Despite their best offensive showing of the season, the Cowboys fell to in-state rival Western New Mexico University in the “Warrior Helmet” game 50-30 on 10/24. The Cowboys out gained the Mustangs in total offensive yards with a season high of 498 yards, as opposed to WNMU's 455 total offensive yards. The Cowboys fall to 0-9 on the season and 0-7 in RMAC play. The Cowboys will play host to the Fort Lewis Skyhawks on 10/31 for their final home game of the 2009 season.
The Cowboys started out the game on fire as they marched down the field with a 10 play 60 yard scoring drive that ended with a
Narciso Diaz to
Kevon Williams 20 yard touchdown pass to put the Cowboys up 7-0 in the opening quarter. The Mustangs would answer back with a quick five play 70 yard scoring series of their own. NMHU's next drive would end in a
Greg Rivara46 yard punt and WNMU would score once again with another quick drive and take a 14-0 lead.
In the second quarter the Cowboys would give up a safety to the Mustang defense that would put the Mustangs up 16-7 in the second quarter. The Cowboys would stop the explosive Mustang defense on their next drive and get the ball back in good field position. The Cowboys would punch it in for the second score of the game with a 66 yards Narcisco Diaz to
Travis Lee completion making the score 16-14. The next score came from WNMU after a blocked NMHU field goal that the Mustangs would take in for a 53 yard return for a touchdown. The Cowboys would return the favor by blocking the point after attempt to make the score 22-14. The Cowboys would make a quick last minute drive to set up
Greg Rivara for a 32 yard field goal to make the score 22-17 at the end of the half.
The second half started out on a sour note for the Cowboys as the Mustang returner would take the opening kick-off for an 80 yard touchdown run. The Mustangs would convert a two point conversion making the score 30-17. The Cowboys next drive would be cut short with a WNMU interception. The Mustangs would turn that turnover into seven points and extend their lead to 37-17. The Cowboys weren't going to let that stop them as they then scored in the final moments of the third quarter off of a Narcisco Diaz to
Kevon Williams 70 yard connection for a touchdown to make the score 37-24 in the end of the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter the Mustangs quick-hit offense would score once again with a seven play 27 yards drive that just shaved 27 seconds off the clock, leaving plenty of time for the Cowboys to mount a comeback. The Cowboys would answer back with an eight play 24 yard drive of their own that ended with a Narcisco Diaz to
Herman Young connection for the score. The Cowboys opted to go for the two point conversion but would fail to make the score 44-30. That would be the last time the Cowboys would score for the game as the Mustangs would punch on more score in a miss the point after for a final score of 50-30.
Offensively the Cowboys had their best performance of the season. The Cowboys racked up 498 total yards (99 rushing and 399 passing). Top performers for the Cowboys were: Narcisco Diaz,
Kevon Williams and
Travis Lee. Diaz completed 28 of 66 passes for 399 yards and four touchdowns. Diaz was also the second leading rusher for the Cowboys with 27 yards on the day. Diaz finished with 426 yards of total offense for the game, a career high for Diaz. Williams also set a career high with eight catches for 183 yards receiving and two touchdowns. Lee finished the day with eight catches for 129 yards receiving and one touchdown.
Defensively, the Cowboys gave up 455 yards of total offense (285 rushing and 170 passing).
Chris Burns led all tacklers with 12 tackles on the day and one tackle for a loss of one yard.
The Cowboys will be in action again on 10/31 as they play host to the Fort Lewis Skyhawks in their final home game of the 2009 season. It will also be Senior Day for the Cowboys on 10/31, so make sure to come on out to the game and send our seniors out in fashion. If you can't make the trip to Las Vegas, you can catch your Cowboys live in the B2 Networks.
Click
HERE for more information on how you can watch NMHU Athletics live on the B2 Networks.
NMHU vs. WNMU Box Score
