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Fort Lewis College Athletics

Scoreboard

Erik Ornduff 10.5
Maureen Pasley, FLC Athletics
FLC junior quarterback Erik Ornduff threw for three touchdowns in Saturday's 28-9 win over Adams State.
9
Adams State ASFB 3-2 , 3-2
28
Winner Fort Lewis College FLC 3-2 , 3-2
Adams State ASFB
3-2 , 3-2
9
Final
28
Fort Lewis College FLC
3-2 , 3-2
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
ASFB Adams State 7 0 2 0 9
FLC Fort Lewis College 7 14 7 0 28

Game Recap: Football | | David Wilson, Assistant AD-Communications

Skyhawks upend Grizzlies to win 54th annual Musket Game

DURANGO, Colorado — It was all smiles and clouds of gunpowder for the Fort Lewis College football team when they gathered at midfield Saturday following the 54th annual Musket Game against Adams State University.

Driven by another suffocating defensive performance, and a statement by a new-look Skyhawks' offense, Fort Lewis rolled to a 28-9 victory over the rival Grizzlies to provide a literal and figurative "bang" to Homecoming weekend.

Senior linebacker Darrian Stickney, the quarterback of the Skyhawks' defense, was one of 14 seniors who were able to fire off a celebratory round. That moment at midfield of Ray Dennison Memorial Field is one Stickney said he'll never forget.

"This moment is amazing. This one, hands down, probably one of my favorite moments at Fort Lewis," Stickney said, who finished with a team-high seven tackles to cap his last appearance in the rivalry. "That shell casing, I'll have that forever."

Fort Lewis (3-2 overall, 3-2 RMAC), the second ranked defense in the RMAC in points allowed (15.0 ppg), dictated the action against a high-powered Adams State (3-2 overall, 3-2 RMAC) team that had scored 38 or more points during its three-game winning streak coming into Saturday.

The Grizzlies were held to a pedestrian 201 yards of total offense, including just 29 yards on the ground on 25 attempts as the Skhawks' defensive front forced ASU to be one-dimensional.

Yards through the air weren't much easier to come by as FLC pass rushers collected four sacks, two courtesy of junior Lorenzo Tanner, while the Skyhawks' secondary of junior Braylan Davis, senior Ka'Lonn Milton, and the duo of brothers Jayden Helms and Dakota Helms made life miserable for the Grizzlies' passing game.

ASU wide receiver Tariq Bitson entered Saturday with nine touchdowns through four games and an average of 181 receiving yards per game, but was blanketed by the duo Davis and Milton, each of whom finished with a game-high four passes defended, as they held Bitson to a mere four catches for 40 yards.

Davis wasn't done wreaking havoc as he also recorded his first two interceptions of the season on Saturday. His second pick of Grizzlies starting quarterback John Buska was returned deep into ASU territory, setting up an eventual 13-yard touchdown connection between junior quarterback Erik Ornduff and junior wide receiver Markez Boykin.

Boykin's leaping grab just inside the right pylon was his first touchdown as a Skyhawk and served as the proverbial dagger, upping FLC's lead to 28-9 with 1:11 remaining in the third quarter.

"I couldn't be happier for that kid," Crosby said of Boykin, a transfer from Black Hills State. "He has a heart of gold and has been through a lot in his life, so seeing him in that moment was a top-five moment this year for me."

The touchdown strike was also the third of the game for Ornduff, who performed brilliantly in his first start of the season after taking over for the injured Jake Lowry.

Ornduff finished 19-of-43 through the air for 228 yards, three touchdowns and no turnovers in what was a big bounce-back performance for the offense after a 13-7 road loss to Black Hills State on Sept. 28.

"Definitely more confident than last week," Ornduff said. "A full week of reps, I was really confident out there. We have a really good defense, so it's not that hard. They held them to seven points today. We don't have to score that many times, and that makes it a lot easier."

Ornduff helped quarterback the Skyhawks' into a 21-7 lead at the half, with his first two touchdown passes coming in the second quarter on a 60-yard bomb to junior wideout Isaac Leppke — his team-leading fourth touchdown grab — and a 21-yard fade dropped perfectly to senior Parker Strahler with 1:34 remaining in the half.

Strahler and fellow senior Arealous Hughes paced the Skyhawks' receiving corp, each hauling in six catches. Stahler finished with a team-high 73 receiving yards.

The fourth touchdown of the game for Fort Lewis came on its opening drive when redshirt sophomore running back Jeff Hansen sprung loose for a 33-yard run to cap a 10-play, 74-yard drive. Hansen ended his afternoon with 70 net rushing yards on 26 carries.

Fort Lewis will now turn its attention toward a challenging three-game road swing to Colorado Mesa University, Colorado School of Mines and Western Colorado University, starting at 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 12 under the lights in Grand Junction against the Mavericks. 

Saturday's Homecoming performance was precisely the answer Crosby and his coaching staff were looking for after the Week 4 loss to Black Hills State. Armed with confidence and a winning record again, the Skyhawks feel they are back on track as they head into Week 6.

"After a tough loss at Black Hills, you wonder about getting back on the track we started with, and I was proud of our guys that really fought hard," Crosby said. "I'm just excited. After that loss, as a head coach, you start worrying about the locker room. I did my best to communicate that to these guys that I love them, I care about them. It's not about me, it's about them and their season."
 
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