One big win, one big loss.
That was the result of Saturday night’s football game in Grand Junction for Fort Lewis College and Colorado Mesa.
The FLC Skyhawks stormed out to a 21-7 lead at halftime and held on for a 28-20 win on homecoming night in Grand Junction against the Mavericks, the third-best team in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference standings.
The loss? Junior quarterback Jordan Doyle left the game late in the third quarter with a severe leg injury. The result: A broken fibula and possible ligament and muscle damage, ending Doyle’s season, said FLC head coach John L. Smith.
“It’s a shame. He’s physically gifted and capable of going out and winning football games,” Smith said of Doyle in a phone interview Sunday night with The Durango Herald. “He can really throw it and run, and he made a lot of big plays with his feet all year.”
Doyle, who was the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame – Colorado Chapter Player of the Week and RMAC Offensive Player of the Week in Week 2 of the season, was over 100 rushing yards Saturday before he exited the game. He played with a warrior spirit and absorbed many big hits, but his season will finish with six rushing touchdowns and 428 rushing yards on 126 carries. He also had 1,509 passing yards, 10 touchdowns and eight interceptions while completing 55.5 percent of his passes.
FLC (3-5, 2-4 RMAC) led 28-7 when Doyle left and had to hang on to survive the rest of the way. The offensive line buckled down, and PJ Hall finished with 166 rushing yards and one touchdown, as he helped lead a 7-minute fourth quarter drive. It was Hall’s third consecutive 100-yard rushing game, and he has solidified an FLC ground game that limped behind Doyle’s big efforts in the early stages of the season.
“We’re going to have to continue to build on what took place this last week, and that was running the ball. I really credit the line and (Hall) for that 7-minute drive,” Smith said. “We’re going to have to have someone step up and help (Hall), as well. He’s going to need breathers from time to time, and Luis Mensah and (Cameron) Padilla will have to help him out.”
FLC already has begun to prepare knowing Doyle is gone for the year. Trevor Bonifasi, a 6-foot, 180-pound sophomore, will take over at starting quarterback. He went 1-for-8 for eight yards and two interceptions in place of Doyle on Saturday, and he is just 4-of-15 for 84 yards and one touchdown to go with the two interceptions this season.
“It’s going to be Bono, and what we will do is probably (junior wide receiver) Carl Cox will go in and prepare at quarterback, as well,” Smith said. “He’s done that in the past, and we will continue to up his amount of snaps and preparation. He brings a lot to the table.”
FLC will play noon Saturday at home against the Western State Mountaineers, so the adjustment time without Doyle will have to be quick if the Skyhawks want to maintain some momentum from two big wins in three weeks.
“We have to rally behind Bono taking over. Doyle is out, and there’s nothing we can do,” Smith said. “That’s what good teams do – rally behind each other and fill in for each other.”
HHH
Fort Lewis College junior wide receiver Juquelle Thompson was named the RMAC Special Teams Player of the Week after he kickstarted the Skyhawks’ 28-20 win at Colorado Mesa last week.
Thompson returned a kickoff 75 yards for a touchdown late in the first quarter to tie the game at 7. He also caught a touchdown pass in the game, giving him five touchdowns and 202 yards on 12 receptions this season.
It was the second consecutive big special teams week for Thompson, who had two quality punt returns against No. 18 Colorado Mines a week earlier while also catching two touchdown passes.
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
