Midwestern drops ENMU in LSC opener

PORTALES — Trailing most of the way, Eastern New Mexico University’s football team used a dominant third quarter to take a one-point lead on Saturday night and nursed the advantage into the final stanza.

Then Midwestern State’s Dylon Davis stole the show — literally.

The junior cornerback stepped in front of a hurried pass by Greyhounds quarterback Kason Martin and returned the interception 43 yards for a score with just over 10 minutes left, and the Mustangs went on to claim a 28-14 victory in the Lone Star Conference opener for both teams at Greyhound Stadium.

MSU (1-1 overall), the defending LSC champion and preseason favorite, added an insurance score about six minutes later and locked up the win with an interception by freshman free safety Tre Jordan on ENMU’s final possession.

“The pick-6 was the backbreaker,” second-year ENMU coach Tye Hiatt said. “You just can’t turn it over like that.”

Until that time, the Hounds (1-1) had avoided turnovers, and by holding Midwestern to field goals on two deep thrusts into ENMU territory, had given themselves a chance.

Outgained by nearly 100 yards in the first half, the Hounds posted a 143-43 margin in yardage in the third segment and took a 14-13 lead on a 3-yard run by junior Isaiah Tate midway through the period.

Veteran Mustangs coach Bill Maskill was just happy to get out of town with a win after losing at home to Colorado State-Pueblo 59-27 the previous week.

“We didn’t play very well last week at all,” Maskill said. “We had some new starters today, and we played better.

“We have some things we’ve got to clean up, but we needed this (win) after we got drilled last week.”

Running backs Trenton Kennedy and Devin Cross each ran for a score for MSU, which finished the night with 449 total yards. Cross carried 18 times for 139 yards.

“I thought we competed really well defensively,” Hiatt said. “We were put in some tough spots. We’ve just got to start faster on offense.”

Junior receiver Asa Wondeh, who earned LSC player of the week honors for his opening-game performance at New Mexico Highlands, made two spectacular catches in traffic — a 51-yard touchdown pass from Martin on the first play of the second frame and a 32-yarder in the third period that put the ball at the Midwestern 7 and set up Tate’s scoring run.

For the game, Wondeh tallied six catches for 122 yards, while Martin went 19-of-33 for 260 yards. Sophomore Howard Russell led ENMU in rushing with 56 yards on 17 attempts.

Hiatt said the Hounds were able to make some adjustments during halftime.

“I think our coaches did a good job,” he said. “I thought we played good football until the middle of the fourth quarter.”

Meantime, Maskill hopes his squad can build on a bounce-back win.

“We’re growing up as a team,” he said. “We’ve got 25 guys who’ve never traveled or played in a college game before. Tonight we were able to establish the run and stop them from running the ball — in the first half, anyway.”

It doesn’t get any easier for the Hounds this week. They travel to Stephenville, Texas to take on former Lone Star Conference rival Tarleton State, now a member of FCS (Division I-AA) and the Western Athletic Conference, in a 5 p.m. (MDT) kickoff on Saturday. The contest is slated to be shown on ESPN-plus.

The Texans are off to a 1-1 start, turning back Mississippi Valley State in their opener before getting thumped last week at TCU 59-17. They left the LSC after the 2019-20 school year to move up.

“Tarleton’s a good football team,” Hiatt said. “They were really good in the Lone Star Conference. I think we’ll have to have a really good week of practice to have a chance.

“It’ll be a great opportunity for our kids to play on TV. The goal doesn’t change, though; we’ve got to figure out ways to get better every week.”