Drake Griffin rushed his way into the Fort Lewis College football record books, helping 17 of his fellow seniors to a special sendoff Saturday.
Griffin rushed for 192 yards and three touchdowns in a 52-7 win against New Mexico Highlands. In the process, he surpassed the single-season rushing record set by Scott Stamper in 1982. The previous mark was 1,206 yards.
Griffin, a 5-foot-8, 212-pound senior from Los Angeles, now has 1,236 yards and nine touchdowns on the ground with one more game to play at Dixie State next week.
“It means a lot to me to be able to make history and be apart of the FLC record book,” Griffin said in an email to The Durango Herald. “My teammates and I worked hard this offseason and, although our wins and losses are not what we had in mind, it felt great to make this happen and share the honor with my brothers. We will forever be bonded by this, and it’ll be a great story for us to share with our future children.”
FLC (4-6, 3-6 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) won its third consecutive game and did it in dominant fashion on senior day. Head coach Ed Rifilato beat his alma mater and was able to play his reserves the entire fourth quarter.
“We’re saying goodbye to these seniors, and that is tough emotionally,” Rifilato said. “We’re going to miss them but appreciate what they’ve done for us.”
FLC carried a 21-7 lead into halftime despite sophomore quarterback Bo Coleman completing only one pass. Griffin broke TD runs of 65 and 25 yards, and Mason Hatton added a 78-yard punt return to give FLC a 21-0 lead. A Cody Keith 23-yard TD run gave Highlands (0-10, 0-9 RMAC) its only score of the game before halftime.
Coleman got going in a big third quarter for the Skyhawks. He ran for touchdowns of 14 and 32 yards before Griffin added his third of the game on a 10-yard run. Coleman also hit Dominick Barnett on a 21-yard TD pass to give FLC a 28-point third quarter.
Coleman finished 3-of-6 passing for 63 yards, one touchdown and an interception that bounced off the hands of Arealous Hughes and into the arms of a Highlands defender. Coleman also rushed for 97 yards to go with his two TDs. PJ Hall added another 87 rushing yards on only nine carries, and Griff Gans totaled 89 yards on 10 carries.
“The offensive line has been working so hard,” Rifilato said. “We’ve been running the ball pretty good, and we even had a couple called back in the first half.”
FLC will close its season on the road next week at Dixie State with a chance at a fourth consecutive win going into an important offseason.
Colorado Mesa beat South Dakota Mines on Saturday to claim the RMAC championship.
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
