The Fort Lewis College football team had plenty of chances to put Saturday’s home opener at Ray Dennison Memorial Field out of reach, but the Skyhawks were unable to do so, as Dixie State responded with 23 points in the second half to earn a 23-14 win.
The Skyhawks (1-1, 1-1 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) moved the ball well numerous times in the second half, but costly penalties and two key turnovers spoiled an otherwise festive atmosphere.
“I can’t talk enough about the defense. They were so much fun to watch,” said Fort Lewis head coach Brandon Crosby. “It really hurts me as an offensive guy that we can’t support them right now and do the things that we need do to reward them.”
Fort Lewis’ defense was exceptional in the first half, as the Skyhawks forced four turnovers on downs. Lorenzo Tanner and George Marpaung were involved in a number of tackles in the backfield and forced Dixie State quarterback Kody Wilstead into hurried throws.
The Skyhawks took the lead with 1:27 left in the first quarter after Jake Lowry found Isaac Leppke for a 41-yard touchdown pass. Dixie State had lined up offside, and Lowry took advantage of a free play and took a shot at Leppke, who came down with the catch in double coverage. It was 7-0 after the first quarter.
With 1:08 left in the first half, Lowry led a 7-play, 66-yard drive that was capped off with his second touchdown pass to Leppke, who was open in the end zone after he beat his man on a slant route. He hauled in the 14-yard pass, and the Skyhawks led 14-0 at the break.
“In the first half, we really executed well,” Leppke said. “We were making space for each other wide-receiver wise, while our offensive line really provided Jake a chance to throw some really good passes. I don’t know what it was at halftime, but it wasn’t clicking in the second half.”
The Trailblazers (1-1, 1-1 RMAC) started out strong in the second half, as they got to the FLC 37-yard line before facing a key third-and-11. The Skyhawks secondary broke up the pass, but the defensive stop was taken away after a defensive pass interference penalty extended the drive. Five plays later, Wilstead found Dejuan Dantzler down the right side for a 37-yard strike to cut the Dixie State deficit to 14-7 with 11:57 remaining in the third quarter.
The Skyhawks were unable to take advantage after two unsportsmanlike penalties on the ensuing kickoff, but FLC senior defensive back Ka’Lonn Milton made an astounding one-handed interception the following Trailblazers’ drive to give the Skyhawks the ball back.
[image3]“I gotta give Dixie State credit,” said FLC defensive lineman George Marpaung, who finished with three tackles. “They dialed something up at halftime, and we couldn’t get those timely stops. We played really good ball today, just couldn’t get it done on offense.”
Dixie State then got within four after a field goal from James Baird to make it 14-10 heading into the fourth quarter.
Fort Lewis had six drives in the final quarter but all came up short. The costliest came on the first play from scrimmage in the fourth quarter. The Skyhawks drove the ball down to the Dixie State 5-yard line, but, on second-and-goal, Lowry fumbled as he was being tackled, and Dixie’s Alex Lilliard recovered the crucial fumble.
“I think the penalties really set us back when we were really going,” Leppke said. “We were messing up mentally, and once we got rolling, we shot ourselves in the foot.”
The Skyhawks’ defense held firm until late when Wilstead found Xavier Smith wide-open for a 58-yard score. The extra point was missed, but the Trailblazers had the 16-14 lead.
Dixie State head coach Paul Peterson was impressed with Wilstead’s willingness to stay in the pocket and find his wide receivers despite constant pressure from the Skyhawks’ defense.
“Our message was to just be patient,” Peterson said. “Defensively, Fort Lewis was awesome, and I think they’re going to surprise some teams. We had some other plays dialed up that we weren’t able to execute in the first half. In the second, we were able to find our playmakers, and that was the name of the game.”
Two plays after the go-ahead Trailblazer touchdown, FLC running back Jeff Hansen, who had an otherwise solid game, had a rare fumble and the Trailblazers recovered. Dixie State also coughed up the ball two plays later, and the Skyhawks were still in it.
Lowry led FLC on an eight-play drive that brought the Skyhawks within striking distance, but Hogan Keasler’s field goal try from 47-yards was short with 1:28 left.
Facing a third-and-12, the Trailblazers were able to ice it with a 72-yard TD pass from Wilstead to Conner Miller.
Hansen was the Skyhawks’ leading rusher with 12 rushes for 69 yards, while D’Arman Notoa finished with 16 rushes for 33 yards for Dixie State. The Skyhawks committed 12 penalties for 108 yards, while Dixie had seven for 79. Lowry finished 17-of-34 for 212 yards, while Willstead was 16-of-32 for 327 yards.
FLC will host Chadron State (1-1) at noon next Saturday at Ray Dennison Memorial Field.
“Moving forward, I think we’re a really good football team,” Crosby said. “We worked very hard, and were a very competitive team. We have a long way to go, and if we get everything cooking on all cylinders, we’ll see what happens.”
bploen@durangoherald.com
