New Mexico Football Report

ENMU Greyhounds  17        Abilene Christian University Wildcats  59


Upon Josh Lynn's departure from NMMI, the Bronco's athletic department jokingly made reference to the end of the Lynn dynasty.  Now enthroned at the outer reaches of the empire (i.e. Portales) Lynn's regime appears to have the permanence of the Carter administration.  Indeed these are bad times at Blackwater Draw. Back to back blowouts at the hands of conference foes (Angelo St. and Abilene Christian) has the Hounds chasing their tails in bewilderment.

The problems troubling the Greyhounds are many, the offense is anemic and predictable  their defense relies on a handful of stout players to make stops while the rest of the defenders serve as mere speed bumps and space eaters. If you can't stop the run or the pass, you're going to be in for some long  afternoons.  Div. 1 FCS bound Abilene Christian Univ. showed just how much distance they've already put between themselves and their old rival by thumping ENMU 59-17.

It got ugly in a hurry at Blackwater Draw, ACU's Cade Stone returned the opening kickoff 92 yds. for a score. On their ensuing possession, Eastern's drive sputtered out at mid-field, however  LB, Seth Bailey forced an ACU fumble on the punt return. ENMU Qb. Wesley Wood needed just three plays before he scored from three yards out. The Hounds then forced the Wildcats to punt on their possession, after that fleeting moment ENMU was hardly competitive.

Abilene Christian would score on their next four possessions to quash Eastern's hopes for an upset. Down 31-7, ENMU's comeback effort fell on the shoulders of Wesley Wood. The Senior Qb. rushed 27 times for 128 yds. and 2 td's., (his first 100+ yard game ever) Wesley also completed 9-13 passes for 68 yds. It wasn't nearly enough, The Wildcats scored three touchdowns in the third quarter and then added another in the fourth to coast to an easy victory.

If you went by the final stats, it would seem that ENMU did much better than they actually did. The Greyhounds had 259 rushing yds. to ACU's 151, though the Wildcats had an advantage in total offense 397 to 312. The Hounds controlled the time of possession (34:56) as they have two of their last three games. Those stats don't hardly add up to a blowout, but it does prove once and for all that the only statistic that matters is the final score.

The difference was in the details, Abilene Christian gave up 259 rushing yards to ENMU but they intercepted Wesley Wood three times, returning two of them for touchdowns.  The Wildcats 4-2 overall and 2-2 in the Lone Star Conf., won their seventh in a row over the Greyhounds and 12th in 14 years. With ACU joining the Southland Conference in 2013, this is likely the last meeting between these longtime rivals for the foreseeable future.

ENMU will return to action, on Saturday, October 20, against West Texas A&M, for the coveted "Wagon Wheel Trophy"  For the Comanche, the wagon wheel game involved tying some poor soul to a wagon wheel with buckskin straps so he could bake in the hot sun. Now it's just a trophy that more often than not resides in Canyon,Tx. The Buffs play Angelo St. for first place in the conference this Saturday, ENMU has a bye week to prepare for the annual match up with their Llano rivals.

West Texas A&M head coach Don Carthel is  a graduate of ENMU and also served as the head football coach during the Hounds transition from NAIA to NCAA Div. II. He led Eastern to the Lone Star Conf. crown in 1991, making ENMU the first team from outside Texas to win the conference title. In seven years at Eastern, Carthel had an overall record of 44-28-1. In five of his seven years the Greyhounds were ranked in the Div. II Top 20 poll at the end of the season.

West Texas A&M serves as an example for NMSU, as to what happens when a school decides to step down from Div. 1. Then known as West Texas State University, the Buffaloes were longtime members of the Div. 1 Missouri Valley Conference. In the early 1980s, declining enrollment and serious financial problems caused the university to drastically cut back its athletic programs. In 1984 the football program dropped from Div. 1 to Div.II, joining the Lone Star Conf. in the process.

