If Fort Lewis College football fans needed any further evidence the team is turning into a winner under third-year head coach John L. Smith, they need look no further than Saturday’s game.
The Skyhawks were in control throughout, smashing Adams State 51-10 in the 49th installment of the “Musket Game.” They did it all with a backup quarterback, too.
The win secured Fort Lewis’ first winning season since 2006, and the Skyhawks will have a chance to match that team’s record of 7-4 in the season finale next week at Chadron State in Nebraska.
“It’s huge, first of all for our seniors,” Smith said. “Them playing at home, the arch rival, win the gun back, leave the stadium the last time we dress in blue, leave as a winner – that’s special.
“The other thing it does as a program is it takes us a step up. We have not been in this position for awhile. We need to have a winning season, this secures a winning season. ... Helps us recruiting and everything we’re trying to get done in this program. The attitude of the guys coming back is gonna be that of, ‘Hey, let’s not just be a winner next year, let’s go be a champion next year.’ Huge win for our program.”
The win returned the traveling musket trophy to Fort Lewis after the Skyhawks lost the game at Adams State last year. The trophy, a Springfield .45-70 military issue rifle that has been used as a traveling trophy between Adams State and Fort Lewis since it was donated in 1966 by Maholn “Butch” White, was fired by Smith and all 19 of the team’s seniors at the 50-yard line after the win.
One of those seniors was quarterback Jordan Doyle, who suffered a fractured elbow in a win last week at Western State Colorado University. The team wanted to win the game for all of the seniors, especially their injured quarterback.
“Hopefully this is the beginning of being dominant through this rivalry for a while,” Doyle said. “When I came here, I knew how the program had been going, and I wanted to be part of turning it around. My main goal coming here was to flip it around, and we know we’re going to have a winning season now. It’s a great feeling.”
Doyle’s replacement, junior transfer Allen “AJ” Thigpen, set the tone early with two rushing touchdowns that gave FLC a 14-0 lead. The first was a 15-yard scramble, and the second came from 7 yards out, as he eluded two defenders in the open field before crossing the goal line.
He went on to pass for two more touchdowns, but deep balls. The first was a 41-yard strike to LyDell Williams, who got behind the defense and easily hauled in the pass when an Adams State defensive back misplayed the ball. The next was a 74-yard connection with Esley Simmons in the fourth quarter.
“I felt good. Knew we definitely needed to get up on these guys and get some momentum,” Thigpen said. “Just extending the plays, reading the defense. I missed some throws but made some big ones, too.”
Thigpen finished 3-of-4 passing for 135 yards and the two scores. He rushed 12 times for 38 yards and two touchdowns.
Five of the Skyhawks’ scoring drives started in Adams State territory, as the defense came up with three interceptions by Kaimon Ontiveros, Joshua Roybal and Cory Witt.
FLC held Adams State to only 66 rushing yards and 186 passing, most of which came on one drive early in the fourth quarter when the Grizzlies scored their lone touchdown of the game on a Johnny Feauto pass to Phil Romero.
“The guys up front do a tremendous job,” Roybal, a senior defensive back, said of the standout defensive line of the Skyhawks. “They pretty much eliminate the run, so it helps us as a secondary to really focus on the pass.”
FLC benefitted by a huge day from sophomore running back PJ Hall. After being bottled up early and fumbling a handoff in the first half, Hall exploded for 179 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries. He busted a 74-yard run down to the 1-yard line to open the second half and finished off the drive one play later. He cracked the 1,000 yard barrier for the season in the fourth quarter.
“We really needed to get some momentum. I couldn’t let that one fumble ruin anything we had going,” Hall said. “The guys up front needed to feel like the running backs and quarterback could do something behind them. It was important to get us going.”
FLC totaled 248 rushing yards, and third-string back Drake Griffin scored the game’s last touchdown from 4 yards out. Redshirt freshman quarterback Bo Coleman also played a few possessions and was 4-of-6 passing for 27 yards and added 15 rushing yards.
Kipp Castanha, who struggled during Fort Lewis’ three-game losing streak to ranked teams CSU-Pueblo, Colorado Mines and Colorado Mesa, was perfect Saturday with field goals of 48, 27 and 37 yards.
Thompson accounted for 133 punt return yards on six chances.
“The entire first half we had great field position,” Smith said. “We were talking to our team all week about how we can return the ball on these guys. The punter gives ya a good enough ball we can get big returns. It’s not only (Thompson) but those guys up front blocking for him so we can get good returns, but he gave us good field position.”
FLC will look to close out the season with a win next Saturday at Chadron State. The Eagles (5-5, 4-4 RMAC) have been down this season but also will be playing in an effort to have a winning season.
That’s already secured for the Skyhawks, but they aren’t satisfied yet.
“We want to get that seventh win,” Roybal said. “It hasn’t been done in a long time. It’s the last game we will ever play, so we want to go out as real winners.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
