just 39 seconds, with Jones catching four of them. Prior to that, Sanchez had thrown for just 41 yards.
"It was a hard-fought game," said Sanchez, who is from Denver City. "In the Lone Star, you're going to have to battle for four quarters.
"I'm really proud of these guys. We came back in the second half and we fought."
ENMU posted its first 3-0 start since 2007. Two of the wins have come at home – by a grand total of three points – as the Hounds improved to an astonishing 17-3 since 2016 in games decided by less than 10 points, including 13-0 in Lee's four seasons (2017-19, 2023) at the helm.
"I told our kids at halftime, 'We won a quarter and they won a quarter,'" ENMU coach Kelley Lee said. "'It's going to come down to who wins the third and fourth quarters,' and we did."
ENMU led 14-0 and 17-8 early, but the Wolves got a 1-yard TD run from senior running back Austin Bacher with 3:43 left in the half and scoring runs of 79 yards by junior running back Dominique Loggins and 64 yards by Bacher to seemingly take control.
Bacher also had a 56-yard run to put Western Oregon (1-2, 0-1 LSC) on the board late in the first quarter. Loggins finished with 209 yards on 19 carries and Bacher added 178 on 22 attempts as the Wolves outgained ENMU 373-259 on the ground and 452-384 overall.
"Coach (Oliver) Soukup (defensive co-ordinator) made some goof adjustments (at halftime), and our kids responded," Lee said. "Mainly, we changed our front, really. They were running a stretch play that we hadn't seen. We started making tackles and our safeties (juniors Trey Cain and Talon Sanders) did a good job of helping us."
The Hounds dominated early, getting touchdown runs of 4 yards from freshman running back Elijah Zeh and 85 yards from freshman Trevion Buttler in the first 10-plus minutes. Freshman Kaden Bell added a 26-yard field goal early in the second stanza.
ENMU pulled to 29-24 late in the third on a 42-yard run by junior Ja'Calvin Newsom, setting up the wild finish.
"It was all go routes," Sanchez said of the winning play. "Andre made a move and got their corner to bite.
"We'll take this one any way we can get it, especially in the Lone Star Conference. It's a tough conference to win games in."
Saturday, the Hounds travel to Midwestern State (1-2), which dropped its conference opener to West Texas A&M 23-0.
"I know they're breaking in a new quarterback (redshirt freshman James Cooper Jr.), so they're more run-oriented this year," Lee said. "They'll be well-coached, well-prepared (under longtime coach Bill Maskill). I always like going against them because they are so well-coached."
WT held sophomore running backs Jalen March and Devin Cross, who came into the tilt as the top two rushers in the LSC, to a combined 31 yards on 20 carries.
