An explosive performance by Drake Griffin and a fourth-quarter comeback were enough for Fort Lewis College to earn a 53-52 overtime win in South Dakota.
Griffin fumbled and turned the ball over on the Skyhawks’ first offensive play of the game, and that led to an early South Dakota Mines Hardrockers field goal and 3-0 lead. But Griffin ran nine more times in the first half for three touchdowns and 119 yards to give FLC a 21-17 halftime lead.
FLC was outscored 21-3 in the third quarter, but the Skyhawks charged back in the fourth. Sophomore quarterback Bo Coleman got hot for the Skyhawks in the fourth quarter with a pair of rushing touchdowns and a 27-yard TD pass to Arealous Hughes that tied the game at 45 with 4 minutes, 39 seconds to play.
The FLC defense gave FLC the ball back with a little more than 2 minutes to go and zero timeouts after stopping the Hardrockers on fourth-and-2 from the FLC 48-yard line. Coleman had a few big runs, but a holding penalty derailed the FLC drive, and the teams went into overtime.
South Dakota Mines scored first in OT on a 12-yard pass from Evan Sanders to Marcus Sanchez for their second TD connection of the game. But Griffin and the Skyhawks answered when he scored a 15-yard TD to bring FLC to within 52-51. Instead of attempting an extra point, head coach Ed Rifilato and the Skyhawks went for the win and were rewarded, as Coleman kept the ball on an option run and got into the end zone for a successful 2-point conversion that gave FLC a 53-52 win.
“We were getting tired on defense,” Rifilato said in a phone interview with The Durango Herald. “Usually if you go on the road like that you want to get it over with. The offense was doing a good job, and we had faith in the guys to put it in.”
Griffin finished with 168 yards and four TDs on 22 carries, and Coleman added 141 rushing yards and two scores on 17 rushes. PJ Hall gave FLC a third rusher over 100 yards, as he went for 106 on 18 carries.
“When Drake fumbled, the defensive player made a great play running in and popping it out,” Rifilato said. “You hate to see him fumble, but he really had a great day.”
Coleman continued to show a winning spirit, refusing to give up on plays or the game late. That gives Rifilato tons of confidence in the sophomore going forward.
“He’s our guy,” Rifilato said. “He’s going to get better as the team gets better. He keeps working hard and does a good job.”
Sanders was the star of the day for the Hardrockers with 230 yards passing, but he completed only 10-of-22 passes. Still, he had four touchdowns, finding Connor Silveria for two TDs, including a 76-yard connection that gave his team a 38-24 lead in the fourth quarter.
Mines also had a big scored to make it 45-31 with 11:05 to go in the game, as Rashad Ridley returned a kickoff 95 yards for a TD after a Coleman six-yard TD run had made it a one-score game.
The Hardrockers also received a TD pass from Zach Huber, as he hit Isaiah Manley on a 20-yard TD pass to open the second half.
South Dakota Mines dropped to 5-4 overall and 4-4 in the conference in its first season in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. FLC improved to 3-6 and 2-6 in the RMAC after its first-ever trip to Rapid City, South Dakota.
FLC will have a chance to make it three wins in a row in the home finale next week against winless New Mexico Highlands, which lost 87-14 to Colorado Mesa on Saturday. Rifilato, a Highlands alum and former Highlands coach, said the entire team is looking forward to the matchup.
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