In 1993 school president Barry Thompson dropped the football program altogether. It was reinstated after one year as a non-scholarship program. (West Texas A&M has since started offering athletic scholarships again) Today West Texas A&M is a school that has its priorities straight, academics before athletics... the way it should be. The point I'm trying to make is that this once proud Div. 1 regional power, hit some mighty lows before it found it's place in the world of college football.

WNMU Mustangs  14           Colorado Mesa University Mavericks  31

What we have here is your stereotypical tale of two halves. "After owning the first half, taking a 14-7 lead ---- they started giving it back after halftime. It's as if they went into the locker room to sing camp songs and eat ice cream." Mark Purdy of the Oakland Tribune wrote that about the Oakland Raiders last year. It also describes the Mustang's second half effort. Whatever Western had going in the first half, they left it in the locker room after the break.

Mitch Glasmann worked wickedly fast, directing the Mustangs, 57 yds. on five plays, sealing the deal with a 3 yd. td. pass to Ronnell Pompey. The scoring drive used took 1:14 off the clock, the  sparse homecoming crowd (attendance: 1,250) yawned in approval and then went back to twittering. CMU would need just one play to tie the score at 7-7. Following a three and out, the Mustangs prepared to punt, the snap however, got by the punter and rolled to the WNMU 10 yd. line

From there, the Mavericks pounded Jake Cimolino into the Mustang defensive line, one play, ten yards, seven points. It was the first of four key turnovers by WNMU that CMU recovered. On their ensuing possession, Mitch Glasmann connected with Brent Courtney for a 41 yd. gainer and then found his favorite target, Marquis Sumpter open for a 6 yd. td. strike. Glasmann and the Mustangs appeared to be warming up, when in fact they were done for the day.

Colorado Mesa Univ. took over in the second half, starting with a 75 yd. 11 play opening drive that resulted in a 14 yd. td. pass from Jason Haferman to DJ Hubbard. Following a missed field goal by WNMU, the Mavs drove 80 yds. down the field on 11 plays leading to yet another Haferman to Hubbard td. strike, 21-14. The WNMU crowd was getting antsy (the charge on their phone batteries was getting low) "We ain't dun shit in 2nd half" the fella next to me tweeted to his friends at home.

Naysayers!, it's time for some Mitch Glasmann fourth quarter magic. No sooner had that thought crossed my mind than the Mustangs fumbled the ball on a mishandled pitch, CMU recovered at their own 35 yd. line. From there the Mavericks needed just four plays to score, the killer coming from Jake Cimolino who blew through the defense for a 31 yd. scoring run. With CMU holding a 28-14 lead all the fight seemed to drain out of the stadium as did most of the fans in attendance.

The two teams thrashed around the field for the remainder of the quarter. A 45 yard field goal by CMU's Caleb Pavy would prove to be the final score of the game. At the end of the game, the CMU contingent whooped it up in celebration of a 31-14 victory, throwing a wet blanket over WNMU's homecoming festivities. It was also pay back for the Mustangs doing the same to them in Grand Junction, Co. during the Mavs homecoming in 2011.

The loss dropped the Mustangs to 3-3 overall, 2-2 in the RMAC. The Mustangs finished with 432 yards in total offense (CMU had 351) Mitch Glasmann went 31-49, 303 yds. and 2 td's. Abraham Macias gained 96 yds. on 16 carries and Marquis Sumpter pulled in 10 receptions for 95 yds., 1 td. Ronnell Pompey had 9 receptions and 86 yds. Donald Byrd was conspicuous in his absence. Turnovers killed the Mustangs, they had four, the Mavericks had none.

Jake Cimolino was a force for the Mavs, as he carried the ball 27 times for 113 yds. and 2 td's.
CMU head coach Russ Martin had preached focus and intensity to his players before the game, and he got that in spades. WNMU will travel to Gunnison, Co. for a game against still winless Western State, (0-6, 0-4 RMAC) The Mountaineers played hard at NMHU but were unable to pull off the upset.

