New Mexico Highlands (2-3, 2-2) at
No. 15 CSU-Pueblo (4-1, 3-1)
6 p.m. Saturday | Neta and Eddie DeRose ThunderBowl | Pueblo, Colorado
WATCH |
STATS
LAS VEGAS, N.M. --- A New Mexico Highlands football team that could easily be 4-1 instead of 2-3 after another close loss last week looks to turn things around on the road at No. 15 CSU-Pueblo 6 p.m. Saturday at Neta and Eddie DeRose ThunderBowl.
THE COWBOYS COMING IN TO THIS WEEK (2-3, 2-2) | SEASON STATS | RANKINGS SUMMARY
For the second time in three weeks, the Cowboys lost a one-possession road game as they fell at Texas A&M-Kingsville 33-30 on Saturday night. Like a 28-23 loss to Dixie State on Sept. 15, NMHU held a fourth-quarter lead - but wasn't able to hang on.
Unlike the Dixie State game, however, the Cowboys trailed for much of the contest against the Javelinas on Saturday - but rallied from a 23-10 deficit to take a 30-26 lead on a
Kamari Mosby 1-yard touchdown run with 14:31 left in the game. The lead held until the 4:23 mark when the Javelinas scored on a 30-yard touchdown pass to take a 33-30 lead. The Cowboys had the ball two more times, but couldn't make their way for either a game-tying field goal or a go-ahead touchdown as they dropped their third consecutive game.
Quarterback
Danny Cameron finished with 171 yards and two touchdowns through the air to go along with 44 yards rushing. He's now thrown for 1,074 yards and 11 touchdowns (good for 23rd in the country) on the season.
Mosby led the ground game for the Cowboys with 53 yards and a touchdown on seven carries (7.6 yards per carry) while the Cowboys' leading rusher this season
Dione Alston was held to 41 yards on 16 carries, but is still third in the conference and 24th in the nation with 508 yards on the ground.
D.J. McFadden led the Cowboys with 77 yards on five catches and now has 25 catches for 348 yards (seventh in the conference) and three scores.
Defensively,
Cameron Forziati had a team-best 11 tackles, including 1.5 sacks, while
Stevan Thornton had nine tackles (four for loss), two sacks and one forced fumble.
Eli Schoettmer continues to lead the team in tackles with 44 while
Malik Brown has 36 (second on the team) to go along with his three interceptions.
ABOUT CSU-PUEBLO (4-1, 3-1) | SEASON STATS
The ThunderWolves come in having won two games in a row since losing its only game of the season at Colorado School of Mines (now ranked 12th in the nation) 35-21 on Sept. 15. This includes a victory over then-No. 1 Texas A&M-Commerce on the road 23-13 on Sept. 22 and a 41-14 victory at home against South Dakota Mines. The ThunderWolves opened the season with a convincing 56-14 win against Dixie State and a 34-13 win against Chadron State on Sept. 8.
CSU-Pueblo has been led by its ground game this season as the ThunderWolves are 11th in the nation and first in the RMAC at 264.4 rushing yards per game. CSU-Pueblo has two players that have combined for 748 rushing yards in Marche Dennard (375 yards, 5 TDs - 7.8 yards per carry) and Austin Micci (373 yards, 5 TDs - 6.7 yards per carry).
Quarterback Brandon Edwards is completing 56.7 percent of his passes for 728 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. The team's leading receiver is Cole Forsgren with 12 catches for 215 yards and a touchdown.
The ThunderWolves' defense leads the RMAC in points allowed per game at 17.8 (28th in the nation) and total defense at 277.8 yards allowed per contest (20th in the nation). They are also third in the country and first in the RMAC in turnovers forced at 15. Brandon Payer has paced the defense with 54 tackles, including 12.5 for a loss.
SERIES HISTORY
Since CSU-Pueblo returned to playing football in 2008 (the program didn't exist from 1985-2007), NMHU is 0-10 against the ThunderWolves, including a 56-13 loss at home last season.
