Fort Lewis College left nine points on the field in missed field goals. It lost by eight.
Three missed field goals of average length doomed the Skyhawks against No. 23 Colorado Mesa on Saturday at Ray Dennison Memorial Field on the Fort Lewis College campus in Durango.
Two touchdown plays of more than 70 yards also took their toll, as the Mavericks improved to 7-1 and 6-0 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference with a 21-13 win to sit atop the league standings along with No. 6 CSU-Pueblo.
“It’s a game we gave away,” Fort Lewis College head coach John L. Smith said. “We didn’t prepare well, we didn’t play well, we gave up big plays, we missed field goals.
“We work on stuff all week long and then come to the field and don’t execute. I’m very disappointed. I’m embarrassed.”
Outside of the two long touchdowns and missed field goals, Fort Lewis was the better team on the field Saturday. But two trips inside the Colorado Mesa red zone resulted in zero points, and FLC’s offense struggled on third down, going only 3-of-13 on conversions.
“We had good field position all day because of our defense,” FLC senior quarterback Jordan Doyle said. “Our defense played well for how banged up they were, and we didn’t capitalize. We should’ve and that’s on the offense.”
The Skyhawks forced a punt on Colorado Mesa’s first possession and took over in Mavericks’ territory at the 45-yard line. FLC drove 30 yards in seven plays to set up a 32-yard field goal, but Kipp Castanha’s kick was blocked by the Mavericks.
That sparked the Colorado Mesa sideline, and two plays later running back DJ Hubbard was off to the races on a 74-yard touchdown run.
Three drives and another Castanha missed field goal later, the Mavericks struck again on a 71-yard touchdown pass from Sean Rubalcaba to Virnel Moon.
Fort Lewis cornerback Theo Chambers was hobbled by a cramp two plays earlier and tried to the return to the field, but he went to the ground with another cramp, leaving Moon wide open deep down the field.
Rubalcaba said the blocked field goal and another Fort Lewis miss helped spark his offense.
“It was a big moral booster,” the native of Grand Junction said. “We kind of came out a bit flat and needed that to get things rolling. We never got it all the way going on offense, but that helped.”
The Fort Lewis defense came up with a big turnover on downs late in the first half, when Ryneal Lewis-Adams sacked Rubalcaba on a fourth-and-goal play.
Doyle led the Skyhawks down the field on a nine-play, 73-yard drive that ended with 31-yard Castanha field goal, making it 14-3 at halftime.
Fort Lewis’ defense held the rope, as Smith would say, the entire third quarter and even came up with a blocked punt by Daniel Walker.
FLC took over on the Colorado Mesa 10-yard line but didn’t gain a yard, and Castanha came on and missed his third field goal of the day and fifth in the last two weeks.
“I wish he could give me some faith,” Smith said of his kicker.
Another strong defensive stand for the Skyhawks set up Fort Lewis’ only scoring drive of the game. The Skyhawks took over on their own 35 and drove 65 yards in eight plays with wide receiver LyDell Williams taking an end-around handoff two yards for a touchdown that cut Colorado Mesa’s lead to 14-10.
But, on the following drive, Rubalcaba commanded a brilliant drive down the field, extending the drive with several big runs on third down. As the FLC defense started to bend, running back David Tann plowed in for a touchdown from four yards out to give the Mavericks a 21-10 lead.
“They did a good job taking away our pass,” said Rubalcaba, who finished 9-of-20 passing for 180 yards but rushed for 114 yards on 23 carries. “With the running ability I have, I don’t force many throws. I extended the play, saw open lanes and just took them.”
Castanha tacked on a 45-yard field goal to get Fort Lewis within eight points, but Rubalcaba and Tann answered with a 15-play, 68-yard drive that ate the final 8 minutes, 22 seconds of clock to finish the game.
“Big testament to the guys up front,” Rubalcaba said of the final drive. “They stepped up that last drive and showed the RMAC what we can do.”
Colorado Mesa proved it deserves to be in the first tier of the conference along with No. 7 Colorado Mines and No. 6 CSU-Pueblo.
Fort Lewis has dropped three games in a row after opening the conference with two wins. FLC was 4-1 overall before trips to CSU-Pueblo and Colorado Mines and Saturday’s loss to Colorado Mesa.
“Well any time you go against the two previous teams, both good football teams, that’s tough,” Smith said. “But this is one you give away to a team that’s OK. We were less than average; in fact, we were downright poor.”
A lone bright spot for Fort Lewis was the play of senior return man Juquelle Thompson, who continually set the Skyhawks up in Colorado Mesa territory. Three FLC drives started in Colorado Mesa territory and another four started at the Fort Lewis 35-yard line or better.
“We prepare every week for big plays,” said Thompson, who had 53 yards on three punt returns and 135 yards on four kickoff returns. “All I’m trying to do out there is make a big play for my team. It wasn’t enough for the win (Saturday).”
Hubbard finished with 113 rushing yards for the Mavericks, and Tann added another 46, giving Colorado Mesa 286 rushing yards for the game.
PJ Hall rushed for 87 yards on 16 carries for Fort Lewis, and Doyle added another 49 yards on the ground. Doyle was held to 16-of-33 passing for 152 yards, as he struggled with accuracy all game. He said he rushed a few throws trying to make the big play.
Esley Simmons led FLC with 72 receiving yards on six receptions.
Both Doyle and Smith were disappointed with FLC’s preparation for the game and said that is the biggest key to ending the three-game winning streak at 1 p.m. Saturday at Western State (3-5, 3-3 RMAC) next weekend.
“We got to pray,” Smith said in frustration. “We got to come to practice better, prepare better during the week and execute what we prepare on Saturday and not come out and do your own deal.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
