CHADRON, Neb. – September 3, 2016 – Starting the season on the road against Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference opponent Chadron State College, the Fort Lewis College football team came up just short Saturday afternoon, 17-10.
 
Trailing 3-0 after the first quarter, Joseph Cavale tied the game at 3-3 in the second quarter after making a 24-yard field goal attempt.
 
Punting from their own 20-yard line on fourth and eight, Cavale's punt was blocked and ran in for an Eagles touchdown to give CSC a 10-3 lead with 3:51 left in the first half.  On the Skyhawks next drive, the Eagles intercepted Larry Cutbirth's pass on the FLC 49-yard line and returned it 20-yards.  Two plays later the Skyhawks trailed the Eagles by 14 points as they headed into halftime down, 17-3.
 
The Skyhawks defense held the Eagles scoreless in the second half.
 
On the Eagles second drive of the third quarter, Daniel Walker intercepted TD Stein's pass and returned it 21 yards.  The Skyhawks started the ensuing drive on Chadron State's 32-yard line.  Running back Drake Griffin rushed the first four plays of the drive for 27 yards to bring the Skyhawks to the Eagle's five yard line.  Griffin added two more yards on third and goal but the Skyhawks turned the ball over on downs when they failed to convert on fourth down.
 
On the Skyhawks second to last drive of the game, FLC completed a 14-play, 80-yard drive for a touchdown that brought FLC within seven points, 17-10.  The Skyhawks earned five first downs on the drive before Bo Coleman connected with Griffin for an eight-yard touchdown score.  Coleman completed 6-of-8 passes for 42 yards and rushed for 29 yards to lead the Skyhawks to their first touchdown of the season.
 
The Skyhawks bested the Eagles in nearly every offensive category, including first downs (18-10), rushing yards (173-110), total offense (264-166) and nearly 10 more minutes of possession time.
 
Cutbirth finished the game completing 6-of-12 passes for 53 yards (one interception) while Coleman completed 5-of-13 passes for 38 yards (one interception). 
 
Griffin carried the ball 16 times for 85 yards, followed by PJ Hall who ran for 57 yards on 19 carries.  Jordan Gillen led the receiving corps with 63 yards on six catches.
 
Defensively, the Skyhawks held the Eagles to 56 yards through the air.  Maomao Niko led FLC with seven tackles.  Walker added five stops with his interception and Michael Molina notched six tackles.
 
The Skyhawks will open their home season on September 10 against Black Hills State University at 12 p.m.