DURANGO, Colo. – November 1, 2014 – Despite having a 16 point lead heading into the second quarter, the Fort Lewis College football team couldn't hang on as Western State Colorado University posted a 27-26 win Saturday afternoon at Ray Dennison Memorial Field.
 
The Skyhawks defense held the league's leading rusher to 114 yards and forced three turnovers.  The Mountaineers first six drives of the game resulted in three turnovers and three punts.
 
On the fourth play of the game, Juan Hull intercepted Brett Arrivey's pass and returned it 25 yards to the WSCU 10-yard line.  PJ Hall rushed for an eight yard gain and then again from two yards out to give the Skyhawks a 7-0 lead at 11:17 in the first quarter.  Kipp Castanha made a 23-yard field goal with 1:32 left in the first quarter to boost the Skyhawks lead to 10 (10-0).
 
The Skyhawks defense held WSCU to three straight three-and-out drives and only 14 yards of offense in the first quarter.
 
Western State's fifth drive of the game ended on an interception by Shane Nelson at the FLC 25-yard line.  Nelson shuffled the ball back to Kaulana Waalani-Arroyo who then tossed it to Theo Chambers.  Chambers ran to the FLC 12 yard line.  After an unsportsmanlike foul on the Mountaineers, the Skyhawks started their sixth drive of the game on the WSCU 48-yard line.  Trevor Bonifasi, making his first start of the season, capped off a seven play, 48-yard drive when he found Novy Hardy for an eight yard touchdown score.  A missed extra point attempt gave the Skyhawks a 16-0 lead with 7:43 left in the first half.
 
On the ensuing drive, Western State's Austin Ekeler fumbled at the WSCU 24-yard line and the Skyhawks Brandarious Johnson recovered on the 20-yard line.  After three attempts, the Skyhawks were unable to punch the ball into the endzone.  A 35-yard field goal attempt was missed with 5:53 left in the half.
 
After the missed field goal, Ekeler broke free on the second play of Western State's drive and scampered down the field for an 82-yard touchdown.  The Skyhawks held a 16-7 lead after one half of action.
 
The Skyhawks, who won the coin flip at the beginning of the game and elected to receive, kicked the ball off to start the second half.  After a five yard penalty on the Skyhawks, Joseph Cavale kicked off from the FLC 30-yard line.  The 68-yard kick off was returned 20 yard by Mark Jones, putting the Mountaineers on their own 22-yard line to start the second half.
 
WSCU opened the half with a 78-yard pass completion from Arrivey to Worth to cut the Skyhawks lead down to two, 16-14.
 
The Skyhawks were forced to punt on their first drive of the half, setting up the Mountaineers drive on the WSCU 10-yard line.  Fourteen plays and 90 yards later, WSCU took the lead for the first time of the game, 21-16 with 6:28 left in the third quarter.
 
Trailing by five points to start the fourth quarter, the Skyhawks ran seven plays to cap a 49-yard drive and regain the lead, 23-21.  Cameron Padilla accounted for 42 of the 49 yards after rushing five times on the drive.
 
Fort Lewis would add three more points on the scoreboard on their next drive.  After a WSCU punt, the Skyhawks started their drive with 10:34 left in regulation.  FLC ran 15 plays and burned 7:45 off the clock before Cavale put the ball through the uprights from 34-yards out to give FLC a 26-21 lead.
 
Western State regained the lead on their next drive.  Arrivey connected with Kyle Adkins for a 31-yard touchdown score.  WSCU attempt at a two-point conversion failed as they took a 27-26 lead.
 
Fort Lewis ran four plays for four yards on their final drive of the game, turning the ball over to WSCU with 54 ticks left in regulation.
 
The Skyhawks ran 81 plays for 336 yards, 250 of which came on the ground.  WSCU was held to 142 rushing yards on 37 attempts but gained 242 yards through the air.
 
Bonifasi completed 13 of 27 yards for 86 yards and one touchdown (no interceptions).  Padilla carried the ball 27 times for 128 yards and a score. 
 
The Skyhawks defense was led by Sione Folaumoeloa who had six tackles.  Three of his stops were sacks that went for a loss of nine yards.  Dalten Lane added six tackles, one tackle for a loss of one yard and a half sack.  Hull also chipped in six tackles to go with his 25-yard interception return.
 
The Skyhawks will play their final road game of the season next Saturday at Adams State University.  Kick off is slated for 12 p.m.