It was a tale of two halves and neither half favored Fort Lewis College football on Saturday afternoon. The Skyhawks lost their Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference opener to Black Hills State, 25-19 at home on Saturday.
FLC and Black Hills State were locked in a defensive battle in the first half, with each team recording safeties. Neither offense looked potent as both quarterbacks struggled to find big plays.
The game flipped in the second half, with both offenses waking up from hibernation to entertain the FLC faithful. Unfortunately for Skyhawks fans, FLC couldn’t maintain the offensive momentum it started in the third quarter. After the offense slowed in the fourth, the Skyhawks couldn’t get the stops it needed to take the victory.
“It was sloppy,” FLC head coach Johnny Cox said. “There was a lot of potential, but things need to be cleaned up. There were some big plays and opportunities we needed to take advantage of. I was hoping for a win, but I realize four years ago, this team beat us 75-0. We’re a score away from winning this game and we couldn’t figure it out.”
FLC dropped to 1-2 overall and 0-1 in the RMAC with the loss. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Stone Walker returned after missing most of Week 1 and all of Week 2 with an ankle injury. He went 16/34 passing for 117 yards, a passing touchdown and an interception. Sophomore running back Orlando Guevara led the team with six rushes for 57 yards and a touchdown. Senior wide receiver Jamille Humphrey led the team with five receptions for 68 yards. Sophomore wide receiver Solomon Latimer had a receiving touchdown.
Black Hills State improved to 1-3 overall and 1-1 in the RMAC. Quarterbacks Luke Duby and Kade Weber combined for 183 passing yards, two passing touchdowns and an interception.
FLC got on the board first, thanks to a Black Hills State safety. The Skyhawks defense pinned the Yellow Jackets inside their own 5-yard line. Weber was put under pressure in the end zone and launched the ball to the right and out of bounds. Since there was no receiver in the area, he was called for intentional grounding in the end zone, resulting in a safety and a 2-0 Skyhawks lead with 10:45 left in the first quarter.
“These guys had an interesting philosophy, where they thought they were just going to come in and run the ball,” Cox said about Black Hills State. “I guess they didn't necessarily respect what we had seen on tape. That plays into our hands when the team's just going to try to pound the ball at us. We have shown that we can tackle people.”
Next, on the opposite end of the field, it was the Skyhawks’ turn to get pinned inside their own 5-yard line. FLC was forced to punt, but redshirt sophomore punter Kuba Betlinski didn’t get the chance. The snap was high and out of the back of the end zone, resulting in a safety and a 2-2 tied game with 10:02 left in the first.
The Skyhawks had their best drive of the half to end the half. FLC used an end-around play by Humphrey to get down the left side and give the offense a 23-yard gain with less than 1:30 left. Two plays later, the FLC offense showed its skill to the home fans.
At the 5-yard line, Walker threw a back-shoulder throw into the left corner of the end zone. It looked like an incompletion at first. However, Latimer turned at the last moment and caught the pass with one hand for the touchdown. FLC trailed 11-9 after the extra point and Black Hills State took that lead into halftime.
“He was solid,” Cox said about Walker. “His first snap today was his 10th snap of the year. It was still him getting used to being out there and developing. There's going to be growth there and it'll get better.”
FLC had one of the worst-case scenarios to start the second half. On 3rd-and-10, Walker dropped back to pass and wasn’t on the same page as his receiver. Walker’s pass then went right into the hands of Yellow Jackets defensive back Joshua Faulkner on FLC’s 45-yard line. Faulkner returned the ball inside the 5-yard line. Two plays later, Black Hills State rushed it home in a wildcat formation. The Yellow Jackets led 18-9 with 13:37 left.
Walker and the Skyhawks responded on their next drive. Walker made a few nice throws on the run and inside the pocket. Guevara burst through the middle of the defense, broke a few tackles and used his speed to score from 47 yards out. FLC trailed 18-16 with 9:59 left.
The second half looked more like a prize fight as Black Hills State had the next big blow. Duby evaded the FLC pass rush, bided his time and found an open TJ Chukwurah on a busted coverage. Chukwurah took it to the house for the 60-yard score and a 25-16 lead with 7:22 left in the third.
After a poor offensive possession, the FLC defense had the offense’s back. Redshirt sophomore defensive back Kameron Lewis had a leaping interception as he looked like Randy Moss jumping over the receiver for the pick.
Skyhawks fans held their breath as Walker went down with what looked like another injury to start the fourth quarter. He needed assistance after being tackled on a run. Walker returned to the game by the middle of the fourth quarter.
FLC had a few nice plays and was aided by some Yellow Jackets’ penalties as FLC had the ball down 25-19. However, the Skyhawks decided to go for it on 4th-and-2 in Black Hills State territory. Guevara came up short with about five minutes left. Black Hills State got the ball back and converted a few first downs to seal the win.
The Skyhawks hit the road to play at South Dakota Mines on Saturday at 2 p.m.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
