Box score

DURANGO, Colo. — Germaine Daniels rushed for 149 yards and the Western State Colorado defense kept Fort Lewis out of the endzone as the Mountaineers (1-7 overall, 1-5 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) defeated the Skyhawks (0-7, 0-6) 18-6 on a warm, sunny afternoon at Ray Dennison Memorial Field.
 
The loss negated a strong showing by the Skyhawk defense, which limited Western State to 266 yards of total offense.
 
“Pretty good,” third-year FLC head coach Cesar Rivas-Sandoval said of the defensive effort. “We held our opponent to under 300 yards for the first time all season and made them really work.”
 
The negative was key penalties in crucial situations.
 
“You can't stop a team on third down and then hand the ball back to them with a first down in scoring range,” said Rivas-Sandoval. “The effort was there, but the discipline was not.”
 
On the offensive side of the ball, Fort Lewis moved the ball at will for much of the game, but couldn't punch it into the endzone.
 
“We moved the ball from the 20 to 20, but for whatever reason we sputtered in the red zone,” said Rivas-Sandoval. “It's not a lack of effort right now, it's just a lack of execution on offense. We're showing the ability that we can make plays, but we're also showing the ability to shoot ourselves in the foot with an untimely turnover, sack, or just bad play in general.”
 
The Skyhawks dominated the game early, holding the Mountaineers to just 12 first quarter yards while advancing into the red zone twice. But Western State held, limiting the Skyhawks to just a 26-yard Steven Andrews field goal in the opening frame.
 
Momentum changed hands just before halftime. Facing a third and 15 at his own 30, Skyhawk quarterback Tim Jenkins was sacked for a 20-yard loss by Josh Hartner, forcing FLC to punt out of its own endzone with 59 seconds left in the half. E.J. Kreis returned Andrews' 42-yard punt 27 yards to the FLC 25. A late hit on the play moved the ball to the FLC 12. From there, it took just one play for quarterback Brian Duboski to hit Lukas Adams in the back of the endzone. The Mountaineers lined up in the swinging gate formation and snapped the ball laterally to Chris Morgan, who inched the ball across the goal line for the two-point conversion and an 8-3 WSCU lead with 41 seconds left in the second quarter.
 
Fort Lewis trimmed the lead to 8-6 on Jenkins' 25-yard field goal late in the third quarter, but would get no closer.
 
Western State engineered a 14-play, 75-yard drive to extend their lead to 15-6 on Daniels' one-yard plunge midway with 10:18 left in the game. That drive was kept alive when a roughing-the-passer penalty negated Mike Campbell's interception in the endzone, giving Western State first and goal on the FLC 2.
 
Jenkins moved the Skyhawks quickly downfield on the ensuing drive, but was injured when he lowered his shoulder on a seven-yard run to move the ball to the WSCU 28. The injury forced the Skyhawk senior from the game (he'd later return for FLC's final drive), but proved costly. Backup signal caller Cougar Beaubien came in for the next three plays, but was tackled for a loss of four on fourth-and-inches from the Mountaineer 26.
 
The Mountaineers killed off another 5:37 on the clock when they drove 62 yards in 12 plays to the Skyhawk 8, where kicker Steven Ballard converted a 25-yard field goal to push the lead to 18-6.
 
Jenkins finished the game with 249 passing yards, with 25 completions on 44 attempts. He also ran the ball more than usual, gaining 54 yards on positive carries, but lost 49 of those on sacks and negative rushing plays. He also threw a costly interception to WSC's Jaden Terry in the red zone midway through the third.
 
Jordan Benton was Jenkins' favorite target, catching nine passes for 95 yards. Jonathan Price had six catches for 34 yards. Gramman gained 55 yards on 13 carries, but started the game with zero net yards on his first six runs.
 
Terry Begaye and Kaulana Waalani-Arroyo each had 11 tackles to lead the Skyhawk defense. Phil Odell added 10 tackles, including a four-yard quarterback sack and forced fumble that gave FLC a first-and-goal that resulted in a 26-yard Andrews field goal that put the Skyhawks on top 3-0 in the first quarter.
 
Western State rotated quarterbacks Duboski (5-of-11, 51 yards) and Kyle Motal (6-of-12, 86 yards) throughout the game.
 
Justin Brooks led the Mountaineer defense with nine tackles, including one of his team's five sacks for 46 yards.
 
Fort Lewis travels to Adams State (5-3, 3-3) at 1 p.m. next Saturday in the annual Musket Game.
 
The Springfield .45-70 military issue rifle that serves as the traveling trophy between Fort Lewis College and Adams State was donated in 1966 by Mahlon “Butch” White, who was involved with the First National Banks in both Alamosa and Durango, in memory of William White. The rifle is retained by the winning school at their annual football game. Traditionally, seniors from the winning team get to fire the rifle at the conclusion of the game.
 
Adams State leads the Musket Game series 31-13-1 and the overall series with Fort Lewis 35-14-1.