WT storms past Hounds 42-24

Following a 42-24 Lone Star Conference loss on Saturday at Steve Loy Family Foundation Stadium, members of the Eastern New Mexico University football team watched a herd of West Texas A&M Buffs stampede off the turf and toward the scoreboard to take ownership of the Wagon Wheel, the trophy awarded to the winner of this contentious rivalry.

"This is their trap and we just took it over," one Buff bellowed into his iPhone while recording the moment.

The scene may have marked the nadir of ENMU's injury-marred five-game losing streak which featured just one close loss. Left needing to go 4-0 to clinch postseason eligibility, ENMU must overcome mounting injuries to spark a midseason turnaround.

"You lose two or three (players) every game," ENMU coach Kelley Lee said. "We're in Week 7 now and, you know, I look on other people's rosters, they're playing the same kids since Week 1, and our roster looks very different."

Following a 5-6 finish last year, with several close defeats, year two of Lee's second stint as an ENMU head coach was geared toward building momentum in recruiting, injecting community pride and beginning a prominent era. At the moment, with injuries to defensive lineman D.J. Moore, and running back Ja'Calvin Newsom, the conference's eighth-leading rusher, ENMU (2-5, 0-5 LSC) appears to be further from reaching that goal.

Within the last three weeks, the Greyhounds have endured a homecoming loss that wasn't competitive; lost its rivalry game to a team it regularly recruits against, and has seen attendance drop from 4,227 in its home opener to an average of 2,806 in its last three home games. On Saturday, following a failed fake punt attempt, one member from the stands yelled out, "Coach, there's other plays besides running."

Though ENMU is floundering, there's still time. A win over Western New Mexico (2-6, 0-6) this Saturday, and players getting healthy, could spark hope. After WNMU, the Hounds' schedule is manageable; it already beat Sul Ross State in a non-league game, while UT Permian Basin is at .500 and Texas A&M-Kingsville is just one game over .500.

But for disgruntled fans, this feels like the makings of another disappointing campaign.

Moving forward, the offense must rely upon inexperienced members of the scout team – some of whom haven't played in a triple-option offense before, according to Lee. And a woebegone defense, meanwhile, must rely upon backups while improving its tackling by doing live drills in practice. But does fixing that one problem exacerbate the main one that's turned a 2-0 start into a disappointing 2-5 rut?

Leading up to this week, Lee said the team was trying to do live tackling drills, "but with the injuries, you kind of had to scale back from that."

In Saturday's loss, ENMU allowed 465 total yards and was thumped repeatedly by WT running back Tre'Jon Henderson who galloped for 173 yards and two rushing touchdowns. His first score, which put the Buffs up 6-0, featured him shedding an ENMU defensive lineman in the backfield on a fourth-and-one conversion the Hounds' 5-yard line.

Perhaps ENMU would have fared better if Moore and linebacker Colby Russ were healthy – but they're not – and now the Hounds' defense has allowed the most rushing yards per game (238) and second-most points (35.9) and yards (422.1) per game in the Lone Star Conference. Freshman linebacker Isaac Medrano and defensive lineman Uatahouse Tu'ifua are among those expected to be more involved moving forward.

The silver lining remains ENMU's offense, which leads the conference in points per game (29.4) and yards (415.9). The problem now is that the offense could be taking steps backward after a slew of injuries to key players such as Newsom and running backs Chad Ragle and Jarius Stewart. Quarterback Mario Sanchez sat out at one point to nurse an ankle injury, but returned to the game.

After going up 17-6 on Saturday, following two rushing touchdowns by Ron Craten (82 rushing yards), and then a field goal by Cooper Hamilton at the top of the second quarter, ENMU's offense didn't score again. By the end, ENMU finished 1 of 13 on third down conversions. It revealed the cracks of utilizing a triple-option attack without the proper personnel.

Lee said freshmen running backs Azorion Sterling and Kamauri Montgomery and junior running back K.J. Ford can expect more playing time moving forward.

"I think we've got to try to find out what those young kids can do and tailor to what they can do, and not try to ask them to do everything, you know?" Lee said. "So this helps, having some film and a live situation against the Lone Star Conference ... maybe we can build on what their strengths are to help us."

As Lee grappled with defeat, and his depleted roster, the scene from Buffs players celebrating carried on the hill behind him.

In a scattering of white jerseys, there was Kanon Gibson, WT's quarterback, who shredded the Greyhounds for 200 yards, one passing touchdown and 54 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns; linebacker J.T. Cavender, who amassed 15 total tackles, and the offensive and defensive linemen whose domination silenced the home crowd.

Just a few weeks ago, on this same field, Lee was 2-0 with an offense that was among the best in the nation. Sure, the competition was weaker, but it validated that ENMU was capable of reaching its first postseason since 2019, the year he left the program.

So much has changed since then. Maybe the Buffs' celebration provided the fuel - and marking - where a season plunging toward irrelevance shifts course. At this point, there's simply no other choice.

"I think anytime you have to watch your rival win a trophy on your field, is great motivation for you to work hard in the future," Lee said.