GUNNISON, Colo. – October 31, 2015 – A pair of three game streaks were snapped Saturday afternoon at Mountaineer Bowl in Gunnison, Colo.  The Fort Lewis College football team defeated Western State Colorado University, 39-24, snapping the Skyhawks three-game losing streak and the Mountaineers three-game winning streak.
 
The win improves the Skyhawks to 5-4 overall and 4-3 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference season.  The last time FLC posted a five game winning season and four conference wins in a season was 2006 when the Skyhawks went 7-4 overall and 6-2 in the RMAC.
 
FLC's defense held the fourth leading rushing team in the RMAC to 124 yards on 30 carries, and the second leading rusher in the RMAC to 98 yards.  WSCU entered the game with 219.9 rushing yards per game, 183.7 of which came from Austin Ekeler.
 
The Skyhawks scored their first seven of 39 points on their opening drive of the game.  After forcing WSCU to punt, FLC ran four plays for 84 yards to take a 7-0 lead.  Gabe Ogbonnaya, Jr. rushed from 73 yards out for the touchdown score at 10:49 in the first quarter.
 
FLC turned the ball over on their next drive which resulted in seven points for WSCU with 2:29 left in the opening quarter.
 
The Skyhawks took a six point lead early in the second quarter after Jordan Doyle found Esley Simmons III for a six yard touchdown pass.  A blocked extra point attempt gave FLC a 13-7 lead. The 10-play, 56-yard drive burned over five minutes off the clock. 
 
FLC's defense forced the Mountaineers to punt on their next two drives.  A short WSCU punt gave FLC the ball on Western State's 25-yard line.  Allen Thigpen completed two passes for 17 yards, followed by Ogbonnaya's three-yard rush and Thigpen's five yard touchdown score to give FLC a 19-7 lead with 74 ticks left in the half.  FLC attempted a two-point conversion but failed as they went into halftime scoring 12 unanswered points in the second quarter.
 
Fort Lewis started the second half on their 25-yard line but quickly moved to Western State's 26-yard line after PJ Hall rushed for 49 yards on the opening play of the second half.  An interception in the end zone that resulted in a safety was called off after a WSCU penalty, giving the Skyhawks a second chance to score.  Four plays later, FLC was on WSCU's six yard line on fourth-and-two.  A botched snapped on a field goal attempt resulted in Jordan Gillen throwing a six yard touchdown score to Maomao Niko for a 26-7 Skyhawks lead.
 
Western State responded on the next drive when Ryan Winke made a 55-yard field goal attempt, the longest in the conference this season.
 
With the lead cut to 16 points, 26-10, FLC ran three plays on the ensuing drive and added seven more points on the scoreboard after Thigpen completed a 76-yard pass to LyDell Williams for their largest lead of the game, 33-10.
 
The Mountaineers cut the lead to 33-17 on their next drive of the third quarter.  Both teams opened the second half scoring on the first four drives of the half.
 
Despite seven points put on the scoreboard by Western State, Kipp Castanha made a 17-yard field goal and a 22-yard field goal in the fourth quarter to seal the win, 39-24.
 
FLC finished the game completing 12-of-14 passes for 210 yards and three touchdowns.  All three touchdowns were thrown by different Skyhawks (Doyle, Thigpen, Gillen).  The Skyhawks rushed the ball 59 times for 353 yards and two scores.
 
Doyle, who started the game behind center, completed all six pass attempts for 67 yards and one score.  Thigpen completed 5 of 7 passes for 137 yards and a touchdown, and carried the ball 17 times for 81 yards and a score.  Ogbannaya led both teams with 112 yards on the ground on 14 carries.
 
Andrew Ike and Shane Nelson each accounted for seven tackles each. Ike added a forced fumble and Nelson added one tackle for a loss of one yard.  The Skyhawks sacked Western State for a loss of 17 yards and posted seven tackles for a loss of 26 yards.  Sione Folaumoeloa tallied four tackles, two of which went for a loss of 10 yards and a sack for a loss of seven yards.  Michael Benabides added his fourth interception of the season to go with his one tackle.
 
The Skyhawks will play their final home game of the regular season next Saturday, Nov. 1 in the annual Musket Game against Adams State University.