The Fort Lewis College football team struggled Saturday against the No. 7-ranked Colorado School of Mines.
The Orediggers proved why Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference coaches picked them to win the conference, beating the Skyhawks 76-0.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do with this football team, I have a lot of work to do myself, and that’s just the bottom line of it,” Fort Lewis head coach Darrius G. Smith told FLC Athletics. “This was a conference game that we anticipated a better battle from us, and we did not show up.”
Fort Lewis’ defense made a goal-line stand on Mines’ first possession, forcing a Mines receiver to catch the ball just out of bounds at the goal line on fourth down.
Mines, however, scored on its next eight possessions, returning an interception for a touchdown along the way, and cruised to victory.
Freshman linebacker Ayden Madrid led Fort Lewis with 15 tackles, including eight solo, on the day. Fred Mady III and Jayden Helms made 14 tackles and 11 tackles, respectively, for FLC.
Offensively, however, the Skyhawks had nowhere to run and no time to pass for much of the game. Fort Lewis finished the game with just 29 total yards and two first downs. Three quarterbacks also played for the Skyhawks.
"For whatever reason, we're just not clicking, offensively," Smith said. "Bottom line, our preparation was just not good enough."
Next, Fort Lewis (0-3) will travel to Gunnison to take on Western Colorado University (3-0) on Saturday.
