The offensive struggles on the road for the Fort Lewis College football team continued Saturday in Gunnison, as the Skyhawks completed a three-game road trip without a win.
Fort Lewis (3-5, 3-5 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) fell 31-0 at Western Colorado (4-4, 4-3 RMAC) after a rough third quarter saw the Mountaineers run away with the game.
After a 42-0 loss last week at No. 9 Colorado School of Mines in which the Skyhawks were held to less than 100 yards of offense and only four first downs, it was a much better offensive output for FLC on Saturday at Western Colorado, but that still didn’t translate to points. FLC had 14 first downs and 224 yards of total offense while the Skyhawks’ defense held the Mountaineers to 239 yards of offense. But it was Western Colorado that capitalized when it mattered.
A pair of Chandler Davis field goals, including a 49-yarder in the second quarter, gave the Mountaineers a 6-0 lead at halftime. Davis added field goals of 32 and 48 yards in the third quarter around a special teams touchdown on a 10-yard punt return for a TD by Andrew Arterbur that had the Mountaineers up 18-0.
FLC did block a Davis field goal try from 47 yards early in the fourth quarter.
Finally, Western Colorado’s offense broke through with a 60-yard TD pass from Luke Nethercot to Xander Witt to make it 25-0 with 1:14 to go in the third quarter.
A 2-yard TD run by David Wilson with 1:09 to play in the game gave the Mountaineers the 31-0 win.
FLC quarterback Erik Ornduff went 21-of-35 passing for 159 yards. He was intercepted once by Josh Nelson, and he was sacked twice. Nelson also recovered an FLC fumble that was forced by Darrious Gaines.
Nethercot finished 8-of-15 passing for Western Colorado. He had 128 yards and the one TD. He was also sacked twice.
FLC’s Jeff Hansen was the game’s leading rusher with 71 yards on 16 carries. Ty Leyba led the Mountaineers with 60 yards on 14 carries, while Wilson added 39 yards and the TD on six carries.
Isaac Leppke played a big role in the receiving game for FLC with five catches for a game-high 72 yards. Arealous Hughes added five catches for 38 yards for FLC, while tight end Zach Russell hauled in four passes for 36 yards.
Max Scott led the FLC defense with eight tackles, including four for a loss and a sack.
FLC turned to its third field goal kicker of the season Saturday. This time, it was punter Matt Waid who got a chance to kick field goals. He attempted two in the second quarter. The first from 37 yards was missed, and a 28-yard attempt at the end of the second quarter was blocked.
During a three-game road trip with losses to Colorado Mesa, Mines and Western Colorado, FLC scored only 10 points. The Skyhawks have now gone nine quarters without a point.
FLC is also only 1-4 on the road this season, with the lone win a 7-0 victory in the season opener in a game that was called off in the second quarter because of weather at New Mexico Highlands. Including that game, FLC has only 24 points combined in five road games this season while it has scored an average of more than 26 points per game at home this year. FLC is 2-1 at home.
The Skyhawks will hope for home success at noon Saturday against No. 13 CSU-Pueblo (7-1, 6-1 RMAC).
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
