Saturday’s season finale was symbolic of much of the year for the Fort Lewis College football team.
Hang in with a good team, then lose in the end.
The Skyhawks’ season came to an end Saturday afternoon at Ray Dennison Memorial Field. FLC led Chadron State 16-7 late in the third quarter, but the Eagles scored 21 unanswered points to take a 28-16 victory.
The loss dropped FLC to 3-8 overall and 2-7 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, placing the Skyhawks in last place in the conference.
“That seems to be the story of our season a little bit, not being able to keep a drive going when we needed it or make a stop,” FLC second-year head coach John L. Smith said of the team’s inability to close out games.
The Skyhawks’ defense forced two first-half turnovers – an interception by Kaimon Ontiveros; and a strip-sack by linebacker Ryan Ross, with a fumble recovery by Dalten Lane – but only had three points to show for it.
The Skyhawks’ first three scores came on field goals of 34, 35 and 41 yards off the right foot of placekicker Kipp Castanha.
“The thing that really hurts you is when you’re not able to convert, and we have to settle for like three field goals,” Smith said. “We need at least half or more of those to be able to put those in the endzone. Then, you’re gonna win games like this instead of having to settle for three points.”
FLC made life difficult early for Chadron State’s two biggest stars, senior running back Michael Madkins and senior quarterback Jonn McLain. The Eagles were held to 30 yards of total offense on 12 plays, as the third-ranked FLC run defense held Chadron State’s top-ranked rushing offense to four yards on six carries.
The fumble and interception by McLain didn’t deter the senior from Chadron, Nebraska, as he buckled down to throw for 300 yards and three touchdowns on a 24-of-32 day passing. He surpassed the 10,000-yard mark for career passing yards in the process.
“I think Fort Lewis is a great defensive team and a lot better than their record shows,” McLain said. “We weren’t executing, and when you put those two together, you’re going to struggle. We always believe we have a chance if we execute, and the biggest thing was coming out with more urgency to execute better.”
FLC dominated the game by running the football, with safety now twice converted to running back Kaulana Waalani-Arroyo rushing for 143 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries before possibly fracturing his left tibia in the fourth quarter.
“It was icing on the cake, I can say. It felt really good for the journey I’ve been through over here,” the senior transfer from New Mexico Military Institute said of his big day. “It kind of sealed my career. I can say, when I look back at it, ‘No regrets,’ and that’s the main thing.”
Louis Mensah, a senior linebacker also converted to a running back halfway through the season, as injuries to PJ Hall and Cameron Padilla, along with starting quarterback Jordan Doyle piled up, also had a monster day. He gashed the Eagles for 116 yards on 24 carries.
“I want to first give God the glory, because I didn’t have a school to go to, and these guys reached out to me, and it was a big thing,” the senior transfer from College of the Desert said. “I came here, and I was so stoked to play under coach John L.
“I came here, and they move me from defense to offense. First I was skeptical about it but told them I would do anything for the team. Having the chance to play offense here at Division II has been a great thing. John L., they trusted me enough to carry the ball.”
All the rushing yards weren’t enough to overcome the lack of a passing game this year after Doyle went down. Sophomore quarterback Trevor Bonifasi was 14-of-33 passing the ball for 109 yards, an interception and a fumble on a botched handoff Saturday. His interception came on the Skyhawks’ first drive on a pass into the endzone that easily was picked off by Chadron State safety Cole Montgomery. He did have one touchdown pass to Nova Hardy wiped out on an offensive pass interference on a pick play.
In three starts and nine appearances, he finished with three touchdowns and four interceptions while completing only 44 percent of his passes.
On the other side, McLain completed touchdown passes of 45 yards to Danny O’Boyle and 19- and 20-yard touchdown passes to Kyle Vinich.
Madkins iced the game with a 13-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to reach 91 yards on 18 carries.
“We just weren’t good enough (Saturday) and haven’t been this year to get it done,” Smith said. “I thought we played pretty darn good for the most part. The story on the defensive side is we continue to give up big plays here and there, and that has haunted us all year. Offensively, we just gotta keep drives going and gotta score. We need sevens, not threes.”
Though FLC finished with one less win than a season ago, Smith believes the team took steps in the right direction with three losses being decided by one score.
“The biggest thing is (the seniors) we’re going to miss,” Smith said when asked about looking forward to his third season at FLC. “They have to leave, but the kids coming back have to take ownership. That’s what I talked to them about after the game. ‘Take ownership right now of this football team. It’s yours. Pull together, and become something great.’ We can do that.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
ThunderWolves share their RMAC crown with Mines
PUEBLO – Cameron McDondle ran for 277 yards and a touchdown Saturday to help CSU-Pueblo clinch a share of its fourth consecutive Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference championship.
The eighth-ranked ThunderWolves held New Mexico Highlands to 177 yards of total offense in a 44-21 victory.
They scored 28 points in the third quarter to blow the game open.
N.M. Highalnds returned a fumble for a touchdown in the fourth quarter, and Tanner Wright caught a 4-yard touchdown pass from Tyler Slavin with three seconds left to set the final margin.
No. 19 Colorado Mines 49, Adams State 34
ARVADA – Justin Dvorak threw for 337 yards and four touchdowns, two apiece to Diamond Gillis and Cole Spurgeon, and Colorado Mines clinched its first 10-win season since 2004 along with a share of the RMAC title with a win against Adams State.
Tevin Champagne ran for 84 yards and two touchdowns for the Orediggers.
The Grizzlies fell behind 20-7 after the fourth quarter before scoring 27 points in the second half to close the gap.
Phil Romero led Adams State with 111 yards receiving and a touchdown.
Colorado Mesa 31, Western State 23
GRAND JUNCTION – David Tann recovered a fumble in the endzone with 4 minutes, 1 second left to push Colorado Mesa over Western State.
The Mountaineers took a lead two minutes into the fourth quarter on a 38-yard touchdown pass from Brett Arrivey to Kyle Adkins.
Colorado Mesa erased a 17-0 deficit with 21 points in the fourth quarter.
Both teams ran for more than 170 yards in the game.
Western New Mexico 34, Black Hills State 31
SILVER CITY, N.M. – Mitch Glasmann threw for 350 yards and two touchdowns, both to Donald Byrd, who had 182 yards receiving, in Western New Mexico’s senior day win over Black Hills State.
Anthony Eboreim caught a 75-yard touchdown pass from Ward Anderson with 3:39 left to pull Black Hills State within three.
Anderson finished with 322 yards passing in the game and two touchdowns.
heraldsports@durangoherald.com
