The Fort Lewis College football team had its biggest win in over 40 years on Saturday at Arizona Christian University. The Skyhawks did it without their starting quarterback.
Redshirt sophomore starting quarterback Stone Walker was out on Saturday after injuring his ankle in the season opener against William Jewell College on Aug. 30. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Jacob Morris stepped up and threw two touchdowns as the Skyhawks forced six turnovers en route to a 58-10 win.
It’s the second consecutive win for the Skyhawks against the Firestorm; FLC snapped its 40-game losing streak last season against Arizona Christian.
“It was great,” FLC football head coach Johnny Cox said. “That happened to be our first game four years ago and they beat us 52 to 12. So, four years later, to show the progress that we've made, to kind of get the guys a tangible example that we've gotten better and we're doing things right on the right path. That's really good. We haven't had a victory like that.”
FLC improved to 1-1 overall while Arizona Christian fell to 0-1 overall.
Morris finished 12/16 passing for 146 yards and two touchdowns. Redshirt junior running back KB Broadus led the Skyhawks with five carries for 52 yards and a touchdown. Sophomore wide receiver Solomon Latmier led FLC with three receptions for 87 yards and a touchdown.
Cox said last weekend was Morris’ first opportunity to come in and run the offense after preparing in practice for an entire week. A lot of times in Morris’ young career, he’s been thrown in situations where the team was down and he was forced to pass, according to Cox. With a whole week of practice, Cox said Morris had a type of feel and calmness he didn’t have before.
The Skyhawks had a phenomenal start to the game and led 24-3 after the first quarter. Seven of those points came on the defensive end via a fumble recovery and a 27-yard score from redshirt sophomore Kameron Lewis.
FLC led 38-3 at halftime. The Skyhawks’ lead was bolstered by another defensive touchdown, this time a pick-six by sophomore cornerback Tailan King.
“We had to come out and be ready to communicate,” Cox said about the defense. “They have some good coaches, so they had some things that we had to switch up. But the guys came into the situation with the alertness. We have some different things we showed them defensively that allowed us, you know, I think, kind of allowed us to play fast.”
In the second half, FLC’s lead was 48-3 before Arizona Christian scored its first touchdown of the day. The Skyhawks responded with another score and a field goal for the 58-10 victory.
The Skyhawks have a bye week before beginning Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play at home on Sept. 20 at noon against Black Hills State. Cox said he’s hopeful Walker will return to the field soon. He wants Walker to be 100% when he returns.
Skyhawks women’s cross country senior Hannah Hartwell is only getting faster. It’s a scary sight for opponents with all the accomplishments she’s had so far in her running career.
Hartwell started the cross country season by winning the Joe. I Vigil Invitational in Alamosa. Not only did she win, but Hartwell’s 5-kilometer finishing time of 16 minutes and 49.3 seconds was a personal record, meet record, 30 seconds faster than any other woman and earned Hartwell a national runner of the week and Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Runner of the Week award.
FLC women’s cross country coach Gracen Key said Hartwell thrives and enjoys high-mileage training. She hovers between 75 and 80 miles a week and is someone who is a very active person, according to Key.
Therefore, Key didn’t push Hartwell too much in the summer and allowed her to do the offseason activities she enjoys.
Hartwell led the Skyhawks women to a second-place finish. Behind her was senior Althea Griffith in 10th in 18:26, freshman Carysa in 11th in 18:26.9, senior Alliyah Molina in 14th in 18.48.7 and junior Madelaine Jellison in 17th in 19:10.2.
“Overall, it was definitely a great step in the right direction,” Key said. “For the most part, everyone ran faster at this year's meet than last year's meet. That's always something you're always looking for … it's sometimes hard to like compare cross country times because the courses are so different and the conditions are so different.”
On the men’s side, the Skyhawks also finished second at the Joe I. Vigil. Sophomore Christian Alley led FLC in his first collegiate race, finishing seventh in a field of 55 in the men’s 8K in 24:41.7
“Christian was our top freshman in cross country last year by the end of the year,” FLC men’s cross country head coach Dalton Graham said. “He would’ve been fourth on our team running from the open race at conference. We brought him as an alternate to regionals, but opted to not race him.”
Behind Alley was fellow sophomore Cooper Filmore in ninth in 24:49.6, sophomore Treyton Schaapherder in 12th in 24:56.8, sophomore Brody Hubbard finished 15th in 25:02.8 and senior Asante Maez finished 16th in 25:03.2 to round out the Skyhawks’ scoring positions.
FLC cross country heads to Denver on Sept. 20 for the Roadrunner Invitational.
The Skyhawks women’s soccer team looked like it was heading toward its second consecutive 0-0 tie to start the season. FLC junior Jenna Salazar had other plans.
After a St. Edward’s hand ball outside the 18-yard box, Salazar hit a free kick into the left side of the goal for the 1-0 lead in the 82nd minute. FLC held on to that 1-0 lead for its first win of the season on Saturday in Grand Junction.
It was FLC’s first goal of the season after its 0-0 tie to St. Mary’s University on Sept. 4. The Skyhawks improved to 1-0-1 with the win while St. Edward’s fell to 0-2 overall with the loss.
The Skyhawks outshot St. Edward’s 18-7, including a 7-0 advantage with shots on goal.
FLC returns home to face Eastern New Mexico on Thursday at 7 p.m. After that, FLC faces Lubbock Christian University at home on Saturday at 7 p.m.
Under new head coach Justin Wong, the Skyhawks volleyball team is off to its best start since 2017. FLC went 3-1 at the Western New Mexico University Invitational on Friday and Saturday.
The Skyhawks started their season with a 3-1 win over New Mexico Highlands on Friday. FLC won 25-17, 26-24, 19-25, 25-18. Senior Ella Butler led FLC with 13 kills, followed by freshman Cambria Frymuth’s 10 kills. Freshman Arianna Reyna led FLC with 21 assists.
FLC followed up its first win on Friday with a 3-2 loss to Western New Mexico. The Skyhawks lost 22-25, 25-23, 25-15, 23-25, 14-16. Freymuth led FLC with 15 kills, followed by Butler’s 14 kills. Reyna led the team with 24 assists.
Saturday was a bounceback day for FLC. The Skyhawks started by beating Eastern New Mexico 3-0 (25-18, 25-20, 25-22). Junior Jordan DeJesus led FLC with eight kills, followed by seven kills for both Butler and Freymuth. Sophomore Addie Garn led FLC with 13 assists.
FLC finished the invitational by beating Sul Ross State 3-0 (25-10, 25-22, 25-18). Junior Alina Nunez led FLC with nine kills, followed by redshirt sophomore Averie Dembickie with seven kills. Reyna led FLC with 18 assists.
The Skyhawks head to another tournament this weekend. FLC will play three games in the Lubbock Christian Tournament, starting with Eastern New Mexico on Friday at 9 a.m.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
