By Joel Weckerly, Sports Editor
For the second straight year, the Wildcat football team opens its Lone Star Conference South Division schedule against an unbeaten Eastern New Mexico program. This year, ACU (1-2 overall) hopes to repeat the same feat of last year-knock off the nationally-ranked Greyhounds (4-0) and begin building a winning streak.
Last season, ACU beat 4-0 ENM, 20-19, on a last-second field goal by now junior placekicker Eben Nelson. Eastern was ranked 25th in the American Football Coaches’ Association Top 25 poll at the time, and currently is ranked No. 19.
“It’s been this way the last couple times we’ve played them,” senior defensive end Brad Walton said. “We believe in the game plan we have and we feel like we’ve prepared well for them.”
The Wildcats have had an extra week to do just that, as they were idle last week. Eastern New Mexico, on the other hand, upended East Central Oklahoma, 32-2. Using its trademark run-oriented wishbone offense, ENM has pounded opponents 119-43 this year.
“Their offense controls the clock with the wishbone,” ACU head coach Gary Gaines said. “That means it’s important for our offense to be efficient with the number of snaps we have. We’re going to have to be a lot more consistent.”
Walton said the defense has worked the past couple weeks on stopping Eastern’s deadly option-led by junior quarterback Steven Hinson, who leads the team in rushing (342 yards, six touchdowns) and passing (448 yards, four touchdowns).
“We’ve had to change our defense up a little bit,” Walton said. “It’s assignment football; you have a specific player you have to take out. We can’t get lulled to sleep on defense.”
ACU’s offense must stay alert as well. The aggressive Greyhound defense leads the entire LSC in scoring defense with only 10.8 points allowed per game. Junior linebacker Jeff Howard and junior safety Ty Touchstone lead the squad with 27 and 25 tackles, respectively.
“Their defense is very pressure-oriented,” Gaines said. “They blitz about 70 percent of the time. We won’t have a long time to massage that football before we throw it.”
Senior quarterback Colby Freeman should see most of that pressure. The all-conference starter has thrown for 542 yards and three touchdowns on 44-of-84 passing. Senior tailback Richard Whitaker is ACU’s leading rusher, with 247 yards and one score on 49 carries. Senior wideout DaRay Sims heads up the receiving corps with nine catches, 102 yards and two touchdowns.
Defensively, Texas A&M transfers Randall Webb and Dawon Gentry have carried the Wildcats. Juniors Webb, a linebacker, and Gentry, a safety, lead the team with 23 and 22 tackles, respectively.
Gentry-who suffered a bruised spinal cord in the Sept. 20 loss to Tarleton State-is surprisingly expected to start Saturday against Eastern New Mexico. Junior linebacker Shawn Taylor strained his medial collateral ligament against TSU, and will be replaced Saturday by sophomore Matt Allen. Redshirt freshman offensive lineman Cody Savage will fill the spot of injured starter junior Cody Stewart, who broke his left fibula against Tarleton.
After the nasty 41-7 loss to Tarleton State, Walton said ACU is ready to regroup and press forward.
“Any time you lose a game like that you’re not going to be proud of it,” he said. “You’ve got two options; you can lay down and give up or you can move on. Our team’s always believed in moving on.”
At 6 p.m. Saturday, ACU will try to move on in its divisional opener.
“It’s the start of our South zone run,” Gaines said. “That’s a big significant factor. We don’t want to get behind the eight ball from here on out. Hopefully every game will be more important than the previous one.”
