Saturday's game is not just the annual Homecoming contest, but also the renewal of the football rivalry between Eastern New Mexico University and McMurry University. How long has it been since these teams last met on the gridiron, you ask?
 
1959 was the last meeting between ENMU and McM. To put it into perspective, these teams haven't played football since Dwight D. Eisenhower was the U.S. president; Alaska and Hawaii were admitted as the 49th and 50th states; Vince Lombardi signed to coach the Green Bay Packers and Tom Landry inked to coach the Dallas Cowboys; TV shows premiering were Bozo the Clown, Bonanza and The Twilight Zone; "Barbie" was introduced; the Boston Celtics beat the Minneapolis Lakers for the NBA crown; the plane crash in Clear Lake, Iowa , referred to as "the Day the Music Died" – killing musicians Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and J.P. Richardson (The Big Bopper) occurred; "Sleeping Beauty" was a top movie release; you could buy a new car for $2,200 and gas was a whopping 25-cents per gallon.
 
This will be the 84th Homecoming game played by McM. McMurry has an all-time Homecoming game record of 44-37-2. McM lost last year's Homecoming game to Angelo State (48-35), but had won four in a row prior to that (2009-2012). McM has scored 1,664 points and allowed 1,477 points on Homecoming.
 
The War Hawks will be putting their unblemished 6-0-1 record against the Greyhounds on the line, as well, sporting a five-game winning streak in the series. McMurry won the last meeting in 1959 by a 51-0 score. The first meeting was in 1946 (a 43-7 McM win) and the clubs tied (7-7) in 1952.
 
But, to paraphrase the old saying: this is not your Daddy's Eastern New Mexico and McMurry teams. ENMU has become a force to be reckoned with in the Lone Star Conference. The Greyhounds earned a share of the LSC title in 2013.
 
In 2014, ENMU is 3-2 overall and 1-2 in the LSC. The Greyhounds' conference losses are to upper echelon foes Midwestern State University and Texas A&M-Commerce. Eastern's LSC win was an impressive 31-0 blanking of Texas A&M-Kingsville on the Javelina's home turf last Saturday.
 
Offensively, the Greyhounds are averaging better than 463 yards per game on offense with its triple option attack. Quarterback Jeremy Buurma has passed for 862 yards (38-84, 9 Tds) and run for 156 yards. Jacob Johnson has 555 receiving yards and six touchdowns on 20 catches (27.8 y.p.c.), E'lon Spight is the top rusher with 523 yards on 116 attempts (five TDs).
 
On defense, Benjamin Langford has a team-high 36 tackles – 5.5 TFL and 2.0 sacks – to go along with two interceptions and two forced fumbles. Seth Bailey (29 tackles) and Kevin Reaves (28 tackles) are also among the Greyhounds' defensive leaders.
 
McMurry's win in the Lone Star Conference also came versus Texas A&M-Kingsville, 27-21, two weeks ago in Abilene. Last Saturday, the War Hawks ran into a buzz saw at perennial power West Texas A&M University, 56-21. McM did manage to put up 501 yards of total offense against the Buffaloes. In that game, senior receiver Jeret Smith had 10 catches for 203 yards (touchdown grabs of 9 and 71 yards) and quarterback Matt McHugh completed 29-of-44 aerials for a career-high 374 yards and three TDs.
 
McMurry opened the year with a win over NCAA Division I Houston Baptist and a loss at Angelo State, both on the road.
 
On the year, McHugh has thrown for 1,084 yards and 10 touchdowns. Smith has been the main benefactor, with 23 catches for 423 yards and a team-leading six TDs.
 
On defense, Desmond Guy has a team-leading 36 tackles this year, with linebacker Josh Jones close behind at 34 stops and 2.0 sacks. Ryan Williams – who had 12 tackles in the loss to WTAMU last Saturday – has 28 total tackles. Joshua fisher has 4.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks, among his 21 tackles.
 
As a team, McM has turned in five interceptions as a unit.

The game can be heard live locally on KSLI 1280 AM with the pre-game show starting at 1:40 p.m.  Fans can also listen live via the internet and watch the video stream by using the links at www.mcmurrysports.com at the time.