It all looked great for one quarter.
When the second quarter began, a different kind of team emerged for the University of California-Davis, a Division I football team that was eager to beat up on Division II Fort Lewis College.
FLC limited the UC-Davis Aggies (1-1) to just three points in the first quarter, but the Aggies’ onslaught began soon after. UC-Davis had four, one-play drives in the game as they continued to score on big plays, and three Jordan Doyle interceptions paired with a slew of penalties against FLC ensured the Skyhawks wouldn’t keep up with their opponents from the Big Sky Conference. FLC went on to lose 52-17.
“We started good on both sides of the ball, but that was about it,” FLC head coach John L. Smith said in a phone interview late Saturday night with The Durango Herald. “I sure wish we played that well the entire game.”
UC-Davis stretched its lead to 10-0 when quarterback London Lacy hit Corey Galindo on a 20-yard touchdown pass to cap off a six-play, 49-yard drive with 9 minutes, 53 seconds remaining in the first half.
FLC cut the lead to just 10-3 when kicker Kipp Castanha hit a 37-yard field goal with 5:56 to play in the half. The field goal was set up by a 41-yard pass from Doyle to Jordan Gillen, the Durango High School alumnus who led FLC in receiving with 53 yards on three receptions. The field goal concluded a 10-play, 73-yard drive by the Skyhawks.
But the big plays for UC-Davis began quickly after the FLC field goal. Running back Jermale Jefferson busted a 44-yard touchdown run, and an interception by Shawman Wright set the Aggies up for a 12-yard touchdown pass from Lacy to Gallindo.
At the start of the second half, the Skyhawks drove the ball down the field thanks to a big 48-yard pass from Doyle to Andrew Johnson, but Castanha was unable to hit a 45-yard field goal after penalties stalled the Skyhawks’ drive. Immediately after taking over possession, UC-Davis cheered as Colton Silveria broke a 72-yard touchdown run to give UC-Davis a 31-3 lead with 11:35 to play in the third quarter.
On their next possession, Jefferson ran 68 yards for a touchdown for the Aggies, giving them two touchdowns on two offensive snaps to begin the second half.
“It was very disheartening that they could just run it 70 yards a clip down our throat like that,” Smith said.
Jefferson checked out of the game after rushing for 123 yards and two scores on just five carries. Lacy finished the game 10-of-13 passing for 171 yards and two touchdowns.
UC-Davis pushed its lead to 45-3 when a fake-punt pass from Ben Scott found Galindo for another long touchdown. Galindo finished the game with 134 yards and three touchdowns on six catches.
FLC found a couple of late touchdowns, as Doyle scored on a 26-yard run for six points with 4:32 remaining. Doyle was shaken up after a big hit on the play but returned to game.
“He has to learn to take those hits if he is going to be our leader and quarterback. That’s what it’s going to take,” Smith said. “It was good to get a few scores at the end, but we have to execute better all game.”
Doyle hit Johnson on a 14-yard touchdown pass with just 13 seconds remaining in the game.
In the middle of the two FLC scores, Wright returned a kickoff 89 yards for another Aggies score.
Doyle finished the game 14-of-28 passing for 149 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions for FLC. PJ Hall was the team’s leading rusher with 35 yards on nine carries. Johnson led the Skyhawks with 62 yards and a touchdown on three receptions.
FLC will look for its first win of the season next Saturday on the road at Oklahoma Panhandle State University, which lost its opener 23-7 to Adams State on Saturday.
The Skyhawks then will travel to Spearfish, South Dakota, for their Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference opener against Black Hills State. In all, the Skyhawks will travel more than 6,800 miles by bus before their home opener Sept. 27 against New Mexico Highlands.
“Travel is part of the deal. We had 17 hours on the bus here, and now we have to turn around and face 17 coming back and get ready to go to Panhandle next week,” Smith said of the trip to Goodwell, Okla. “That is part of the adversity you have to fight through, and we didn’t respond very good to it.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
ThunderWolves open with a growl
Three-time defending Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference champion Colorado State-Pueblo opened the 2014 football season in style Thursday inside their Pueblo home, the ThunderBowl.
The ThunderWolves defeated West Texas A&M 35-6 behind four touchdown passes from RMAC Preseason Player of the Year Chris Bonner, who finished the game 16-for-31 passing for 277 yards and one interception.
Bonner connected on a 66-yard touchdown pass to Paul Browning, who had 102 yards receiving on four receptions in the game. Cameron McDondle, Jarred Radebaugh and Daniel Wise hauled in the other three ThunderWolves’ touchdowns.
CSU-Pueblo rushed for 163 yards in the game and were led by McDondle’s 83 yards on 21 rushes. J.B. Matthews rushed for 56 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries.
The ThunderWolves held West Texas A&M to 94 rushing yards, while Preston Rabb threw for 208 yards on a 25-for-49 passing day.
CSU-Pueblo will play again next Saturday on the road at Sam Houston State in Huntsville, Texas. Sam Houston State lost 56-0 to LSU on Saturday.
Adams State 23, Oklahoma Panhandle State 7
A 20-3 lead at halftime was all the Grizzlies (1-0) needed to cruise to victory on the road in Oklahoma against the Aggies (0-1).
