This time, ENMU means business
Going to bowl is nice, but Greyhounds stress the importance of winning it
The Eastern New Mexico Greyhounds, led by a quarterback sharpened by playing eight-man football at Logan High School, will make their second straight postseason appearance Saturday.
ENMU (7-4) faces Fort Hays (Kan.) State (7-4) in the C.H.A.M.P.S. Heart of Texas Bowl on Saturday in Copperas Cove, Texas, about 75 miles north of Austin.
The Greyhounds played in the Heart of Texas Bowl last season — the first time in school history they made the postseason as an NCAA Division II program. ENMU, which joined D-II in 1985, lost to Arkansas Tech 51-35.
“Our expectation is to go down there and come home with a victory,” Eastern coach
Josh Lynn said. “Move the ball and play great defense.
We went to that thing last year and lost. This year, we want to win.”
Guiding the Greyhounds’ offense is redshirt freshman
Wyatt Strand, who two years ago steered the Logan Longhorns to the eight-man state championship game.
“He has taken the reins of our offense and done a great job,” Lynn said. “He’s incredibly smart, a 4.0 student. He has the ability to make things happen with his feet. He’s great in the open field, and a lot of it is because of what he did in high school. Eight-man football is all about the open field.”
The 6-foot-1, 182-pound Strand, the Lone Star Conference freshman of the year, led the Greyhounds to a 30-28 road victory over 12th-ranked Midwestern State in the last game of the regular season. He drove the team 70 yards in 52 seconds, hitting Aaron Johnson with a 19-yard touchdown strike as the clock ran out.
Strand also has the luxury of handing the ball to junior running back Kamal Cass of Clovis. Cass, who ran for 1,125 yards on 200 attempts, was firstteam all-conference for the second straight year. The Greyhounds average 346.9 rushing yards a game, second-best in D-II.
The defense features a couple of first-team allconference players in sophomore linebacker Brad Hardin of Aztec and sophomore free safety Todd Countee of Manzano. Countee, who had 47 tackles and two interceptions, made his first collegiate start in last year’s Heart of Texas Bowl. Hardin led the Greyhounds with 78 tackles.
Junior linebacker Desmond Blue, a transfer from NMMI, had 55 tackles and five sacks, while junior defensive back Quavshaun Branch, another Manzano grad, contributed 32 tackles and three interceptions.
Fort Hays has a force in 6-1, 230-pound defensive lineman Sie Doe, Jr., who ranks third in the nation with 15 sacks.
Lynn said the Greyhounds were happy to be in a bowl last year, but “this year the focus is a little more business-like.”
There are 170 programs in Division II football, with 28 teams earning berths in the playoffs. Beyond that, there are three bowl games for D-II teams.
“Going back to back is a good deal,” said Lynn, who is 27-24 in five seasons at ENMU. “This is our fourth straight winning season. It’s a good builder for our program. We’re narrowing the gap to where we need to be, which is the NCAA playoffs.”
WNMU FOOTBALL: Albuquerque High grad Xavier Ayers of Western New Mexico was named the Lone Star’s receiver of the year. The senior had 80 receptions for 1,025 yards and ranks 11th in D-II in receptions per game with 7.3.
NMHU BASKETBALL: The Highlands men’s and women’s teams visit Adams State today to open RMAC play. The Cowboys (2-2) are coming off an 87-73 win over Western New Mexico. Marlon Johnson had 17 points and 11 rebounds for NMHU. The Cowgirls (1-2) got 11 points from freshman Ari Baca of Eldorado in a 94-37 exhibition loss to New Mexico State.
ENMU BASKETBALL: CoRnell Neal, a senior guard, was named Lone Star offensive player of the week. He had a game-winning 3-pointer against Southern Nazarene and scored 29 points in a doubleovertime win over Wayne State.