LAS VEGAS, N.M. – For the second-straight week, the Cowboys jumped out to a 14-0 lead. However, the advantage would not last as the Eagles quickly tied the score and used a big second quarter to take the lead for good as New Mexico Highlands (3-6, 3-4 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) lost to Chadron State (6-3, 5-2 RMAC) 52-38 Saturday afternoon in Las Vegas, New Mexico.
Receiving to begin the game for the first time this season, the Cowboys wasted no time in taking the lead.Highlands took the opening kickoff and went 75 yards in 14 plays to put the first score up. Senior
Lance Orender connected on seven of nine passes while freshman
Khadeem Campbell capped the drive from four yards out for his first rushing touchdown this season. Campbell finished the game with 124 yards on the ground in 24 attempts and two scores.
After forcing an Eagles punt, Highlands drove 92 yards in just more than two minutes to take a 14-0 advantage. Orender hit sophomore
Vincent Venegas for a 23 yard reception and junior
Travon Payne for another 24 yard grab to help the Cowboys reach the red zone. Campbell capped the drive with a 17 yard run, his second rushing touchdown in as many offensive series.
The Eagles responded, thanks in part to a 51-yard kickoff return by Cody Paul. Paul finished the game with 150 kickoff return yards in four tries while also contributing 87 yards on 13 carries. The Cowboys looked as if they stopped Chadron State with an interception at the goal line, but Highlands was whistled for being offsides. Two plays later, Derek Jackson ran the final 25 yards for the Eagles to cut the lead in half. Jackson finished the day with 105 yards on 13 carries.
After Chadron State forced a punt, quarterback Jonn McLain hit Kyle Vinich from 29-yards out to even the score after the first quarter. McLain went 17-30 for the day for 221 yards and two touchdowns.
Chadron State outscored the Cowbys 21-10 in the second quarter to take a lead it would never relinquish. After senior
Zach Tapia hit a 30-yard field goal, Jackson plunged into the end zone from two yards out to give Chadron State its first lead of the game, 21-17. The Cowboys responded when Orender hit Payne from 13 yards out for the first passing touchdown of the day for the Cowboys. Orender finished the day 29-49 for 369 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
The Cowboys led 24-21, but Chadron State scored in each of its next two possessions to take control of the game.The Eagles used an 8-play, 75-yard drive to take a 28-24 advantage with 2:54 left in the first half on a Jackson 41-yard run. Two plays later, Highlands' Orender fumbled on the Cowboys own 26 yard line and Chadron State scored to take a 35-24 lead into the lockeroom.
The Cowboys put up 14 points in the third quarter, but Chadron State did the same to keep the 11-point advantage. The Eagles scored first to take their largest lead of the game at 42-24, but Highlands answered thanks to a critical missed tackle. With the Cowboys facing a third down near midfield, Orender hit junior
CJ Grice for what looked like a 30-yard reception. However, Grice never rolled over the defender and never hit the ground, stood up and ran the final 21 yards for the 51-yard score. Grice finished the game as the leading receiver, catching eight passes for 121 yards.
The Cowboys defense held Chadron State to a field goal in the fourth quarter, but were held scoreless as the Eagles won 52-38. The teams combined for 169 plays for 988 yards and were 10-11 in the red zone. The Cowboys ran ran 83 plays for 516 yards.
The leading tackler in the nation, Cowboys' senior
Jared Koster, shrugged off only four stops in the first half to finish the game with 19 tackles.
The Cowboys return to action next Saturday (Nov. 8) when they travel to South Dakota to take on Black Hills State. Game time is set for 1 p.m.
