Box Score

DURANGO, Colo. — Emmanuel Lewis threw for four touchdowns and rushed for another as New Mexico Highlands (2-0 overall, 1-0 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) cruised to a 50-0 win to spoil Fort Lewis' (0-1, 0-1) season opener before 1,125 fans at Ray Dennison Memorial Field.
 
“We can't turn the ball over and expect to win the football game,” said third-year FLC head coach Cesar Rivas-Sandoval. “I need to coach the guys better on ball security and taking care of the football. In the first half, when we were the most competitive, if we eliminate small mistakes, it's a different ballgame. Because we didn't we allowed small mistakes to turn into major obstacles, those major obstacles turned into a lot of points.”
 
The Cowboys converted two interceptions and three fumble recoveries into 16 points.
 
“The defense played extremely well in the first half,” said Rivas-Sandoval. “Offensively, we put the defense in many difficult situations. We wore down and the ball kept rolling. We can't keep going three-and-out and turning the ball over.”
 
The Skyhawk defense held the Highlands ground and aerial attack in check for most of the first half. The score was just 10-0 before Johnson caught his second score of the opening frame — a five-yard pass 1:46 before halftime that stretched the lead to 16-0.
 
In the second stanza, the floodgates opened, as NMHU scored 34 points — 17 in both the third and fourth quarters. For the game, the Cowboys amassed 666 total yards, split evenly between the air (346 yards) and the ground (320). All totaled, NMHU gained 666 yards on 104 plays — an average of 6.4 yards per play — while chewing up nearly 36 minutes of the clock.
“Highlands has the most talent I've seen in this conference ever — either as an assistant coach or head coach at Nebraska-Kearney or here. If they can keep it together, they will be a very, very tough team to beat for anybody and everybody — including (NCAA Division I) Southern Utah next week.”
 
Lewis completed 26 of 46 passes for 346 yards while rushing for 108 yards on 14 carries. A 6-foot-3, 190-lb. junior, Lewis entered the season as Highlands' backup quarterback, but was thrown into the starting role after Taylor Genuser was injured in NMHU's season-opening win over Eastern New Mexico a week ago.
 
He received plenty of help along the way. Lavelle Peterson rushed for 101 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries, while De'joshua Johnson caught a pair of touchdowns. Lewis sprayed passes to 11 different receivers, with no player catching more the seven balls.
 
Fort Lewis, on the other hand, struggled to get on track. Quarterback Tim Jenkins completed just 17 of 36 passes for 118 yards. Jonathan Price and Jesse Freeman each caught four passes. The Skyhawks amassed just 38 net rushing yards on 23 carries.
 
Special teams was a strong suit for the Skyhawks, as Fort Lewis' return game looked explosive. Amery Duncan returned four kickoffs for 108 yards, including a long of 45. Price added 63 yards on kickoff returns and 10 in his lone punt return.
 
Defensive end Cody Miles had nine tackles (three solo), forced a fumble, batted down a pass, and had one tackle behind the scrimmage to lead the Skyhawk defense. Defensive lineman Brett Barnes had seven tackles, including 1.5 quarterback sacks for -11 yards. Linebacker Phil Odell and defensive back Dillon Sterling each had an interception, while defensive back Lucas Stafford recovered a fumble as FLC recorded three takeaways.
 
Kick coverage was also strong for the Skyhawks, which limited the Cowboys to just 12 yards on six punt returns and 28 yards on a pair of kickoff returns. Freshman punter Steven Andrews averaged 46.2 yards on eight punts, pinning the Cowboys inside their own 20 on three of those kicks.
 
Preseason RMAC Defensive Player of the Year Jordan Campbell led the Cowboy defense with seven tackles, including a pair of TFLs for -3 yards.
 
Highlands' Zach Tapia was perfect on field goals, splitting the uprights on 53-, 44-, and 35-yard kicks. He also went 5-for-6 on extra points.
 
About the only thing that didn't go Highlands' way were penalties. The Cowboys were penalized 19 times for 176 yards, including numerous personal fouls. The Skyhawks were only whistled for six infractions for 59 yards.
 
The Skyhawks hit the road next weekend, where they'll face NCAA Division I foe Northern Arizona at 5:05 p.m. (MDT) next Saturday in the J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome. The Lumberjacks are 0-1, having lost to Arizona State 63-6 in last weekend's opener. NAU travels to UNLV tonight.