Box Score
DURANGO, Colo. — Powered by the legs of A.J. Miko, the arm of Justin Peters and the hands of Justin Johnson, Fort Lewis College (3-7 overall, 3-6 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) exploded for 27 second half points to defeat New Mexico Highlands (1-10, 1-8) 36-13 today at Ray Dennison Memorial Field.
“It was great to give a full offensive performance with the running game, passing game, protecting the quarterback, making big plays and picking up first downs,” said first-year head coach Cesar Rivas-Sandoval. “It was great to see us do that in the second half and control the clock. We weren't able to do that in the first half and made it happen in the second.”
Miko rushed for 173 yards on 26 carries and put the Skyhawks on the board first midway through the first quarter with a 23-yard scamper. A 28-yard field goal by Richard Rodriguez less than five minutes into the second stanza stretched the lead to 9-0 (FLC missed a two-point conversion attempt after Miko's score).
Highlands trimmed the lead to 9-6 on a seven-yard run by quarterback Robbie Armijo with 21 seconds left in the first half. The extra point attempt was blocked.
The Cowboys took a 13-9 lead 4:49 into the second half on a six-yard run by Mychal Leupepe. That was the last time they came close to scoring.
A 54-yard bomb from Peters to Johnson with 8:49 remaining in the third put FLC ahead for good, 16-13. Peters, who finished the game with 251 passing yards on a 23-of-37 performance, was just getting started. He added TD passes of 13 yards to David Castro, two yards to Johnson and eight yards to Doyle Bode later in the second half.
Johnson, who had more than 1,000 receiving yards in each of his two years at Fort Lewis, caught eight passes for 127 yards.
Peters distributed the ball to numerous targets throughout game. Bode had six catches for 56 yards and a score, Miko added four catches for 25 yards and Justin Garman had three catches for 25 yards. Peters was also effective running the “pistol” formation that helped him lead his team to an Arizona high school championship, gaining 46 yards on 10 carries.
The Skyhawks outgained the Cowboys nearly two-to-one, finishing with 478 yards of total offense and a near-even split through the air (251 yards) and on the ground (227 yards). The Cowboys had 246 yards of total offense, with 139 coming on the ground.
All 10 graduating seniors participated in the game: running back Sam Apraku (three rushes, 10 yards, cornerback Chris Calvert (whose third-quarter interception and 22-yard return set up FLC's third touchdown), defensive lineman Nick Frizzell, offensive linemen Foketi Inoki, Michael Fuentes and Luke Geller, Johnson, linebacker Sam Loeblein (11 tackles, 2.5 quarterback sacks), linebacker Rio Rogers and wide receiver Brandon Schneider (one catch, five yards).
“We found it very important to play all of the seniors today. Whether they started the game or finished it, they all played a ton. It was great to see them all leave the program in a better place than where they found it.”
