Box Score Las Vegas, N.M. – The NMHU Cowboy Football team lost to the rival Grizzlies of Adams State University, on Oct. 19, by the final score of 24-20. In a scene reminiscent of two years ago, the Grizzlies returned to Perkins Stadium and toppled the Cowboys' Homecoming celebration, outlasting the Cowboys' vaunted offensive attack. The Cowboys, led by Head Coach
Eric Young, fall to 1-4 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and 2-5 in overall play.
ASU 24 – NMHU 20
The Cowboys got off to great start in their Homecoming game. The Pokes' defense held the Grizzlies to a three-and-out on the opening series of the game and struck first on the ensuing possession. The Cowboys moved the ball well, but penalties began to creep into the drive. Facing first down and 25 yards to go, on the Adams State 38-yard line, QB
Emmanuel Lewis hit
Lajuantae Hicks for a perfect touchdown pass. Hicks caught the perfectly thrown ball and fell into the end zone, giving the Cowboys and early 7-0 lead.
Things were definitely looking up for the home crowd when
Ibe Nduka forced a fumble on the Grizzlies' first play of the next drive. The Cowboys recovered the ball on the Adams State 27-yard line. Despite the great field position, the Pokes were unable to find the end zone again and
Zach Tapia missed a 26-yard field goal. The Cowboys failed to generate any points on the scoreboard and the Grizzlies took over on their own 20-yard line.
The Cowboys stopped the Grizzlies on the next drive and started out with the ball on their own 24-yard line. But Lewis threw an interception on the first play of their offensive series and Adams State had the good field position this time. The Grizzlies took over on the Cowboys' 34-yard line and tied the game (7-7) several plays later on a 3-yard run by Justin Juda.
The Cowboys increased their lead to 14-7 midway through the second quarter. Lewis hit another big play with a 37-yard touchdown pass to WR
Ricky Marvray. The Grizzlies would tie the game up once again (14-14) with time running out of the first half. On a third down and seven play, Adams State's quarterback found a wide receiver for a 23 yard touchdown pass, sending the game into the locker room with the teams deadlocked.
The Cowboys were fortunate once again in the third quarter. On the second drive of the third quarter, the Grizzlies were forced to punt. The Adams State punter was situated at their own 17-yard line and the snap sailed over his head.
Lajuantae Hicks scored his second touchdown of the game when he smothered the loose ball in the end zone. Unfortunately,
Zach Tapia missed the extra point attempt but the Pokes still held a 20-14 lead.
The Grizzlies got a 49-yard return on the ensuing kick-off, giving them good field position and they took their first lead of the game on a trick play from the Pokes' 21-yard line. The Adams State quarterback pitched the ball to his running back and he threw a pass to a wide open wide receiver in the end zone, giving the Grizzlies a 21-20 lead.
Adams State extended their lead to 24-20 with a field goal late in the third quarter. The Pokes were receiving a punt on that drive and the NMHU returner touched the ball inside their-own 10-yard line but failed to collect the ball. A Grizzlies' defender jumped on the ball and Adams State had great field position from the Cowboys' 7-yard line. The Cowboys' defense held firm, but Adams State was still able to salvage three-points from the disastrous play.
The scoring ceased in the fourth quarter, but the Cowboys had hope with possession of the ball and 1:47 left in the game. They managed to move the ball to the Adams State half of the field, but they eventually faced a fourth down and 17 yards to go situation on the Grizzlies' 48-yard line. An incomplete pass gave the Grizzlies the ball with just 27 seconds left on the clock and a quarterback kneel ended the Cowboys' hopes for a Homecoming victory. The Adams State University Grizzlies came away with a 24-20 victory.
Emmanuel Lewis completed 21 passes for 339 yards and two touchdowns through the air. Lewis threw one interception and was sacked four times.
Ricky Marvray led the Cowboy receivers with six catches for 130 yards and one touchdown.
Ibe Nduka led the Cowboys defense with 6.5 tackles (4 solo, 5 assists), one sack, a forced fumble, and an interception.
The Cowboys will return to the road next weekend, Oct. 26, when they head up to Chadron, Neb. to face the Eagles of Chadron State College. The Eagles are currently in second place in the RMAC, with a 4-1 conference record and 5-2 in overall play. If you can't make the trip to Chadron to catch your Cowboys in action, you can click
HERE to follow the game on Live Stats. You can watch all the action live on the internet by following the game on the
America One Network.
GO COWBOYS!!!
