DURANGO, Colo. – The Cowboys surrendered the first points of each half, but that was it for the Skyhawks as the New Mexico Highlands football team (2-2, 2-0 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) took out Fort Lewis (1-3, 0-2 RMAC) 45-10 Saturday afternoon (Sept. 27).
"The offense did what they needed to do, But it was the defense that came up big." head coach
Eric Young stated. ".After that opening touchdown drive by Fort Lewis, they did a nice job settling down and keeping the Skyhawks out of the endzone. They kept is in control of this game despite three offensive turnovers."
The Skyhawks drove 73 yards in 10 plays to open up the game and take a 7-0 lead. However, Fort Lewis only could muster 145 yards the rest of the way. The Cowboys answered right back with a drive for a field goal in which senior
Lance Orender completed 7-of-8 passes. Senior
Zach Tapia capped the possession with a 24-yard field goal, his first of the season.
Orender finished the day 42-54 with 538 yards and six touchdowns. His 20 touchdown passes through four games is already just nine touchdown throws shy from tying the school season record.
Senior
Tyler Slavin – who hauled in 17 receptions for the second-straight game – gave the Cowboys the lead for good when he caught a ball that was floated in by Orender in the back right of the endzone. An 18-yard grab by junior
CJ Grice for a score and another Slavin touchdown catch gave the Cowboys a 24-7 lead in the second quarter and points on its first five offensive possessions.
Three different Highland receivers tallied more than 100 yards for the game. Slavin led the way with 179 yards, followed by junior
Kirt Terry-Springs with seven catches for 143 yards and two touchdowns. Grice caught eight passes for 113 yards and a score.
On the first offensive possession after Orender threw his first interception in 192 pass attempts, he connected on 4-5 passes for 62 yards and the touchdown. Four different receivers caught a pass on the drive, including the 35-yard grab by junior Terry-Springs for the score.
The Cowboys led 31-7 at the break. It was the second-straight half the Cowboys scored 31 points. It was also the most points scored in the first half of a game by Highlands since they scored 33 against Colorado Mines in 2011.
The pokes only managed 14 points in the second half, but the defense held the home team to only a field goal. For the fifth-straight game for the Highlands' defense, senior
Jared Koster led the team in tackles. He recorded three tackles for loss in the game, including a solo and assisted sack. Koster has at least 13 tackles in every game in 2014. Sophomore
Vincent Venegas finished the day with 95 yards in 22 carries, narrowly missing his first triple-digit rushing yard game.
The Cowboys have outscored Fort Lewis 95-10 in the last two games in Durango.
New Mexico Highlands, one of the two unbeaten teams in RMAC play, returns to action next Saturday (Oct. 4) against nationally-ranked Colorado Mines here in Las Vegas, New Mexico. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.
