Hounds beat WT in fifth-place game

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BLACKWATER DRAW — If it was his final game at Eastern New Mexico University, senior wide receiver Jacob Johnson said he couldn’t have drawn it up much better.

Johnson caught two touchdown passes while senior running backs Jordan Wells and E’lon Spight each rushed for 132 yards, and the Greyhounds scored twice in the final 3 1/2 minutes to beat rival West Texas A&M 55-45 on Saturday at Greyhound Stadium in the fifth-place game of the Lone Star Conference football playoffs.

“I had a couple of people ask me, ‘Is it (last game) bitter or sweet?’” said Johnson, who finished with four catches for 169 yards. “I said, ‘It’s more bitter than sweet.’

“Hopefully, we’ve got another game, but if not, there’s not a better feeling than going out with a win against WT.”

ENMU coach Josh Lynn said the Hounds have “an outside shot” at a berth in the Texarkana Bowl, scheduled for Dec. 6. He expects to know more in the next couple of days.

ENMU junior quarterback Jeremy Buurma threw only nine passes, but completed seven of them for 195 yards and three TDs — including a go-ahead, 62-yard toss to senior Bradley Beeston with 3:12 remaining. Coming in, Beeston had caught two passes this season for 17 yards.

“We knew going into the game we were going to have four or five shots (downfield) with our play-action (passes),” Lynn said.

ENMU (7-4) won seven games for the second year in a row, the first time that’s happened since putting together back-to-back 8-3 campaigns under Bud Elliott in 1998 and 1999.

“Seven wins is a good accomplishment for us,” Lynn said. “It’s something to build on.”

Following Beeston’s score, senior linebacker Julian Yearwood intercepted a Preston Rabb pass — thrown short under pressure from sophomore linebacker Elliot Peters — which set up Wells’ second TD of the game, an 8-yard run that wrapped it up in the final minute.

“It’s a good feeling,” Lynn said. “West Texas is a good football team; Mike (Nesbitt, WT coach) has done a good job, and they’ve had a lot to overcome.”

Two weeks ago, WT fell behind ENMU 21-0 in the first quarter and lost 31-21. The Buffaloes (6-5) were dealing with an academic fraud issue prior to that game.

This time, going into the wind, they rallied from a 34-14 halftime deficit to take the lead late in the third period on three TD runs by junior running back Geremy Alridge-Mitchell.

“We just came out flat (after halftime),” said senior linebacker Benjamin Pedro-Langford. “We didn’t come out with the enthusiasm we had in the first half. We were playing not to lose.”

Mitchell, who finished with 167 yards after being held to j26 yards on 11 carries in the first half, added a fifth TD run with just under five minutes left to put the Buffs back in front 45-42.

“We talked at halftime about, ‘Who are we and what are we playing for?’’’ Nesbitt said. “The guys did a lot of good things, but we’re young enough that we don’t know how to make a play to finish.”

Three plays after the ensuing kickoff, Beeston found himself all alone behind the WT defense on a second-and-9 play.

“They just got us with the play-action,” Nesbitt said.

Buurma, who also scored twice on keepers as the Hounds dominated the second quarter 27-0, led ENMU to 510 yards of total offense. WT, which had 151 yards in the first half, finished at 456.

“It’s always good to play against WT, just for the rivalry,” said Pedro-Langford, who was in on nine tackles.

Senior linebacker Seth Bailey of Texico, who led the Hounds in tackles with 11, returned a fumble forced by Peters’ sack of Rabb 30 yards for a touchdown just before halftime.