Hounds, McMurry clash for first time since 1959

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If you don’t remember the last time Eastern New Mexico University and McMurry met in football, don’t feel too bad.

Yes, the Greyhounds and War Hawks have played eight times — McMurry holds a 7-0-1 advantage — but the teams haven’t met since shows such as “Leave It to Beaver” and “Ozzie and Harriet” were television staples.

They play again in a 1 p.m. Lone Star Conference game today in Abilene, Texas, their first meeting since 1959.

McMurry, an NCAA Division III program which was bidding to move up to Division II, played many of the LSC teams last season but has decided not to make the move on a permanent basis. This year, the War Hawks are competing as an eighth league member before returning to D-III next season.

“Coach (Lance) Hinson has done a great job,” ENMU coach Josh Lynn said of the War Hawks’ first-year leader. “If you’d asked me at the first of the year, just being honest, I’d have had to say I didn’t know if they’d win a game.”

Instead, the War Hawks (2-2, 1-2) already have a league win over Texas A&M-Kingsville, and last week rolled up 501 yards despite losing at West Texas A&M.

Attempts to contact Hinson were unsuccessful.

Lynn said McMurry has two “Lone Star-quality wide receivers” in senior Jeret Smith and junior Charles Agugua.

“Watching them on tape, they play with great effort,” Lynn said of the War Hawks, “and they’re a physical football team.”

Meantime, the Hounds snapped a two-game losing streak and seemingly got untracked with a relatively easy 31-0 win over Kingsville last week, their first all-time at Kingsville.

“I didn’t know we’d never won down there,” said senior wide receiver Jacob Johnson, who caught four passes for 115 yards and two touchdowns in the game.

“Coach didn’t tell us until Thursday or Friday.”

Today’s game is crucial for the Hounds if they want to get into the LSC’s upper echelon for the league’s post-season tournament, in which the top four and bottom four will be divided into brackets. Remaining games are against Tarleton State and West Texas A&M at home, with a trip to Angelo State sandwiched in between.

“Our secondary is going to have to play good against their wide receivers,” Lynn said. “And we’re going to have to match their effort.”

Johnson said the Hounds can’t take the game lightly.

“They’ve got a bunch of athletes, but we should match up with them,” he said. “(The Kingsville win) was good to start to get us back on track.”

GAMEDAY

ENMU at McMurry

• When: 1 p.m. (MDT) today at Abilene, Texas

• Records: ENMU 3-2 (1-2 Lone Star Conference), McMurry 2-2 (1-2).

• Radio: KSEL-FM 105.9.

• Coaches: ENMU, Josh Lynn, 3rd season, 13-12; McMurry, Lance Hinson, 1st year, 2-2.

• Last week: The Greyhounds blanked Texas A&M-Kingsville 31-0 on the road, while the War Hawks lost at West Texas A&M 56-21.

• Last meeting: 1959, the War Hawks handed ENMU a 51-0 loss at Abilene. They played eight times starting in 1941, with McMurry going 7-0-1.

• War Hawks players to watch: Jeret Smith, 6-0, 215, Sr., WR; Matthew McHugh, 6-1, 210, Jr., QB; Desmond Guy, 5-10, 185, Sr., DB; Josh Jones, 5-11, 228, Sr., LB; Ryan Williams, 6-1, 178, Jr., FS.

• Notes: The War Hawks have outscored ENMU 284-60 in the previous eight matchups, dating to 1941. The only tie came in 1952, a 7-7 decision at Blackwater Draw. … Today’s game is Homecoming for McMurry. The War Hawks are 44-37-2 all-time in Homecoming games, and had won four in a row before losing to Angelo State last year. … McMurry is 1-0 at home this season, a 27-21 win over Kingsville two weeks ago, while ENMU is 2-0 on the road and sports a five-game winning streak away from Blackwater Draw. The Hounds’ last road loss was at Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA) member and former LSC member incarnate Word last season. Their last loss to a D-II opponent was at Kingsville on Nov. 10, 2012. … Not only was last week’s win the first all-time for ENMU at Kingsville (1-14), it also marked the first time the Javelinas have been shut out at home Sept. 24, 1983, when they lost to Southwest Texas (now Texas State) 28-0. They hadn’t been blanked anywhere since a 17-0 loss at Stephen F. Austin on Sept. 22, 1984.

— Compiled by Dave Wagner