NMHU Cowboys  31              Western St. Mountaineers  17

When you're win less and struggling, with half  your season already gone, you start reaching for straws such as "moral victories"  The woeful Western St. Mountaineers, lost to the NMHU Cowboys but they did get their moral victory. Western St.'s  athletic department offered an interesting recap, "The Mountaineers were primed to score and take the lead, when an errant pass was intercepted by the Cowboys, solidifying the game. The Cowboys added a few more points to make the final 31-17"

Just a tad misleading, by a few points they meant 10. At any rate "primed to score" is loaded with variables, one of which is "what if, the Mountaineers turn the ball over?" or "what if an earthquake were to strike, splitting the field open and swallowing up both teams?"  That score was by no means guaranteed and in fact the Cowboys were never in any danger of giving up the lead or losing the game. Better luck next time, Mountain goats.

When you consider that NMHU was probably a 20-30 point favorite than I guess Western St. gave them a game.  The weather conditions probably played as much a part in grounding NMHU passing game in the first quarter as Western St.'s defense.  Once Emmanuel Lewis and his receivers, literally warmed up, Highland's offense started moving in a big way. Lewis connected with De'Joshua Johnson on a 67 yd. td. pass to break the ice and put the Cowboys up 7-0.

Lewis than engineered a 97 yard drive that ended with Josh Webster pulling in a 29 yd. td. pass for Highland's second touchdown, 14-0. The Mountaineers finally got on the board just before the half thanks to a wobbly 31 yd. field goal from Steven Ballard, 14-3. Starting with a short field, NMHU scored again at the start of the second half as Lewis connected with Darius Davis to give the Cowboys a commanding 21-7 lead. After that score, the wake up alarm went off for WCSU.

By Western St., I mean Sr. Rb. Germaine Daniels, who was a one-man wrecking crew for the Mountaineers, rushing for 204 yards on 29 carries.  Western St. used 6 plays to cover 74 yards with Daniels bulling his way in from 2 yds. out, cutting into  Highland's lead, 21-10. Daniels and the Mountaineers weren't done yet, as Germaine  rumbled 51 yds. for another touchdown, cutting NMHU's big lead down to just four points.

The Mountaineers had the big "mo" on their backs having scored 14 unanswered points, but it all came to a halt with a decisive thud when WSCU Qb. Brian Duboski threw an interception at mid field with eight minutes remaining in the game. That play visibly deflated the Mountaineers. Highlands added an insurance touchdown as Emmanuel Lewis connected with Darius Davis again for a 13 yd. td. pass. Western St. had nothing left in the tank as they turned the ball over on downs.

The Cowboys got the ball back with under two minutes to play, worked the clock down and then kicked a successful field goal with just 00:17 left in the game, 31-17. It was a closer game than expected, but ultimately NMHU had control of the game throughout and was up to the challenge when Western St. finally got things going their way. That's what good teams do... they come up big when the need arises, the Cowboys had that going for them, the Mountaineers did not.

"Don't leave me waiting here, lead me to your door" The long and winding road takes them back home to Gunnison, Co. (elevation 7,700) The Mountaineers will now catch their breath and attempt to get off the schneid against our own Western New Mexico Mustangs. New Mexico Highlands is 5-1 overall, 4-0 RMAC and barring an upset, they're headed for a conference showdown with Colorado St.-Pueblo to decide the league championship. "I've seen that road before it always leads me here"

The Cowpokes rolled up 437 yds. in total offense (361 passing & 76 rushing) Emmanuel Lewis was 25 of 50 passing for 361 yds. w/ 4 td's. Darius Davis had a big day, 7 receptions for 123 yds., 2 td's. Highlands held WSCU to 267 yds. offense (a huge chunk coming from Germaine Daniels) 97 of which were passing yards. NMHU's defensive duo of Jared Koster (15 tackles) and DiAmaal Holmes (12 tackles) made their presence felt throughout the game.

New Mexico Highlands  will now travel to the San Luis Valley to take on the Grizzlies (formally the Indians) of Adams State University in Alamosa, Co.   The Grizzlies, now 4-2 overall and 2-2 in RMAC play, racked up 402 yards of total offense and overcame three turnovers and 14 penalties for 159 yards as they edged out Black Hills St. on the road.