Eastern New Mexico University’s football team secured a 40-34 win over Sul Ross State in a Lone Star Conference matchup, marking their second consecutive victory. The outcome was decided on the final play, when Eastern defenders DJ Moore and Matthew Quartieri stopped Sul Ross State quarterback Kye Callicoatte two yards short of a game-tying touchdown.
"I thought offensively we did a good job with keeping the ball and holding onto time of possession," said head coach Kelley Lee after the win. "You have to give them credit for doing some things differently and executing well. We had a lot of chances to make plays defensively and didn't. Glad we made the one at the end."
Sul Ross State opened the scoring with a drive that included a fourth-down conversion and a 43-yard rush by Callicoatte, followed by Jose Trevino’s five-yard touchdown run. Callicoatte ended with 302 passing yards and 96 rushing yards, while Trevino recorded 87 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
The Lobos forced an early turnover but were stopped on fourth down by Eastern New Mexico’s defense—the only failed fourth-down attempt for Sul Ross State, who finished four-for-five on such plays.
Eastern New Mexico responded with a ten-play drive capped by quarterback Jarius Stewart’s ten-yard touchdown run, though their extra point was blocked. The first quarter ended with Sul Ross State leading 10-6 after Vicente Gariveay’s 25-yard field goal.
In the second quarter, freshman Demarion Finch scored from two yards out for his third straight game with a touchdown as ENMU went three-for-three on fourth down during that drive. With limited time left in the half, Eastern's defense forced a quick three-and-out that included contributions from Dylan Quartieri, Esaias Swingle, and Aaron Warren—who has eight pass breakups this season.
Stewart added another rushing touchdown before halftime, giving Eastern New Mexico a 20-10 lead at intermission.
In the third quarter, Finch scored again for ENMU before Trevino answered for Sul Ross State with a 60-yard touchdown run. A blocked field goal prevented Eastern from extending its lead further, but Sul Ross narrowed the gap to 27-20 after another field goal late in the quarter.
At the start of the fourth quarter, Stewart connected with Gerry Gomez for a twelve-yard touchdown pass—Gomez's fourth receiving score of the year—to put ENMU up by thirteen points. William Reynolds added another rushing score for Eastern later in the quarter.
Sul Ross State continued to push back with touchdowns from Trevino and Landen Drake following sustained drives that included key conversions on both third and fourth downs. Despite recovering two onside kicks late in the game, Eastern was unable to add more points due to defensive stops by Sul Ross State.
With under two minutes remaining, Sul Ross advanced deep into Greyhound territory after several big plays and penalties set them up at ENMU’s two-yard line with just seconds left. On their final play, Callicoatte was tackled short of the end zone by Moore and Quartieri as time expired.
Eastern New Mexico improved its record to 3-6 overall (3-4 in conference), achieving its highest number of conference wins since 2019.
Quarterback Jarius Stewart completed his only pass attempt—a twelve-yard touchdown—and ran for 173 yards on twenty-five carries with two scores. He is currently ranked thirteenth nationally in average rushing yards per game at just over 110 yards per contest. Running back Demarion Finch contributed ninety-one rushing yards and two touchdowns; he ranks third in total touchdowns among conference players this season. William Reynolds added eighty-three rushing yards on thirteen carries.
Defensively, Matthew Quartieri led ENMU with eight tackles (three for loss). J.J. Silver made seven tackles along with multiple pass breakups and quarterback pressures; DJ Moore had significant impact as well including assisting on the decisive final tackle.
Jarrion Patton broke up three passes defensively while Stanton Chambers recorded two breakups for ENMU.
On special teams, Kyler Fossett posted one hundred fourteen kick return yards across three attempts—one of several strong performances noted during this game.
Eastern New Mexico will travel next week to face No. 20 UT Permian Basin in Odessa, Texas.
