DURANGO, Colo. – September 12, 2015 – Both sides of the ball excelled Saturday afternoon as the Fort Lewis College football team won their home opener over Oklahoma Panhandle State University, 41-20 at Ray Dennison Memorial Field.  The game also marked the homecoming of the FLC cannon, which had not been fired during a football game since 2010.
 
The Skyhawks defense forced the Aggies to punt seven times and scored 14 points off of turnovers, including an interception and three fourth-down stops.  FLC's offense amassed 203 rushing yards and 222 passing yards for 425 yards of total offense.
 
The Skyhawks opening drive resulted in an interception which OPSU quickly turned in their favor.  On the Aggies second play of the game, quarterback Brandon Ramon completed an 86 yard touchdown pass to Zacari Lavender who put OPSU on the scoreboard first, 6-0.  Theo Chambers blocked Nikolas Clarkson's extra point attempt to hold OPSU to six points. 
 
PJ Hall put the Skyhawks on the scoreboard on their third drive of the game after rushing in from six yards out to wrap up a five play, 76-yard drive.  Hall rushed for 42 yards on the drive on three carries. 
 
Senior Kipp Castanha made a 47-yard field goal with 2:23 left in the first quarter to give the Skyhawks a 10-6 lead they carried into the second quarter.  FLC started their last drive of the quarter with four seconds remaining after the defense held OPSU on fourth-and-three.
 
On fourth-and-six on the OPSU nine-yard line, the Skyhawks faked a field goal to holder Jordan Gillen who scampered in for the score and a 17-6 FLC lead.
 
With 31 seconds left in the half, Amery Duncan intercepted a pass and returned it 13 yards to the OPSU 15 yard line.  Two plays later, Doyle found Juquelle Thompson who made a leaping catch in front of the Aggies defender for the fourth score of the game, 24-6.
 
Xazier Murry set the Aggies up on the Skyhawks 25-yard line after returning the kickoff 74 yards.  Theo Chambers made a diving stop to push Murry out of the end zone.  Four plays later and 18 seconds remaining in the half, OPSU notched their second touchdown of the game to cut the Skyhawks lead to 11, 24-13.
 
The Skyhawks defense opened the second half forcing OPSU to a three-and-out.  FLC ran 14 plays in their opening drive of the second half that resulted in Castanha's 31-yard field goal.
 
On the ensuing drive, Dalten Lane sacked Ramon on third-and-10 for a loss of four yards, forcing OPSU to punt from their 31-yard line.  OPSU fumbled on the punt attempt and Daniel Walker recovered the ball on the OPSU eight-yard line.  Hall's first rush on the drive went for a loss of one yard before he carried it into the endz one from nine yards out.  With 3:14 left in the third quarter, the Skyhawks held a 34-13 lead.
 
OPSU's only score of the second half came on the ensuing drive that went 70 yards on six plays.
 
Fort Lewis started their final drive of the third quarter with 1:19 left on the clock.  After a false start penalty that pushed them pack to their own 11-yard line, Hall rushed for seven yards to the 18-yard line.  Doyle then connected with Thompson for an 82-yard score that sealed the win, 41-20.
 
The Skyhawks closed the game in the fourth quarter, running 15 plays for 64 yards and holding the ball for more than 10 minutes. 
 
Hall finished the game with 118 net rushing yards on 31 carries and two scores. 
 
Doyle was the Skyhawks second leading rusher with 47 yards on 10 carries.  He completed 16-of-26 passes for 22 yards and two touchdowns.
 
Thompson, who returned five punts for 34 yards and two kickoffs for 60 yards, led the receiving corps with 110 receiving yards and two touchdowns on four catches.  Gillen caught three passes for 23 yards.  Mason Hatton, LyDell Williams, Austin Shaw and Hall each caught two passes.  Hatton tallied 40 receiving yards followed by Williams' 28.
 
Kaimon Ontiveros led the defense with nine tackles (seven solo).  Two of his stops went for a loss of two yards and he broke up one pass.  Andrew Ike chipped in eight tackles and Walker added six with a fumble recovery and pass breakup.  Dalten Lane notched the Skyhawks only sack of the game, and he hurried the quarterback three times.
 
The Skyhawks will open the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conferee season at home on Sept. 19 against Black Hills State.  Kickoff is slated for 12 p.m.