Just 1 minute, 58 seconds in the game, Auston Hillman busted a 57-yard touchdown run to give Adams State an early lead. Hillman added a 13-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, as he finished with 157 yards on 14 rushing attempts. Hillman also threw for 127 yards on 8-of-22 passing.
Adams State rushed for 268 yards in all and held the Aggies to 142. Panhandle State did pass for 268 yards, but the Grizzlies hauled in three interceptions.
Adams State, who was picked to finish fourth in the RMAC, will play on the road at Eastern New Mexico next Saturday.
Oklahoma Panhandle State will host Fort Lewis College next week.
Chadron State 42, Missouri Science & Technology 25
Points came in bunches for the Eagles in a high-scoring contest against the Miners.
Wide receiver Kyle Vinich had 151 yards and a touchdown on 10 receptions for Chadron State, as quarterback John McClain threw for 260 yards on 22-of-32 passing. Patrick O’Boyle also threw for 91 yards and a touchdown while rushing for a team-high 77 yards and one touchdown.
Cody Paul added 66 rushing yards and one touchdown for the Eagles.
Next week, Chadron State will face a Division I Football Championship Subdivision team in Idaho State University.
Eastern New Mexico 44, New Mexico Highlands 21
The Cowboys didn’t have enough in their arsenal to keep up with the speedy Greyhounds on Saturday in Portales, New Mexico.
N.M. Highlands surrendered 201 rushing yards and another 276 passing yards in a lopsided road loss. Highlands quarterback Lance Orender threw for 415 yards and three touchdowns on 35-of-56 passing, but two interceptions and only 19 yards rushing helped the Greyhounds remain in front.
Vincent Venegas had 102 yards receiving on seven catches for N.M. Highlands, who will face Northern Arizona in Flagstaff, Arizona, next week. Eastern New Mexico will host Adams State (1-0).
Colorado Mines 43. South Dakota Mines 19
The Orediggers weren’t in the mood for any hard rock in South Dakota.
Colorado Mines blasted the Hardrockers of South Dakota Mines. The Orediggers went up 16-0 early and never looked back.
Statistics were not immediately available after the game.
The Orediggers will play their first home game of the season next week against William Jewell College.
Montana State 57, Black Hills 10
Dakota Prukop threw two touchdown passes and ran for three more to lead Montana State in a rout Saturday night of Division II Black Hills State.
In the first 8:12, Prukop ran for a 60-yard touchdown and connected with Justin Paige for a 43-yard score. Prukop had touchdown runs of 57 and 6 yards and hit Tanner Roderick with a 33-yard strike in the second quarter.
Gunnar Brekke ran for a 1-yard touchdown to open the fourth quarter and cap the scoring for Montana State. The Bobcats (1-1) had 637 yards of total offense, the most since recording 646 against Sacramento State in 2010.
Phydell Paris had 12 carries for 76 yards and a 49-yard touchdown run to lead Black Hills State (0-1).
Colorado Mesa 44, Dixie State 37, OT
An interception in the endzone by Dustin Rivas clinched an overtime victory in the season opener for the Mavericks in Grand Junction.
Tied at 37 after regulation, Colorado Mesa and Dixie State went into overtime, and the Mavericks took the ball first. Mesa drove the ball down to the 1-yard line, and Jerreon Dennis punched in a rushing touchdown from there to give the Mavericks a 44-37 lead.
Dennis finished the game with 28 yards rushing on eight carries. The Mavericks were led by DJ Hubbard’s 61 yards on 16 carries.
Dixie State had three players rush for more than 100 yards – Myles Burton, Hayden Gavett and Colton Peterson.
The Mavericks made their living through the air as Aric Kaiser threw for 286 yards and three touchdowns on 21-of-40 passing. Hayden was 25-of-44 for 339 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions for Dixie State.
Colorado Mesa will hit the road next week for a contest against Texas A&M University-Kingsville.
San Diego 23, Western New Mexico 17
A 14-point fourth quarter wasn’t enough for the Mustangs to mount a comeback at San Diego.
Trailing 23-3 entering the final 12 minutes, Western N.M. scored two touchdowns but fell short of a miracle.
The Mustangs outgained San Diego 431-371 in total yards, but the defense struggled to stop San Diego quarterback Mitch Glasmann, who threw for 280 yards and two touchdowns on a 26-of-51 night.
Western N.M. (0-1) again will be on the road next week with a game at Arizona Christian.
Western State 38, Wayland Baptist 21
The Mountaineers won its first home opener since 1997 behind 248 rushing yards and two touchdowns from sophomore running back Austin Ekeler.
Ekeler’s performance was the fourth highest single-game rushing total in Mountaineers’ history.
Western State’s defense hauled in three interceptions and forced three fumbles in the game. The Mountaineers also totaled 10 sacks in the game.
Jaden Terry, a senior, scored 12 points for Western State on defense. He had an 11-yard fumble recovery touchdown and a 58-yard interception return for another score.
The Mountaineers (1-0) will go for another win next Saturday on the road at Angelo State University.
heraldsports@durangoherald.com
