Box Score Gunnison, Colo. – The NMHU Cowboy Football team lost to the Western State Colorado University Mountaineers, on Oct. 12, by the final score of 33-27. The Cowboys' offense out-gained the Mountaineers 519 yards to 308 yards, but another day of penalties and turnovers hurt the Pokes' chances. NMHU gave up 188 yards in penalties and despite winning the battles of yardage, first downs (28-20), third down conversions, and time of possession, the Pokes didn't win the all-important battle on the scoreboard. The Cowboys, led by Head Coach
Eric Young, fall to 1-3 in the RMAC and 2-4 in overall play.
WSCU 33 – NMHU 27
The Cowboys' defense looked to be in trouble from the start of the game when the Mountaineers drove down the field on the very first possession of the game. Luckily the defense held Western State to a field goal, holding the Mountaineers to just a three point lead. Unfortunately, the Cowboys turned the ball over on the ensuing kick-off and Western State was able to capitalize with another field goal to take an early 6-0 lead.
RB
Akeelie Mustafa put the Cowboys on top on the next possession with a 52-yard touchdown run. The Cowboys took a 7-6 lead when Mustafa broke off a huge run on a second-and-seven play from the Pokes' own 48-yard line.
Defense was obviously not a factor for either team as the Mountaineers scored a touchdown of their own on the very next drive, taking back the lead (13-7). The Cowboys scored three points on the ensuing drive when
Zach Tapia converted a 20-yard field goal, but the Pokes missed out on scoring a touchdown despite being in the red-zone.
The Cowboys would be the next to score when the defense finally stepped up and put a stop to the Western State offense. LB
Jared Koster intercepted an errant pass from the Mountaineers' quarterback on the Western State 35-yard line and flipped the ball to
DiAmaal Holmes who gained an additional ten yards, putting the Pokes in scoring position on the Western 25-yard line.
Akeelie Mustafa would give the Cowboys another touchdown just two plays later on a 10-yard pass from
Emmanuel Lewis. Mustafa's second touchdown of the game gave the Pokes a 17-13 lead.
Before the end of the first half, the Mountaineers would take back the lead (23-17) with a 28-yard field goal and a 17-yard touchdown run. The Cowboys managed to cut the Western lead down to just three points, when
Zach Tapia hit a 38-yard field goal as time ran out of the first half. The teams entered the locker room for halftime with the Mountaineers holding on to a 23-20 lead.
The game had been a scoring bonanza in the first half, but the third quarter was very different. Neither team was able to put any points on the board in the third quarter and the Mountaineers held on to their 23-20 lead going into the final 15 minutes of the game.
The Mountaineers finally broke the second-half scoring dead lock with a touchdown just five minutes into the fourth quarter. A 46-yard punt return put the Mountaineers in great field position and they increased their lead to 30-20 on a 10-yard touchdown pass.
The Cowboys responded on their next possession with 16-play, 75-yard touchdown drive. RB
Brandon Johnson punched the ball into the end zone from just one-yard out, cutting the Western State lead down to just three points (30-27) and giving the Cowboys life.
The Mountaineers added some breathing room to their lead with a field goal (33-27) and left just 3:30 on the clock. The Cowboys had two possessions in that limited amount of time and it looked like they were going to be able to end the game on a high note, when they drove the ball down to the Western State 15-yard line with time running out. But the Mountaineers had other ideas and NMHU QB
Emmanuel Lewis was sacked for a loss of 13 yards as time ran out. When the final whistle was blown to end the game, Western State Colorado University managed to pick up their first win of the year by the final score of 33-27.
QB
Emmanuel Lewis had a good game for the Cowboys with 39 completions for 435 yards and one touchdown through the air. Lewis didn't throw any interceptions but he was sacked five times.
RB
Akeelie Mustafa had a good game for the Pokes with 75 yards of total offense. Mustafa scored two touchdowns, one on the ground and one through the air.
WR
Ricky Marvray led the Cowboys' aerial attack with 12 catches for 131 yards receiving.
The Cowboys will return home next Saturday, Oct. 19, for a showdown with the rival Grizzlies of Adams State University. The Cowboys will host the Grizzlies for Homecoming at Perkins Stadium, with the game set to kick-off at 6:00 p.m. Adams State is currently in fifth place in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference with a 1-2 record and 3-2 in overall play. The Grizzlies faced the Cowboys for the 2011 Homecoming game and pulled off a 30-24 overtime upset. If you can't make it out to Perkins Stadium to catch your Cowboys in action, you can click
HERE to follow the game on Live Stats. You can also watch the game live on the internet video stream provided by the
America One Network.
GO COWBOYS!!!
