Week 8 wrap: Wheel heads to WT

PORTALES — Saturday, the wheels came off for the Eastern New Mexico University football team.

Actually, it was the Wheel, as in Wagon Wheel.

The rivalry trophy came off the slope behind the back end zone of Greyhound Stadium when the West Texas A&M football players ran up there and collected it after having just earned it with their 35-14 victory over Eastern.

Saturday’s result boosted WT to 6-2 overall, 3-2 in the Lone Star Conference, while dropping ENMU to 5-3 overall, 3-3 in LSC play. It also marked the first time WT has claimed the Wagon Wheel since 2015.

The Buffaloes’ victory over Eastern was the first such outcome in the respective head-coaching tenures of West Texas A&M’s Hunter Hughes and Eastern New Mexico’s Kelley Lee. Each rose to his position following the 2016 season, meaning Hughes had never won a Wagon Wheel and Lee had never lost one as head coach.

“It feels good,” Hughes said. “It feels good to be 6-2 because we’re on the hunt for the playoffs and every game right now is a playoff game for us. And after what happened last week (against nationally-ranked Angelo State), losing the way we lost (17-14 at home), that put a big pain in our players, our coaches. To come out and win that (Wagon Wheel), a big rivalry, for the first time since I’ve been here is a great honor for the seniors. And hopefully these young guys see really what this means to our fans and our university, and we can continue to do this.”

Lee, of course, felt the opposite emotion.

“It’s tough, it’s tough,” he said, “because this game means a lot to these kids. And they’re going to be hurting and they’re going to lay down and bleed a little bit, and then we’re going to go to work.”

For ENMU, Saturday’s game was a bit of deja vu. Two weeks earlier against fourth-ranked Tarleton State at Greyhound Stadium, Eastern had some early miscues that Tarleton transformed into points and a sizeable first-quarter lead. During that Oct. 12 game, Tarleton was up 14-0 less than a minute in; Saturday night, it didn’t happen quite as fast, but didn’t take much longer, as the Buffaloes had built their 14-0 advantage by the 8:22 mark of the first quarter. With 55.5 seconds to go in the opening period, it was 21-0.

“Yeah, we didn’t play well early and dug ourselves a hole,” Lee said, “And, give them credit, they capitalized on those mistakes and put us behind the 8-ball because of their ability to capitalize on those things.”

Eastern actually outgained WT 373-286. And though the Greyhounds’ vaunted running game was held to 239 yards, about half of what they’ve been able to put up at times this season, it still dwarfed WT’s 153. Even the Hounds’ passing attack, which they often seem to use as an in-case-of-fire-break-glass option, nipped the Buffaloes 134-133.

But, consistently handing a talented opponent good field position is usually going to cancel out yardage advantages every time.

The game began well enough for the Greyhounds, who won the toss, chose to receive and began with solid field position at their own 38.

Eastern soon found itself in a fourth-and-five situation at its own 43, and elected to go for it, trying to keep the chains moving early by grinding away at WT’s defense. But on that play, ENMU quarterback Wyatt Strand was stopped for no gain by the Buffaloes’ Nathan Foreman and Hayden Dennis, handing WT possession in Greyhounds’ territory.

And the Buffs needed just seven plays to go the necessary 43 yards, the penultimate play converting a fourth-and-two situation at Eastern’s 20 into a first down at the Hounds’ 14, thanks to a six-yard Jordan Johnson run.

On the next play, former Texas High school phenom Nick Gerber connected with Semaj Mitchell on a 14-yard touchdown pass which, when followed by Mauricio Gonzalez’s extra point, made it a 7-0 game with just 4:13 gone by in the first quarter.

Eastern muffed a fair-catch attempt on the ensuing kickoff, and WT’s Ayrton Payne was there to recover it at the Hounds’ 26.

Duke Carter IV got the resulting WT drive off to a good start when he rushed 11 yards to the 15, and six plays later, Gerber scored on a five-yard keeper. Gonzalez booted the extra point to give West Texas A&M a 14-0 lead with just 6:38 elapsed in the game.

Eastern’s next possession showed how WT’s defense was able to contain the nation’s most lethal rushing attack, stopping the normally-dangerous Johnny Smith for a one-yard loss on a first-down pitch, and chasing the usually-elusive Strand out of bounds for a five-yard loss on third down.

When Eastern punted on fourth-and-14 from its own 31, a muffed return by WT was recovered by the Buffaloes’ Markel Stephens-Peppers, a potential break for the Hounds that ultimately didn’t go their way.

Instead of an Eastern first down deep in West Texas A&M territory, the Buffaloes took over at their own 25, and proceeded to drive deep into ENMU real estate. Well into the series came another break-that-wasn’t for Eastern, when on a third-and-10 play from the Greyhounds’ 11, Gerber was intercepted by Eastern’s Ricky Barfield in the end zone. Barfield’s momentum was already carrying him out of the end zone, and he started returning the ball, reaching the ENMU 10 before fumbling. WT’s Josh Campbell made the recovery at Eastern’s 10, and on the second play of the new Buffalo drive, Carter IV rushed for a six-yard touchdown. Gonzalez kicked his third extra point to give WT a 21-0 lead with 55.5 ticks left on the first-quarter clock.

Two plays into the second quarter, a fumbled Greyhound snap on fourth-and-long from their own 29 was recovered by Stephens-Peppers, who returned it to the Eastern 6. Gerber then completed a six-yard touchdown pass to Juwan McCall, making it a four-score game.

“We basically have a saying, ‘The breaks come to you, score,” Hughes said. “And that’s a big deal. You can get fumbles ... (but) you have to score and make ’em pay for it. We got the breaks and scored, and they didn’t.”

Eastern kept at it, but with similar results. The Greyhounds’ ensuing possession had promise after a 34-yard Strand run brought them from their own 47 to the WT 19. Alas, though, it soon ended when a Strand fade left was picked off by a leaping Tobias Harris at the Buffaloes’ 2.

“It felt like every time we were getting traction we made a mistake,” Lee said. “We’d get a turnover and we’d give it back, and we’d get a big play and then we couldn’t capitalize on it. And that was kind of the story of the game.”

It was indeed. The Buffaloes carried a 21-point lead into the second quarter, led by 21 (28-7) at halftime, and held a 21-point advantage at game’s end.

When their victory was official, the Buffaloes were looking ahead to this Saturday’s game against 24th-ranked Texas A&M-Commerce.

“We’ve got a big one coming up at our place — Commerce — and again, it’s a playoff game for us,” Hughes said. “And if we can continue to do this, we have a chance to get in there, sneak in there.”

The Greyhounds, meanwhile, had to move on and start thinking about their visit to UT Permian Basin this Saturday, the beginning of their season’s home stretch.

“We’ve got three games left,” Lee said, “and got a great opportunity next week to play a Lone Star Conference game.”