Blackwater Draw, N.M. –   Eastern New Mexico quarterback Michael Benton ran for two touchdowns, threw a touchdown and caught a touchdown pass to lead the Greyhounds past the Texas A&M-Kingsville 37-14 at Greyhound Stadium.

   Eastern New Mexico improved to 2-6 overall and 1-4 in the Lone Star Conference while the Javelinas fell to 3-6 overall and 0-4 in conference play.

   Benton caught a touchdown pass in the first quarter on a trick play, threw a touchdown pass in the second quarter, and ran for two touchdowns in the fourth quarter.

   Benton scored on a 21-yard run with 11:59 left in the game to give the Greyhounds a 24-14 lead and sealed the victory with a 40-yard touchdown run with 7:15 left in the game to increase the lead to 31-14.

   Eastern running back Jason Walker added a one-yard score with 1:50 left for the final score.

   Benton finished the game with 157 yards rushing on 19 carries, 62 yards passing with a score, and one catch for 55 yards and a touchdown.

   Eastern New Mexico had 435 yards of total offense, 318 of those yards on the ground.  The Javelinas had 223 total yards.

   Javelina quarterback Jeremy Heatley was 12 of 33 for 122 yards and a score, wide receiver Jareko Taylor caught seven passes for 80 yards, and Webster Patrick had 45 yards rushing on 12 carries.

   The Javelinas got a trio of breaks to extend drives in the second half, but could only take advantage of one of them.

  Eastern New Mexico was penalized on consecutive possession as the Javelinas were punting on fourth down.  Each penalty gave Texas A&M-Kingsville a first down and a second chance.  Eastern was also called for roughing the passer Heatley threw an incompletion on third down. 

   The one time the Javelinas converted a Greyhound miscue into points, Heatley completed a 44-yard touchdown pass to Taylor with 4:59 left in the third quarter to cut the Greyhound lead to 17-14.  It was Taylor’s fifth touchdown catch in seven games this season.

   That play came two plays after the Javelinas converted a fourth and one from the Greyhound 46-yard line.

   But that was as close as the Javelinas would get as the Greyhounds outscored them 20-0 in the fourth quarter.

   The game started auspiciously for the Javelinas as starting cornerback and the team’s fourth leading tackler, Anthony Bates, was lost for the game on the first play when he was injured on the opening kickoff.  It was an injury Eastern would exploit.

   On the fifth play of the game, the Greyhounds ran a trick play as quarterback Benton caught a 55-yard touchdown pass from wide receiver Logan Capps off a double-reverse to make it 7-0 Eastern New Mexico.  It was the first touchdown pass thrown by the Greyhounds all season.

   The Javelinas responded with an 18-play, 76-yard drive, capped by a two-yard scoring run by Heatley.  Heatley totaled 73 of the team’s 76 yards, completing 5-of-6 passes for 41 yards and running four times for 32 yards.

   After Eastern New Mexico drove down the field and kicked a field goal to make it 10-7, the Javelinas ran a fake punt from their own 39 yard line, but was stopped short of the first down with under a minute left in the first quarter.

   Benton then threw his first touchdown pass of the season, a 29-yard scoring pass to Fide Davalos on the first play of the second quarter to make it 17-7.

   Texas A&M-Kingsville drove inside the Greyhound 25-yard line twice in the two and half minutes of the first half, but failed to score.

   Eastern New Mexico came into the game having passed for only 188 yards all season, had 117 yards in the first half.