ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The 12th-ranked Central Washington University Football Team heads back on the road where they look to ride more momentum that they've built after a huge victory last weekend at home, this time they head to Portales, N.M. to face the Eastern New Mexico Greyhounds (0-8, 0-6 LSC) for a spooky Halloween game on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. PST from Al Whitehead Field at Steve Loy Family Foundation Stadium.
GAME INFORMATION:
WATCH (FloCollege - $):
HERE
LIVE STATS:
HERE
TICKETS:
HERE
QUOTING CWU HEAD FOOTBALL COACH SCOTT POWER:
"I've been in Portales once before, we played a game there in 2018 and that's the last time I've been there. The trip there, that will be obstacle number one, none of these places are very easy to get to and this place is no different. When you start looking at ENMU they had Western Oregon beat and then WOU was able to score in the fourth quarter and take the lead. There was a defensive touchdown that Western Oregon scored late in the game which stretched the lead out and made the final margin seem a little bit larger than it really was. Following scores and looking at them the past couple of days, offensively, they've scored on just about everyone that they've played.
They're fourth in the country in total offense right now and they have a balanced offense. I think they're 13th in the country in rushing offense and I think 13th in the country in passing offense which is tough to do, when you're balanced like that you become tougher to defend. If you load your numbers up and try to stop the run they're capable of throwing it over your head and if you defend the pass then you'll get the ball jammed down your throat. With their balanced offense they play with a lot of tempo, so you have to prepare to play fast. Their possession counts have creeped up on some people, one game this season they've had 16 possessions on offense which is high, especially for how we like to play. One of their games had 120 plays on offense which is two games for us. Style-wise it'll be important that we dictate the terms of this game. I'm sure they'll want to do the same. Coach Briles has been around a long time, he's coached in bowl games at the highest level and he knows what good football looks like, I'm sure he'll put together a good plan, get his guys ready to go, and try to win this one. It'll take a good week of work for us."
LAST WEEK:
CWU opened the scoring with a 15-yard touchdown pass from
Justin Brennan to
Mason Juergens, capping a 70-yard drive in the first quarter. The 'Cats added to their lead late in the quarter when Brennan scored on a one-yard run to make it 14-0. After the defense forced another stop,
Ryder Bumgarner powered into the end zone on a 13-yard run with 1:43 remaining in the first half, giving CWU a 21-0 advantage. UTPB answered with a three-yard touchdown pass just before halftime, but a missed extra point made the score 21-6 at the half. The Wildcats extended their lead in the third quarter when Brennan connected with
Isaac Torres for a 26-yard touchdown with 9:35 left in the third. The Falcons responded at the beginning of the fourth quarter with a six-yard touchdown pass to cut the deficit to 28-13, but CWU's defense delivered the decisive blow when
Omar Lazcano intercepted a pass and returned it 75 yards for a touchdown with 5:40 left in the game. Bumgarner added an 11-yard rushing touchdown with 15 seconds remaining, capping the 42-13 victory.
Brennan completed 17 of 26 passes for 168 yards and two touchdowns, with one interception. He also added a one-yard rushing. Bumgarner led CWU on the ground with 113 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries, while
Antoine Lee contributed 57 yards on nine carries, averaging 6.3 yards per attempt. As a team, CWU rushed for 191 yards on 44 carries and totaled 359 yards of offense. The Wildcats also converted 10 of 16 third-down attempts and controlled possession for 36 minutes and seven seconds, helping them maintain control throughout the contest.
Through the air, Juergens led the Wildcats with seven receptions for 64 yards and a touchdown. Torres added six catches for 63 yards, including the 26-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter.
Samaje Featherstone contributed three receptions for 40 yards, with a long catch of 20 yards, while Bumgarner added one reception for one yard. Brennan spread the ball around effectively, completing passes to three different receivers who combined for 167 receiving yards, while the Wildcats' balanced passing and rushing attack kept the UTPB defense under pressure.
Defensively, LSC Defensive Player of the Week Lazcano led the Wildcats with eight tackles, an interception returned 75 yards for a touchdown, and a pass breakup.
King Williams finished with seven tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, and a quarterback hurry.
Brycen Indell and
Connor Goff each recorded six tackles, with Indell adding half a tackle for loss and two pass breakups.
Isaiah Paul contributed three tackles and four pass breakups.
