BLACKWATER DRAW, N.M. – Faced with a potential trap game at Greyhound Stadium on Saturday, the 10th-ranked ACU Wildcats put together a workman-like performance in a 36-7 win over Eastern New Mexico.
The Wildcats scored the final 36 points of the game to overcome an early deficit and win their sixth straight over ENMU. The win pushes the Wildcats to 4-1 overall and 3-0 in the Lone Star Conference, while the Greyhounds fall to 2-4 overall and 1-3 in the LSC.
The win sets up ACU for next Saturday's showdown with LSC rival West Texas A&M at 2 p.m. at Shotwell Stadium as ACU celebrates Homecoming.
ACU spotted the Greyhounds a 7-0 lead, but then answered with five straight touchdowns and one field goal to turn that deficit into a dominating victory.
Junior quarterback Mitchell Gale threw for 295 yards and three touchdowns and
Reggie Brown ran the ball 10 times for 78 yards and one score, but it was the ACU defense that put this one in the win column for the Wildcats.
ENMU entered the game as the fourth-ranked passing offense in NCAA Division II football, while the Wildcats ranked 148th out of 150 NCAA Division II teams in pass defense. But the Wildcats put together their most complete game of the season, holding Wesley Wood – eighth in the nation in total offense – to just 192 yards and one touchdown.
Redshirt freshman
Justin Stephens picked off a pass early in the third quarter that set up an ACU touchdown and the ACU defense held the Greyhounds to their lowest passing yardage total of the season.
The Greyhounds had 200 yards of offense in the first half, but the Wildcats limited the Greyhounds to just 88 yards in the second half, including a mere 13 yards in the third quarter. The Wildcats had constant pressure on Wood and finished the game with four sacks and six quarterback hurries.
Thor Woerner and Darian Williams had six tackles apiece, and backup linebacker
Chris Jones – playing defensive tackle to get more speed on the field against ENMU's wide-open passing offense – had five tackles and one sack of Wood.
After ENMU got on the board first, the Wildcats went on a five-play, 57-yard drive that ended when Gale hit
Taylor Gabriel from nine yards out to tie the game, 7-7, with 5:54 left in the first quarter. The Wildcats took the lead for good on their next drive when they went 87 yards on 12 plays, ending the drive on a 2-yard scoring pass from Gale to
Ben Gibbs.
ENMU responded with a crisp drive that moved deep into ACU territory, but ended when Taylor Cannon missed a 26-yard field goal. ACU responded with a seven-play, 80-yard touchdown drive that made it 21-7 with 4:47 left in the first half.
Stephens created the only turnover of the game when he stepped in front of a Wood pass on ENMU's first play of the third quarter and returned it to the ENMU 14-yard line. It only took ACU three plays to get into the end zone from there as Gale hit Lineberry from 13 yards out.
Morgan Lineberry's PAT was no good and ACU's lead was 27-7 with 12:19 left in the third quarter. Lineberry hit a 24-yard field goal with 1:34 left in the third quarter and ACU took a 30-7 lead to the game's final 15 minutes.
The game's final points came on a
Reggie Brown 9-yard touchdown run, and after Lineberry missed his second PAT of the game, ACU's lead was 36-7 with 11:04 left in the game. The ACU defense would respond one last time as
Caleb Withrow knocked down a potential touchdown pass on fourth down on ENMU's last possession, and ACU was able to run out the final four minutes of the game.
