Hounds fall to No. 11 CWU

With dour faces and schlepping cleats, Eastern New Mexico University football players plodded out of their locker room following Saturday's 44-28 homecoming loss to No. 11 Central Washington at Steve Loy Family Foundation Stadium.

The problem isn't losing to CWU. The Wildcats are the 11th-best Division II squad in the nation, and could be a darkhorse to win a national title this winter.

What is the problem, however, is that it was the Greyhounds' third-straight loss. While competition was vaunted, it leaves the Greyhounds at the bottom of the conference.

It wasn't that long ago when ENMU quarterback Mario Sanchez spoke about how the Greyhounds were disrespected by being placed to finish seventh in the 10-team Lone Star Conference. But here we are, five games into the season, and it appears the placement may have been accurate.

Now, with a matchup against a strong Western Oregon slated for this Saturday afternoon, ENMU (2-3, 0-3 LSC) must prove doubters wrong and this rut won't sputter into a disappointing 2024.

"We got to go down to Western Oregon, face a good team, and come out victorious," Sanchez said after the loss. "So we'll see what next week brings, and what that next week brings as well."

Should ENMU topple WOU, it'll build momentum when it fights for the Wagon Wheel at home against West Texas A&M the following week. With back-to-back wins, ENMU could find itself in a promising position for a postseason berth, its first since 2019.

At that point, the three-game losing streak is an afterthought, if not a flexpoint where ENMU realized its full potential.

But if it splits the next two – or loses both – its postseason chances are extremely slim. This, in turn, makes it difficult for ENMU to receive investment from alums to catch up financially and gain commitments from talented in-state and West Texas recruits.

Entering this season, Lee said that ENMU can only offer 26 scholarships while other opponents can offer 36 scholarships. What's more, while other schools can utilize the transfer portal and, in some cases, offer NIL (name, image and likeness) deals, ENMU currently doesn't have the means for either.

So, if ENMU succeeds now, imagine how it'll fare on an even playing field?

While times are difficult, by no means is ENMU done for.

In the 36-15 loss to Midwestern State, ENMU outgained MSU 421-379 and outrushed the Mustangs 392-305. If the Hounds had converted on all three trips into the red zone and didn't turn the ball over four times, there's a high chance they would've won.

Last Saturday, against CWU, ENMU showed it is capable of upsetting one of the nation's best teams. It led 14-7 well into the first half and was down less than two touchdowns entering the fourth quarter.

"Probably six or seven times they made the third down by about six inches," ENMU coach Kelley Lee said. "And it's just six inches here and six inches there, the game could be a lot different, and we've got to start winning those six inches."

With ENMU running a triple-option attack, it's imperative that it does get those stops. For example, during the loss, the Greyhounds maintained possession for 17 fewer minutes and attempted nearly 30 fewer plays.

Lee said this was a byproduct of a defensive unit that's about 70% healthy. Moving forward, Lee hopes the return of redshirt junior defensive lineman Josh Kauvesi, and sophomore defensive lineman D.J. Moore, could be the difference of that "six inches."

"Hopefully, he'll be at full speed by next week," Lee said of Moore, who had three tackles for loss and two sacks in ENMU's last win, a 36-17 rout of Sul Ross State.

Offensively, ENMU is still among the conference's best. Its 32.4 points and 361.2 yard per pace the LSC, and the latter is second in the nation in NCAA Division II.

Point is, there's still reason to believe ENMU can show recruits, alums and fans that a mid-season upswing is possible. But with four of its next six games against competitive opponents, the Greyhounds can wait no longer.

If Sanchez ever starts to wonder if ENMU can bounce back, he should think back to any of his four touchdowns on Saturday. Perhaps, more poignant, he should think back to why he didn't think twice about leaving Portales when other schools tried to lure him away after last season.

He simply knew, despite the troubles of 2021-23, that there was an opportunity for him to do something special for ENMU. Say, lead it to its first conference title since 2013.

Well, here's your chance.

"Yeah, we lost, but I think every loss can turn into a learning lesson," Sanchez said.