Trishion Sullivan added three tackles and a tackle for loss, while
Brian Kuhn recorded a seven-yard sack.
Cooper MacPherson and
Hudson Hardy each added two quarterback hurries.
On special teams,
David Weber made all six of his extra-point attempts and handled seven kickoffs for 455 yards, averaging 65 yards per kickoff with all seven resulting in touchbacks. Weber also punted twice for 56 yards, averaging 28 yards per punt, and missed his lone field-goal attempt from 38 yards. Juergens returned one punt for eight yards, while Bumgarner, Featherstone, and
Stephen Woodward each recorded a kickoff return of 21, eight, and nine yards, respectively.
SCOUTING THE GREYHOUNDS:
Eastern New Mexico has gotten off to a start they'd like to forget during the 2026 season. They are currently 0-8 overall and 0-6 in LSC play. They began their season with a tight 35-34 loss to rival New Mexico Highlands followed by a 42-23 setback at home against Colorado Mesa. ENMU traveled to Texas A&M-Kingsville to begin LSC play where they fell 56-22 before falling 56-10 to UTPB in their conference home-opener. They followed that up with a pair of setbacks at Sul Ross State by a 56-43 score followed by a 61-55 Chile Bowl rivalry loss at Western New Mexico. They fell to their other rival at home in West Texas A&M by a 41-27 score and then last week fell at Western Oregon 50-35.
ENMU is currently averaging 31.13 points per game while giving up 49.63 points to their opponents. The Greyhounds average 234.9 rushing yards per game while their opponents average 249.1 rushing yards per contest. The Greyhounds are earning more in the air than their opponents by a 285 to 269 margin compared to their opponents. Overall, ENMU grabs 519.9 yards per contest compared to 518.1 yards they allow their opponents.
The Greyhounds are converting on 38.93 percent of their third down attempts while allowing their opponents to convert on 47.06 percent of their third down attempts. Eastern New Mexico is incredibly aggressive offensively, converting on 20 of their 40 fourth down attempts this season while their opponents have converted on nine of their 14 fourth down attempts. Opponents are spending more time with the ball, averaging 33:19 minutes per game with the ball compared to the Hounds 26:30 minutes per game. ENMU averages 74.25 penalty yards per game, accumulating 69 penalties for a total of 594 yards.
Quarterback Clifton Cooper has completed 115 of his 194 passes for a total of 1,582 yards, eight touchdowns, and seven interceptions while adding 482 rushing yards and eight more touchdowns on the ground on 102 total attempts. Jose Trevino leads the ground attack with 535 rushing yards and seven touchdowns on 82 attempts. Trei Kibbles has 27 catches on the season for a total of 566 yards and five touchdowns while Darwin Parker has racked up the most receptions on the season at 35, earning 505 yards and three touchdowns. Trevino has added 21 catches for 219 yards and three more touchdowns.
Matthew Quartieri leads the 'Hound defense with 70 tackles on the season, including 2.5 tackles for loss for nine yards with six yards coming as a sack. He also included an interception, two pass breakups, and two quarterback hurries. Raheim Ross has added 54 tackles and two tackles for loss. Xander Holt leads the Greyhound defense with five tackles for loss for 20 yards including three sacks for 17 of those yards. Caleb Jefferson has two interceptions while Malachi Hannah, Jarrion Patton, and Quartieri all have one interception. Patton has six pass breakups while Caden Spano and Hannah each have four quarterback hurries. Julian Williams, Jamarri Price, and Immanuel Moore all have one fumble recovery while Williams and Holt have each blocked a kick.
Kaden Dow has 13 punts for the Greyhounds for a total of 453 yards with one landing in the opponent's 20-yard line. Dow and Clayton Vincent are both 1-3 on field goal attempts with Dow sinking one from 32-yards out and Vincent adding one from 29-yards out. Vincent has primary kickoff duties with 32 kickoffs for 1,423 yards. Elias Santana has returned 10 punts this season for a total of 118 yards while Kyler Fossett has 13 kick returns for a total of 222 yards.
UP NEXT:
The Wildcats will head home one last time in the regular season as they welcome the Western New Mexico Mustangs (3-5, 2-4 LSC) on Saturday, Nov. 7 at 1:00 p.m. for Senior Day from Steve Hertling Field at Tomlinson Stadium in Ellensburg.
