It wasn’t always pretty, hampered by a sloppy field.
It wasn’t easy.
But in the end, it was something the Fort Lewis College football team hadn’t had in awhile: a victory.
The Skyhawks rode a stout running game and a stellar defensive effort to rally past NAIA-Oklahoma Baptist for a 23-14 victory Saturday at Ray Dennison Memorial Field.
The win was FLC’s first since a 6-3 triumph on the road over New Mexico Highlands to cap the 2011 campaign and ended an 11-game losing streak. It also capped a nine-game slide at home, dating back to a 48-30 win over South Dakota Mines on Sept. 3, 2011.
It was a weight off FLC’s shoulders, as evidenced by a jubilant postgame celebration. But defensive end Broderick Sargent, who had 1½ of FLC’s six sacks, said the focus quickly needs to shift to next week’s Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference opener against N.M. Highlands.
“It feels great, but you know, like any other game, a good team does enjoy it for 24 hours and then they move it away,” Sargent said. “Coach (John L. Smith) is always telling us to tear out the rearview mirror. ... There’s a lot we can do to get better.”
The Skyhawks (1-1) had to rally for the victory in a game delayed nearly 45 minutes by lightning. The Bison (0-3) broke through in the third quarter when Cale Grauer found Eric DeLay, who bounced off a pair of would-be tacklers to rumble 55 yards for a touchdown and a 14-3 Oklahoma Baptist edge late in the third quarter.
The FLC offense regained its groove on the ground soon after, running on 11 out of 12 plays on a lengthy scoring drive capped by Dewaun Wesley’s second touchdown run of the game and a two-point conversion to get FLC in front to stay at 17-14 with 9 minutes, 48 seconds to play.
The FLC defense took over from there, forcing two key turnovers on downs down the stretch to preserve the victory. The Skyhawks allowed just 122 total yards and seven first downs Saturday.
“We’ve been watching tons of film. Even during the delay, we got in and made the most out of it. ... (defensive coordinator Ed) Rifilato does a great job of preparing us, and we just go out there and execute for him,” defensive back Josh Roybal said.
The combination of Wesley and Amery Duncan proved too much for the Bison to handle. Wesley carried 22 times for 160 yards, including a 63-yarder, while Duncan had 125 yards and the clinching 8-yard touchdown run in the game’s final minute to push the lead to 23-14. Quarterback Jordan Doyle also ran for 69 yards as part of a team total of 363 yards on the ground.
“I give all the credit to the offensive line. ... Us as running backs, we were just finding the holes and hitting them hard, and we’d bust a big run, and that was the key, basically, to the second-half explosion from the running game,” Wesley said.
It was far from a perfect Saturday for the Skyhawks, however. The passing game never got out of a rut as Doyle completed just 3-of-15 passes for 29 yards, with backup Trevor Bonifasi throwing for 47 yards on 3-of-5 passing.
Bonifasi got a chance for two drives after Doyle, who helped drive FLC to the Bison 4-yard line, tried to force a pass that went for an interception and a return to the FLC 2 and led to Grauer’s touchdown pass to Cy Stallard and a 7-0 lead for the Bison in the first quarter.
“Throw it away. Hit the scoreboard. Anything but what you did,” Smith said in reference to Doyle’s throw. “It’s not only him, but he has to learn; we have to learn as a football team, and we’re going to learn.
“The thinking there was get (Doyle) out of the game, let him sit and watch a series or two, OK? Calm him down, and then get him back on the field.”
FLC had another turnover on a Maurice Anderson fumble and missed two field goals and an extra point when kicker Connor Fraser slipped on a wet gridiron. The Skyhawks missed another extra point on a bad snap after Wesley’s first touchdown run in the second quarter, and both teams were on the wrong end of several personal foul and unsportsmanlike conduct penalties.
“It was a sloppy day, but to me that’s all focus – technique, focus, mental concentration,” Smith said.
The game featured a first for the RMAC: Official Lilly Hill was part of the crew and is believed to be the first woman ever to officiate an RMAC football game, according to sports information director Sarah Meier.
In the end, the Skyhawks found a way to grab a much-needed victory. And having to fight as they did to get it could pay dividends down the road as FLC attempts to navigate an increasingly tricky RMAC.
“It has to be a personal vendetta and an attitude that we can’t give up, and we’ve got to go out and battle with courage the entire time and start a tradition of being winners,” Smith said. “And this is not the easiest place to come and play, so let’s take advantage of that, and let’s build on that.”
rowens@durangoherald.com
