The Fort Lewis College football team was victorious last season for the first time in over four years. Not satisfied, the Skyhawks want to soar higher this year with a large group of returners.
After the first game of last season, the Skyhawks owned the longest losing streak in the country with 40 consecutive losses dating back to the 2019 season. Then everything changed on Sept. 14, when FLC beat Arizona Christian University, 17-12, to snap the streak.
The streak is over! @FLCFootball has won its first game in nearly five years. After 40-straight losses, the Skyhawks beat Arizona Christian 17-12 on Ray Dennison Memorial Field on Saturday. @FLCSkyhawks pic.twitter.com/sGbJJT6XBa
— Durango Herald (@DurangoHerald) September 14, 2024
Two more wins in November followed as the Skyhawks finished 3-8 overall and 2-7 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. The good vibes continued into the offseason and the beginning of practice on Aug. 6 as the Skyhawks brought back all their top talent and a lot of depth from last season.
The Skyhawks have their first chance to take a win in 2025 on Saturday at noon when FLC opens its season at home against William Jewell College.
“We're very excited,” FLC head coach Johnny Cox said. “It’s been a long process to get here. I feel like we’ve made some improvements last season, so we’re excited; we feel like we're better than last season. So hopefully those improvements that we've made thus far will be on display this Saturday.”
Cox feels like the team has cut down on its mistakes in practice so far, with so many returners from last year. Players are getting more and more familiar with the schemes and what everyone’s role is in them. Cox thinks his players are playing faster because they’re more confident in what they’re doing and what the team is trying to do.
One player who doesn’t have a problem with speed is redshirt sophomore quarterback Stone Walker. In his first year starting, Walker finished the 2024 season with 1,413 yards passing, a 53% completion percentage, eight passing touchdowns and eight interceptions.
Walker was often most dangerous running the ball with his speed and his elusiveness. He led the team with 346 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns. As the team’s quarterback and primary playmaker, Walker will be a massive reason if the Skyhawks are to improve on last year’s ranking of ninth in the conference in scoring (18.3 points per game).
“The sky's the limit with Stone,” Cox said. “He has the benefit of growing within the system. It's pretty complicated system and he understands it fully. It's just getting reps, not necessarily just mental reps, but more physical reps on every little nuance that could happen. So, getting that on-the-field experience has really benefited him and he feels he's grown from last year. He ended last season really strong, so hopefully he can build on that.”
So far in practice, Cox and the Skyhawks coaching staff have noticed how he has a better understanding of where the ball should go based on the coverage.
In football, there’s always a risk of running an athletic quarterback too much. If the quarterback goes down on a designed run and gets hurt, a team’s offense most likely goes down with him.
However, the reward for having a quarterback who can run is huge. A lot of the top National Football League quarterbacks can run. Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen are two quarterbacks who can run and they’ve won the last two MVPs. The Philadelphia Eagles won the Super Bowl last season and their quarterback, Jalen Hurts, can run.
Walker is an athletic quarterback who can run. Cox said balancing Walker’s ability to run and pass is what will make him an unstoppable offensive threat because defenses won’t know what to expect when he lines up under center.
The Skyhawks also don’t have to solely rely on Walker to run the football. FLC returns its two top running backs from last year and a running back that missed last year due to injury.
Junior Jamal Johnson returns after he was second on the team with 318 rushing yards as a sophomore. Sophomore Orlando Guevara returns after he was third on the team with 283 rushing yards as a freshman.
Redshirt junior running back KB Broadus returns to the Skyhawks after missing last season with an injury. Broadus has missed most of his FLC career with injuries, but has persevered through them all and figures to be a factor in the backfield this season.
“We kind of have all of them,” Cox said about his running backs. “We kind of have the bruiser with speed, I would say that's what KB is. Jamal’s strength is vision, reading blocks and running tough. Orlando is really fast. He's a dual-sport athlete that runs track … He's one of the faster guys in the conference.”
The Skyhawks also return four of their top five wide receivers. Senior Christopher Thomas Jr. returns after he led the Skyhawks with 297 receiving yards last season. Cox said Thomas has had an excellent camp and has taken a leadership role as a senior.
Senior Jamille Humphrey returns after he was second on the team last season with 279 yards. Sophomore Solomon Latimer returns after he finished fourth in receiving yards last season and gives the Skyhawks great size at 6-foot-2-inches. Zachary Gaumont returns after he led the Skyhawks with three receiving touchdowns. Cox calls him the fastest player in the conference; Gaumont is also a track and field star for FLC.
Cox complimented his wide receivers’ on how well they’ve learned the Skyhawks’ complicated NFL system with a lot of nuances.
FLC has one of the biggest offensive lines in Cox’s tenure as head coach. Junior Chielotam Udengwu returns after he was an All-RMAC honorable mention player last season. Cox said he has quick feet, good positioning and great leverage. Udengwu is a player who can be out in space and be comfortable, according to Cox.
Cox has loved the communication he’s heard from junior offensive lineman Eli Barta and redshirt junior offensive lineman Raef Wilkins.
The Skyhawks’ defense line is led by a familiar face in Durango. Redshirt junior defensive end Walter Stauffer, a graduate from Durango High School, is back after he was second on the team last year with 6.5 sacks. Stauffer really dedicated himself to running and lifting weights to get better, according to Cox.
FLC’s leading sack-getter also returns in redshirt junior Trenton Sullivan, who led the Skyhawks with seven sacks. Sullivan is recovering from an injury and won’t be playing in the season opener.
The Skyhawks’ leading tackler, Jake Penney, also returns after his second team All-RMAC redshirt sophomore campaign. Penney led the RMAC and was fifth in Division II with 113 tackles last season.
“What's most impressive about Jake Penney is when asked about those stats, he would rather have less tackles and get the defense off the field more,” Cox said. “His goal isn’t an individual goal like, ‘I want to have more stats this year.’ He just wants to be a great player and a great leader for the defense. That shows character. Jake runs extra every single day and he's dedicated. He's on pace to have a really good year, but it's because he's worked for it.”
In continuing with the theme, FLC also returns junior free safety Kalib Davis, who led the team with four interceptions last season. Davis will have plenty of help out there in returners redshirt sophomore defensive back Kameron Lewis and junior defensive back Juma Kashanda.
Two positions that will be held by a new face is kicker and punter. Hunter Villavicencio graduated after he made honorable mention All-RMAC last season as a punter after he averaged 44.03 yards per punt. Cox expects redshirt sophomore Kuba Betlinski to take over at kicker.
After its 3-8 season last year, the Skyhawks were picked to finish ninth out of 10 teams in the conference in the RMAC preseason coaches’ poll. Cox feels like every program, from the established to the up-and-comers, are getting better and he thinks the distance from the top of the conference to the bottom is decreasing.
Cox hopes his team will improve from last season as this year will be the first team where Cox has recruited every player on the roster.
“We weren't excited about where we were ranked preseason,” Cox said. “But, it's also preseason, right? It's better to be end of the season higher and be able to say, ‘I told you so.’”
bkelly@durangoherald.com
