Eastern New Mexico University's football team will travel to face Colorado Mesa in their first road game of the 2025 season. The matchup, scheduled for September 6, marks only the fourth meeting between the two programs.
In their season opener, Eastern New Mexico fell to New Mexico Highlands with a score of 34-28 at Steve Loy Family Foundation Stadium. The Greyhounds started strong by forcing three turnovers and taking a 10-0 lead. However, a late first-half touchdown allowed New Mexico Highlands to narrow the gap, and the Cowboys dominated the second half with a strong rushing attack. The loss ended Eastern's five-game winning streak against their in-state rival.
Eastern New Mexico recorded 228 rushing yards in last week's game. Xavier Johnson led with 54 yards on 11 carries, followed by Nicholas Harper and Elias Santana with 49 and 43 yards respectively. Chad Ragle scored the team's only rushing touchdown, finishing with 39 yards on 15 carries. Eight players contributed to the team's total rushing yardage. Last season, Eastern surpassed 200 rushing yards as a team in ten out of eleven games.
The Greyhounds also threw for 200 passing yards in their opener. Quarterback Chad Ragle completed seven of thirteen passes for two touchdowns and totaled 168 passing yards, including a long completion of 65 yards. Gerry Gomez was the leading receiver with four catches for 94 yards and both touchdown receptions. Dalton Flowers had a notable catch for 65 yards, while Robert Nora caught a trick play pass from Logan Howell for 32 yards.
Both teams are seeking their first win after opening week losses. Colorado Mesa lost to Central Washington by a score of 41-14. CMU quarterback Liu Aumavae threw for 192 yards and two touchdowns but had one interception. Trek Keyworth led CMU receivers with four catches for 147 yards and one touchdown. On defense, freshman AJ Adams and sophomore George Soppe each recorded seven tackles.
Special teams played an important role for Colorado Mesa last week as Sullivan Moon earned RMAC special teams player of the week honors by averaging nearly 49 yards per punt, including three punts over fifty yards. Kash Bradley is recognized as a preseason all-RMAC kick returner.
This weekend's contest will be the fourth time Eastern New Mexico faces Colorado Mesa since their first meeting in 1983. Colorado Mesa leads the series two games to one. In their most recent matchup in Grand Junction in 2019, Eastern New Mexico won in overtime after amassing over four hundred rushing yards.
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