Hounds to open at home

PORTALES - When Tye Hiatt was hired in April as the 17th head football coach in Eastern New Mexico University's history, he said it wasn't a hard transition for him.

"It's been a great adjustment," said Hiatt, who came to ENMU after three seasons as the offensive coordinator at Division II Shepherd University in West Virginia. "I'm originally from eastern Oregon and I grew up on a ranch. Coming to a community and a school like Eastern has been great."

The Hounds have three home tilts to begin their 11-game slate, including Thursday's 6 p.m. opener against Central Washington at Greyhound Stadium. They will be taking the field for a game for the first time since beating Southern Arkansas 20-13 in the Heritage Bowl at Corsicana, Texas on Dec. 7, 2019, capping an 8-4 season (4-4 Lone Star Conference) under Kelley Lee with the school's first bowl win.

It'll be their first home game since Nov. 9 of that year when they upended 21st-ranked Angelo State 20-17.

Despite the missed season due to the coronavirus pandemic, Hiatt said a large number of players from that contingent are still in the program.

"I really like our team," he said. "The hard thing is our last game was in December 2019. During training camp, we've probably practiced more in the last 2 1/2 weeks than they have (since then)."

ENMU brings back about a half-dozen starters on offense and seven on defense from 2019. Returnees on defense are sophomore ends Mazin Richards and Kendrick Milford, senior tackles Rakeem Hatchet and Kelon Ferdinand, senior safety Vicente Walker, junior cornerback Kendrick Milford and junior tackle Rapi Sotoa.

Richards, a 6-foot-2, 230-pounder fro Burleson, Texas and a D-II preseason second-team All-American by Lindy Sports, said the coaching transition has also been a relatively smooth one for him.

"When I first talked to coach Hiatt, a lot of our views meshed," Richards said. "For us, it's all about playing in the postseason and building a legitimate program."

He said he likes the fact that Hiatt is implementing more of a spread offense, which generally mirrors teams in the LSC.

"It's been great," he said. "If anything, it helps the defense out because in the LSC everyone runs the spread offense."

Others who are being counted on by Hiatt are sophomore linebacker Camron Pitcher Jr., freshman cornerback Tre Hubert, junior cornerback Isiah Rodgers, senior tackle Kevin McCracken and junior two-way lineman Aseli Finau.

"We have some really good experience and some talented players," Hiatt said of the defense. "We have kids on that side of the ball who've made big plays before."

Returnees on offense include sophomore tackle Hunter St. John of Clovis, senior guard Vili Fisiiahi, junior guard Bailey Adair and senior wide receivers Justin Manyweather and Zach Fields. Meantime, senior running back Currie Thomason started parttime in 2019 and will try to help replace the production of the graduated Paul Terry, who rushed for nearly 1,900 yards and scored 17 touchdowns during that campaign.

Like Mazin, Fisiiahi was a second-team preseason All-American.

Manyweather, the team's second-leading receiver in 2019 with 16 catches for 247 yards and two touchdowns, said he's glad the Hounds are going to more of a spread attack. He also carried the ball 32 times in 2019, mostly out of the slot-receiver position, averaging about 10.5 yards per tote and scoring three TDs.

"I'm more comfortable in a spread offense," he said, adding that he had to adjust his role after transferring the ENMU from the junior college ranks. "It wasn't difficult, but it was something I picked up pretty fast."

Two freshmen are competing at quarterback in Harper Terry and Nate Valencia. The latter is a redshirt freshman and transferred to ENMU from American River (Calif.) JC.

"They have different styles," Hiatt said, noting that Harper ran a flexbone offense at Odessa Permian H.S. while Valencia is more used to the spread attack.

Freshmen Brock Thetford and Christian Griego are expected to start at center and guard, respectively, for the Hounds. Hiatt added that freshman tight ends Devon Bailey, of Melrose, and Campbell Keithly could also help, along with junior wide receiver Martavius Dill, a junior college transfer.

"We have a lot of expectations from out (returning) starters," said Manyweather, who is from Fullerton, Calif. "We have to understand what play we're in, and be able to show the younger guys."

He said the Hounds aren't thinking about long-range goals at this time.

"As of right now, out goal is Sept. 2," he said of the opener. "We have to get ready for Central Washington, and we're going to try to start off 1-0."

Freshmen Patrick Talbot and Cooper Hamilton are slated for punting and placekicking duties, respectively, with junior Travis Oxley doing the long-snapping. Hamilton is also a left-handed pitcher for the ENMU baseball team.

Picked for sixth out of eight teams in the LSC's preseason poll, Hiatt said he feels pretty good about where his troops are as they prepare for the opener against the Ellensburg, Wash.-based Wildcats of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, who are playing a wide-ranging schedule. With Azuza Pacific and Humboldt State recently dropping football and with only three football-playing schools left in the league, Central Washington has games scheduled against other LSC members this season in Angelo State, Midwestern State and Western New Mexico.

Hiatt said the Hounds' major goal this fall is to improve every day.

"I think we have some good guys returning," he said. "I really like our team, and how hard they've practiced."