A three-game homestand ended with three losses and yet another tough one to swallow on homecoming day. The Fort Lewis College football team again couldn’t find a way to win a close game Saturday at Ray Dennison Memorial Field in Durango. Despite holding the nation’s leading rusher Austin Ekeler to 85 yards, 115 less than his season average, the Skyhawks couldn’t find a way past the Mountaineers in a 13-6 loss in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
The Skyhawks (1-5) were handed a golden opportunity to tie or win the game after OJ Thompson recovered a fumble by Anthony Apodaca at the Western State 33-yard line. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against the Mountaineers (4-2) gave FLC the ball on the Western State 10 with one timeout and less than 3 minutes to play.
Drake Griffin ran the ball three times and picked up nine yards, with FLC needing to convert on fourth-and-1. The Skyhawks took a timeout to discuss the play call, which was a handoff to Griffin. But the gap the play was designed to run toward was blocked by Western State defenders, and Griffin was stopped short. One play later, the game was over after a Western State kneel down.
“They pushed us back, and we weren’t able to get the one yard,” FLC head coach Ed Rifilato said. “Winning is an elusive word. You have to be good in all three phases and put good gameplans together.
“We all hurt from losing, because you’d like to be happy after the game. There’s nothing we can do about that right now. Winning will take care of itself when we’re ready.”
Rifilato credited Western State defensive coordinator Todd Auer for coming up with a great gameplan to limit the Skyhawks.
“We put our guys in that scenario a few times,” Western State head coach Jas Bains said of his team’s late defensive stand, “and they did a good job responding and not allowing any points. It was a nice battle.”
Penalties prevented the Mountaineers from getting anything going in the first quarter, as Ekeler had numerous big runs called back on holding penalties.
A fumble by FLC running back PJ Hall gave the Mountaineers life, as Quincy Campbell recovered the loose ball on the team’s 6-yard line to prevent an FLC score. Western State quarterback Cameron Shumway converted that turnover into six points when he hit Isaac Fuqua for a 34-yard touchdown pass. Fuqua was uncovered across the middle of the field and didn’t have to beat anyone on his way to the end zone. But the Mountaineers’ 2-point conversion attempt failed.
The Skyhawks answered right back. Griffin had some big runs before quarterback Bo Coleman found wide receiver Arealous Hughes for a 25-yard TD. The extra point by kicker Joseph Cavale was blocked to keep the game tied at 6-all. Cavale is now only 14-of-18 on extra points this year and 2-of-6 on field goals with all four misses being blocked.
Another FLC turnover created the next scoring opportunity for Western State. Coleman was strip-sacked by Carter Wasser, who recovered the fumble on the Skyhawks’ 7-yard line. Three plays later, Ekeler was in the end zone on a 1-yard TD run. It would be the final score of the game.
Ekeler, a Harlon Hill candidate as the best played in NCAA Division II, entered the game leading the NCAA across all divisions in rushing, but FLC contained him much of the game.
“We wanted to shut him down,” said Thompson, who had seven tackles, half of a sack and two fumble recoveries. “We’ve played him for three years, and he’s an All-American. I think we did a pretty good job, and I’m very proud.”
The offense didn’t do enough to support the outstanding FLC defense. Hall fumbled twice in Western State territory, and Coleman was intercepted once while going 6-of-15 passing for 98 yards. He was under pressure all day and sacked twice.
Griffin was the lone bright spot on offense, as he ran for 165 yards on 30 carries.
“We got to do what we wanted to do, but they gameplanned real good for us,” Griffin said. “They did some things we didn’t see on film and got the best of us.”
FLC had 258 yards of total offense to 253 for Western State, which was penalized 11 times for 163 yards. Those didn’t prove to be costly.
The Skyhawks are now 0-4 at home with losses by a combined 26 points.
Next up is a tough test at Colorado State University-Pueblo at 2 p.m. Saturday.
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
