Eastern New Mexico University’s football team will host Sul Ross State after a high-scoring win against Western New Mexico. The Greyhounds are coming off a 59-35 victory in which they set an NCAA Division II record by rushing for 722 yards. Running back Jarius Stewart led the effort with 382 yards on 32 carries and scored five touchdowns, the most by a Greyhound since 2000. Stewart received national recognition as D2Football.com’s national player of the week and was also named Lone Star Conference offensive player of the week.
The defense played a significant role in the second half, limiting Western New Mexico to one touchdown after halftime. Eastern New Mexico recorded five sacks and nine tackles for loss during the game. Dylan Quartieri led with eight tackles, including 3.5 for loss and tied DJ Moore for team lead in sacks at 1.5 each. Moore also had three quarterback hurries, while Esaias Swindle contributed six tackles and two hurries. The defense forced one turnover: Elijah Thorp caused a fumble that Davin Lowe recovered.
Eastern New Mexico has demonstrated depth in its rushing attack this season, with three players surpassing 400 rushing yards and seven exceeding 100 yards each. Stewart leads the team with seven total touchdowns; Demarion Finch is second with six, and Chad Ragle has four on the ground. Eight different players have scored rushing touchdowns so far this season. Last Saturday, Finch had his second consecutive game with over 120 rushing yards on just 15 carries, while Logan Howell ran for 60 yards to help secure the win late in the game.
The Greyhounds rank third nationally in rushing yards per game at 303.1 and excel at maintaining possession, averaging more than 33 minutes per contest—eighth best in NCAA Division II this year. They convert on third downs at a rate of 43.2% and on fourth downs at 53.3%, both among the top sixty teams nationwide. Punter Ryan Travis ranks twenty-second nationally with an average of 41.6 yards per punt, while defender Aaron Warren is twelfth nationally in solo tackles per game at an average of 5.50.
Sul Ross State arrives in Portales without a win this season (0-8), including six Lone Star Conference losses so far. The Lobos have totaled only 1,491 offensive yards—the lowest among all Division II programs—with their passing offense ranked one hundred fifty-second nationally and their rushing offense ranked one hundred forty-sixth by yardage gained so far this year; they have scored just seventy-eight points across all games played and allowed nearly sixty points per contest to opponents.
