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ENMU's Cass chasing down history

Senior RB isn't concerned about school rushing record.

PORTALES - The Eastern New Mexico Greyhounds could be on the verge of having history happen on Saturday night, and not just because they have a chance to qualify for the NCAA Division II playoffs for the first time in school history.

Should Eastern (8-1, 6-1) beat No. 4 Midwestern State (8-0, 7-0), and in turn, win the Lone Star Conference title, there's no doubt running back Kamal Cass will play a big part of it.

Cass could potentially make some history himself on Saturday, as the 5-foot-11, 185 pound senior is just 178 yards away from breaking Tom Manley's all-time school rushing record of 4,202 yards, set between 1973-76.

Despite this, however, Cass is more concerned about the task at hand - beating Midwestern State.

"I honestly didn't know that (I had a chance to break the record) until you told me," Cass said. "I don't really care for it, I just want to win. But, it would be cool for the guys, and they've been talking about it all season. It would be cool to do it for them, and it would be great for the program to make history. It would be big (if we can beat MSU). It would be really good for our program and would be big for the seniors watching the program come up."

Cass, a former Clovis grad, said that he wasn't really being looked at much in high school, as Eastern was essentially the only offer he got, after New Mexico and New Mexico State showed just mild interest.

Interestingly enough, however, is that Cass was New Mexico's Gatorade Player of the Year as a junior in 2012, and despite playing at a then-5A (now 6A) program, he was just an afterthought to most.

In fact, as far as football goes, Cass was an afterthought to himself.

"When I was in high school, I didn't think I was gonna get an opportunity," Cass explained. "People tend to look down on New Mexico football, and I wasn't really getting looked at."

Cass says that football officially became his favorite sport in ninth grade, after previously being torn between that and basketball. After a decorated career at Clovis, Cass was prepared to take on the challenges of playing at the NCAA Division II level, as he said that playing at such a large high school made him more college-ready than most.

After rushing for 148 yards as a reserve running back in 2014, Cass officially broke the starting lineup as a sophomore. The 2015 season brought Cass national attention, as he set a team record with 1,514 rushing yards, including a league-leading 22 touchdowns.

That season garnered him First Team Don Hansen All-American and First Team All-LSC honors - the first of many accolades in his Greyhound career. He followed up that impressive run with a junior year that included 1,191 yards and 14 scores, to go along with AFCA First Team All-American and LSC Offensive Back of the Year awards, amongst many others.

In 2017, the senior has put the Hounds in position to win a league title, after leading them to a pair of bowl games each of the last two seasons. Thus far, Cass has 1,167 yards and 11 touchdowns, which ranks first and second in the LSC, respectively.

As for Saturday night's showdown with Midwestern, Cass feels that if the Hounds stay true to themselves, good things will happen. "We gotta stick with what we do best," Cass said. "They'll probably stop us a couple times, but what we do is so hard to stop - it's unique. So if we stick to our gameplan, I think we'll be fine and we'll have a chance to come out with a win."

There's no doubt that Cass will leave behind a lasting legacy as one of the greatest to don a Greyhound uniform. For Cass, however, when people talk about him in 10, 20-plus years from now, football is the last thing he wants to hear mentioned.

"If the only thing that comes to people's minds about me - and the only thing that comes to their head is football, then I failed," Cass explained. "I want to be remembered for being a good and down-to-earth person. I want to be remembered as a good student."

 
 
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