Sports Youth Sports Professional Sports More Sports College Sports High School Sports

Skyhawks offense proficient in dominant 44-22 home victory

FLC finishes with 499 yards of offense against New Mexico Highlands
Jamille Humphrey of Fort Lewis College scores another touchdown against New Mexico Highlands University quarterback on Saturday at FLC. (Jerry McBride/Durango Herald)

Fort Lewis College football head coach Johnny Cox has repeatedly said this year that his team can beat anyone on the right day. Saturday at home against New Mexico Highlands was one of those days.

FLC had 499 yards of offense to cruise to a 44-22 win on senior day and in the Nike N7 Game. The Nike N7 program aims to promote sport and physical activity in Native American communities.

The Skyhawks were fantastic on both sides of the ball. The defense got pressure on Cowboys quarterback Joe Cave, sacked him six times and picked him off three times. FLC redshirt quarterback Stone Walker had his best game as a Skyhawk and couldn’t put a foot wrong. FLC ran the ball well with multiple players making big plays.

“It was a great team win,” Cox said. “The team has gone through so much adversity to get to this point. Then, finally, to put it together took a lot of hard work, dedication and sacrifice. Today was our day to really shine.”

Fort Lewis College head football coach Johnny Cox celebrates a touchdown against New Mexico Highlands University on Saturday at FLC. (Jerry McBride/Durango Herald)

It was FLC’s first Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference home win since Oct. 5, 2019. The Skyhawks’ 44 points were the most in the Johnny Cox era.

After the win, FLC improved to 3-7 overall and 2-6 in RMAC play. New Mexico Highlands fell to 2-8 overall and 2-6 in RMAC play.

Walker completed 16/21 of his passes for 270 passing yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for 51 yards and a touchdown.

Junior wide receiver Jamille Humphrey had one reception for 48 yards and a touchdown for FLC. He also had one rush for 18 yards and a touchdown. Senior running back Trey Goughnour led FLC with 67 rushing yards and a touchdown despite only playing the fourth quarter.

Cave finished 18/26 passing for 206 yards, a passing touchdown and three interceptions.

The Skyhawks quickly stopped the New Mexico Highlands off the field and got the ball in good field position. FLC ran the ball well with Walker and freshman running back Orlando Guevara. Walker kept the ball, broke some tackles and took it up the middle for a 33-yard touchdown to put FLC up 7-0 with 10:50 left in the first quarter.

New Mexico Highlands found some success later in the quarter thanks to a prolific passing attack. Cave got some time and his receivers were creating huge amounts of space against FLC’s cornerbacks. This led to some easy completions downfield, including a 24-yard touchdown pass to Cayden Walton to tie the game 7-7 with three minutes to go in the first quarter.

It was either feast or famine during FLC’s next defensive possession. Either Cave had open receivers or he was getting sacked.

This was the case until Cave made a poor read with a sideline throw. He telegraphed the pass and put enough air under it so sophomore free safety Kalib Davis could cut under the route. Davis jumped up and made a relatively easy interception around midfield with 12:25 left in the second quarter.

“The defense did a really good job,” Cox said. “They were primarily a running team and they could throw the football. Our team was very focused on the run. We shut that down and they went primarily to a passing team.”

Senior kicker Hunter Villavicencio hit a chip shot field goal to put FLC up 10-7 with 8:24 left in the second quarter.

New Mexico Highlands ran some time off the clock until the Cowboys went with a wide receiver pass. Teneil Nichols got the ball on the right side; he found Mike Jones wide-open in the end zone for 27 yards. New Mexico Highlands led 14-10 with 4:31 to go in the first half.

On the kickoff after, Guevara missed the kick and it rolled through his legs to the 1-yard line. Guevara picked up the kick, bounced it to the left side and took it 99 yards for a shocking score. FLC led 17-14 with 4:17 left in the second.

Cave found some open receivers to start the next possession. But he made a critical error around midfield. Under duress, he rolled out to his right and threw a high, floating pass which was intercepted by sophomore defensive back Kameron Lewis.

A few players later, Walker found Humphrey open in the end zone for a 48-yard touchdown. FLC led 24-14 with 1:46 left in the second half.

Stone Walker, quarterback for Fort Lewis College launches a touchdown pass to Jamille Humphrey on Saturday while playing New Mexico Highlands University at FLC. (Jerry McBride/Durango Herald)

The Skyhawks got the ball to start the second half. Walker made two nice completions on third down over the middle to keep the drive going. On fourth down, Villavicencio went out to punt, he received the ball but ran it down the right side for a 17-yard gain and a first down.

Humphrey received the ball on a reverse on the 18-yard line. Walker laid out for a great block and Humphrey cruised into the end zone for a 30-14 lead with 8:09 left in the third quarter.

“We practice all those explosive plays,” Cox said. “We practice them throughout the whole year and then hopefully pull them out at the right time. So today ended up being the right time. It was a lot of fun when those plays worked. Sometimes you have some of those plays we were practicing for six weeks. The players are like, ‘you're not going to call it,’ but then when we finally call it and they see that it works, they get excited about it.”

The Skyhawks continued to run the ball well in the fourth quarter. Walker was precise with his throws allowing FLC to chew clock. Walker found sophomore wide receiver Zachary Gaumont over the middle for a 17-yard touchdown with 5:42 left to seal an impressive victory.

“They only run two coverages or three really,” Walker said about New Mexico Highlands “They showed cover three but ran man and they would run cover three and cover four … So it's pretty simple and easy to pick up the blitzes just the way they lined up. But it all goes back to preparation. So the way we prepare throughout the week really helped me for today.”

FLC hits the road next Saturday to play at No. 10 Colorado School of Mines at noon to close out the regular season.

bkelly@durangoherald.com