Las Vegas, New Mexico - The Cowboys entertained the Homecoming crowd and earned Head Coach Kurt Taufau'asau his first win at New Mexico Highlands University with a 33-30 win over Chadron State.
The result was in doubt until the very end of the game, but
Joey Cave led the Cowboys on a nine play, 75 yard drive that culminated on a spectacular 28 yard touchdown strike to
Teneil Nichols with 1:08 remaining in the fourth quarter. After
Logan Matthews converted the extra point, the Cowboys had a 33-30 lead.
Chadron State took the ensuing back to the NMHU 46 yard line. The Eagles were able to drive the ball down to the NMHU 22 yard line but missed a potential game tying goal of 40 yards.
Cave had an outstanding day for the Cowboys as he was 12 of 17 for 196 yards and three touchdowns. He added 67 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
Freshman
Tevita Valeti gained 166 yards and had a touchdown for NMHU. He has 315 rushing yards over the last three games.
Teneil Nichols had two receiving touchdowns and 124 yards on five catches.
Cayden Walton caught a touchdown pass and added 22 yards on the ground.
Ioane Foliaki-Vete led the Cowboys with seven tackles.
Fabiano Valdez added six tackles.
Jagger Mosqueda had an interception and broke up another pass for the Cowboys.
The Cowboys win on Saturday was the first over Chadron State since 2015, snapping a seven game losing streak in the series.
NMHU travels to Colorado Mesa next Saturday afternoon for a 1:00 pm game.
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