The game slipping away, Fort Lewis College needed a big play or two.
The FLC defense broke through first. Then the offense sealed the deal.
FLC forced a fumble on fourth-and-1 in their own territory up just three points in the fourth quarter, and Max Baiz’s touchdown pass to Aaron Holt with 2 minutes, 9 seconds left shut the door in FLC’s 38-28 victory over Western New Mexico on Saturday at Ray Dennison Memorial Field.
The Skyhawks (2-2, 1-1 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) led 31-14 in the second half, only to see the Mustangs (0-3, 0-2 RMAC) respond with a Mitch Glasmann 45-yard touchdown pass to Ronald Byrd midway through the third quarter and another Glasmann strike, 42 yards to Ronnell Pompey, to trim the lead to 31-28 with 13:39 to play.
The teams traded possessions until the Mustangs drove to the FLC 38-yard line and faced a fourth-and-1. Glasmann tried to sneak for the first down but fumbled, and Broderick Sargent recovered for the Skyhawks with 4:48 to go.
“I think the biggest thing that we anticipated was we needed to control the line of scrimmage regardless of what the play was,” Sargent said. “So I think all the front line knew that we couldn’t get driven into the backfield.”
The FLC offense put the game away from there, converting twice on third-and-long on a Baiz pass to Doyle Bode on third-and-10 and a Baiz scramble for 31 yards on third-and-14 from the Western N.M. 40.
“I was going through my reads, going low to high, and I just saw an alley and tried to take it,” Baiz said of his key drive-saving run.
Three plays after the scramble, Baiz hit Aaron Holt for a 7-yard touchdown pass with 2:09 to go to all but seal the deal as the Skyhawks remained unbeaten this year at home and ended a 10-game RMAC losing streak.
Baiz got the start in place of Jordan Doyle, who injured the thumb on his throwing hand after hitting it on a helmet this week in practice. The junior-college transfer may have reopened the quarterback competition with a solid performance, completing 15-of-27 attempts for 207 yards and three touchdowns and leading FLC in rushing with 88 yards and another score.
“The best thing you can have as a coach, in my opinion, to make us better is competition,” FLC head coach John L. Smith said. “And if you don’t have somebody breathing down your neck, you’re not going to get better. ... I like that Max now has established himself a little bit, and it’s always good when you say to the guy who got hurt, ‘Hey, you come back and win it back.’”
Baiz did have two turnovers, throwing an interception and fumbling on a read-option play deep in Western N.M. territory after FLC recovered a muffed punt.
The FLC defense proved more opportunistic, however, recovering four fumbles to go with a Terry Perkins interception for five total turnovers.
Glasmann’s fumble after a Sargent sack was scooped up by Dalten Lane for a 25-yard touchdown return to give FLC a 28-14 lead at the half.
The FLC rushing attack was slowed a bit, with FLC’s leading rusher to date, Dewaun Wesley, held to just 58 yards and Amery Duncan out with an injury. But the Skyhawks, aside from three allowed sacks, managed the Mustangs’ pressure fairly well, and Baiz connected with Holt for 80 yards and two scores, including a 65-yard touchdown pass on a nifty double move for a 14-0 lead in the first quarter.
“I just hit my post route, saw the safety drop down underneath, saw Max in the backfield hitch and load, and I just tried not to get caught from behind,” Holt said.
Baiz’s 4-yard touchdown pass to Doyle Bode opened the scoring on FLC’s first drive before the big play to Holt. Western N.M. responded with a Glasmann 4-yard pass to Larry Young for a score and a 70-yard punt return for a score by Byrd to even the score at 14.
FLC responded with a 6-yard touchdown run by Baiz and Lane’s scoop-and-score in the second quarter and went up 31-14 on a 38-yard field goal by Connor Fraser on the Skyhawks’ first drive of the second half.
Glasmann finished 21-of-40 passing for 262 yards and three touchdowns with an interception. Byrd had 123 receiving yards and a score, while Pompey had 90 yards receiving and a touchdown.
But the Mustangs couldn’t overcome the turnover bug, and the Skyhawks have a little bit of momentum heading into a tough road test Saturday at No. 5 CSU-Pueblo. FLC will try and get healthy after missing key players such as Maurice Anderson, Doyle, Duncan and Drew Smith on Saturday.
“You get to a point where you’re picked No. 1 (in the league), and it puts a bull’s-eye on your chest,” Smith said. “We want to take aim at that. (CSU-Pueblo has) the right to have that bull’s-eye. Our guys want to take that bull’s-eye and someday put that on our chest and say, ‘We’re No. 1. Come and get us.’”
rowens@durangoherald.com
