Eastern New Mexico University's football team opened its 2025 season with a 34-28 loss to in-state rival New Mexico Highlands in Portales, N.M. Head coach Kelley Lee commented on the team's performance, saying, "I thought we fought hard to the very end. We did not capitalize on our opportunities early and that came back to haunt us. You have to capitalize when you have short fields."
The Greyhounds introduced Austin Bortle as their new defensive coordinator this season. The defense performed strongly in the first half, limiting New Mexico Highlands to just 43 total yards and forcing three turnovers in the opening 25 minutes. Despite this effort, momentum shifted late in the second quarter.
Eastern New Mexico scored its first touchdown of the year with only 27 seconds left before halftime, building a 10-0 lead. Coach Lee remarked on the quick turnaround: "We gave them a window and they took the most of it." In response, NMHU completed a two-play, 65-yard drive in under half a minute to cut ENMU's lead to 10-7 by halftime.
The second half saw New Mexico Highlands take control of the game. The Cowboys managed six drives over the third and fourth quarters, scoring touchdowns on four of them. Freshman running back Jeffery Jones was instrumental for NMHU, recording 19 carries for 227 yards and three touchdowns—two runs were longer than 45 yards.
On offense, Eastern New Mexico posted its highest single-game passing yardage since October 14, 2023 against UT Permian Basin, finishing with 200 passing yards. Sophomore Gerry Gomez led receivers with four catches for 94 yards and two touchdowns—the first multi-touchdown reception game by an ENMU player since Andre Jones achieved it against UTPB in 2023.
The Greyhounds' ground game remained effective as five players each had at least seven carries and more than 25 rushing yards apiece; collectively they rushed for a total of 228 yards. Chad Ragle scored ENMU’s only rushing touchdown while tallying up 39 rushing yards from his fifteen attempts.
Defensively, twelve Hounds recorded multiple tackles during the contest. Aaron Warren and Charley Pitt both forced fumbles while Dylan Quartieri made a team-high of two-and-a-half tackles for loss. J.J. Silver collected his first career interception and matched his personal best with eight tackles.
Special teams contributions included kicker Kaden Bell converting two out of three field goal attempts and Ryan Travis averaging over forty-three yards per punt across five kicks—with his longest going sixty-five yards.
Looking ahead, Eastern New Mexico will continue its season facing another Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference opponent when they travel to play Colorado Mesa at 6 p.m. on September 6.
