The New Mexico Highlands University football team started their season with an impressive performance, winning 44-7 on the road Saturday against the Fort Lewis College Skyhawks.
The Cowboys literally kicked-off the season in style when CJ Sims returned the opening kick-off 93 yards for a touchdown-- the first of 27 first quarter points for the explosive HU offense. Sims, who HU head coach
Josh Kirkland has compared to the NFL's Tyreek Hill, would add six catches for over 120 yards -- more than 20 yards per catch-- on Saturday afternoon.
Just moments after Sims electric return, Ronnie Jamison caught a 30-yard touchdown pass from HU quarterback Ramone Atkins. With the 'Pokes offensive line holding the Fort Lewis defensive line in check, Atkins found plenty of time for the speedy Cowboy receivers to get open, firing two more TD passes to Quavon Beckford. The Cowboys led 27-0 after one quarter and never looked back.
Atkins finished with 4 touchdown passes and 353 passing yards, completing 21 out of 35 attempts. He also added a rushing touchdown.
Combined, the Cowboys offense recorded an impressive 653 yards, and while the HU pass attack garnered the bulk of Saturday's scoring, the Cowboy rushing game showed it will present problems for opponents as well. Cameron High and Kamari Mosby split carries in the backfield with 130 and122 yards, respectively, the first time in recent memory the Cowboys have had two 100- yard rushers in a single game.
The Cowboy defense held stout all day, limiting the Skyhawks to just 7 first downs and allowing only eight Fort Lewis completions on 31 pass attempts. The Cowboy secondary intercepted Fort Lewis QB Jack Hanenburg three times as Willie Morris, Lofton Hicks and Evander Craft each picked off a Skyhawk pass attempt.
Malik Brown led the team on defense with five solo tackles. However, the defensive performance was a total team effort, as Victor Villarreal, Ray Ray Williams and Isaiah Johnson each recorded sacks. The Cowboys held the Skyhawks to a total of 188 yards offensively.
A huge test comes up early as the Cowboys travel to Golden, CO next week for a match- up with Colorado School of Mines. The Orediggers were picked to win the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and are ranked in the top ten in NCAA DII.
Check here for game and ticket information as well as live stats and streaming:
https://minesathletics.com/sports/football/schedule-----------------
