Energized by a packed homecoming crowd, the Fort Lewis College football team played its best game of the season against South Dakota Mines on Saturday. Unfortunately, it was not enough to beat the Hardrockers. FLC fell 65-20 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference game.
“I was disappointed in the final score, but I wasn’t disappointed in the effort and the fight of the kids. We’re still growing execution-wise, but there wasn’t any quit,” said Fort Lewis College Head Coach Johnny Cox.
The Hardrockers scored on the their opening drive when Orland Westbrook-Sanchez III exploded for 50 yards and a touchdown.
Fort Lewis answered with a march down the field in a rhythmic 10 plays, scoring a touchdown on a 2-yard reception from Braden Wingle to Drake Cortez.
South Dakota Mines, however, scored 27 unanswered points to take a 34-7 lead into halftime.
The Skyhawks finally found some ground in the fourth quarter and held the Hardrockers scoreless.
On offense, Brayden Miller found Christopher Thomas Jr. downfield after a busted coverage and connected for a 72-yard Fort Lewis touchdown.
Redshirt senior Jeff Hansen later punched in a two-yard rushing touchdown to secure a season-high 20 points for Fort Lewis.
Miller closed out the final quarter of the game, finishing with seven completions on 10 attempts for 167 yards and one touchdown. Wingle completed 10 of 25 passes for 57 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions.
Jayden Helms led the Fort Lewis defense with 10 total tackles, and Carter Cameron had a sack, three tackles, forced a fumble and got completely horizontal to intercept a pass across the middle of the field.
FLC will next play at Black Hills State at noon on Saturday.
Blustery conditions did little to slow the Skyhawks on Sunday afternoon as the women’s soccer team battled to a 1-0 win over MSU Denver on senior day.
The win sets up a decisive match versus Western Colorado University to close out the regular season at 4 p.m. Wednesday. A win will secure FLC’s spot in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament, and anything else will leave the team’s fate in the hands of CSU Pueblo (5-10-2, 4-5-2 RMAC), who faces UCCS (11-2-4, 8-1-2) on Wednesday. FLC is 6-10-1, 5-6-0 after beating MSU Denver (10-3-4, 6-2-3). Western Colorado is 6-10-1, 4-7-0 after claiming a 2-1 win over Black Hills State on Sunday.
After playing even in the opening half, the Roadrunners went on to hold a 22-8 advantage in shots for the match. It was physical from the jump and the teams racked up 34 fouls and three yellow cards.
Senior Madyson Barela scored her second goal in as many matches, hitting the game-winner on a penalty kick in the 24th minute. The goal was Barela’s team-leading fourth of the season.
The Fort Lewis College men’s soccer team was determined to send off its seniors in style in rain, snow and sunshine on Sunday against South Dakota School of Mines. The Skyhawks scored once in each half and beat the Hardrockers, 2-0 to close out the season 4-11-2, 3-7-0. Mines finishes 1-14-3, 0-9-1.
Fort Lewis dominated the Hardrockers offensively, sending 25 shots overall to South Dakota Mines’ nine. The Skyhawks launched nine shots on goal to the Hardrockers two.
Loic Jean-Baptiste put the Skyhawks on the board early, splitting the Hardrockers defense up the middle and chipping over the keeper for the score in the 26th minute. Gabriel Legendre earned the assist.
In the 63rd minute, Aymaro Vargas added an insurance goal on a powerful strike after getting a pass from Jeseph Butzke.
Fort Lewis said a heartfelt goodbye seniors: Ciaran Feeney, Daniel Coronado Morales and Andres Hernandez.
“It’s good to finish off the season with a win at home and send off the seniors on a positive note,” said Fort Lewis College Head Coach David Oberholtzer.
The No. 20 Colorado Mesa University Mavericks battled back after dropping the opening set to steal a 3-1 win from the Fort Lewis women’s volleyball team on Saturday.
The difference-maker for the Skyhawks came at the service line where the team racked up a season-high 11 service aces. Freshman Ella Butler served up a career-high six aces.
The Skyhawks also put up a season-high 13 blocks – a vast improvement on their mark of six blocks when the teams faced in September.
Sophomore Alexis Hobie put away 11 kills. Senior Kamryn Lopez had 19 digs and was error-free on 17 reception attempts. Senior Rylee Johnson put away seven kills and five blocks. Sophomore Natalia Lambos coordinated the offense with 27 assists, seven digs and a career-high five blocks.
Fort Lewis (8-12) will conclude its regular season on the road against Colorado Christian University Friday and No. 2 MSU Denver on Saturday.
