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Fort Lewis College Athletics

Scoreboard

Clayton Rutz 10.16
Angela Roberts, FLC Athletic Communications
FLC junior defensive back Clayton Rutz returns an interception during Saturday's game against Colorado Mesa.
55
Winner Colorado Mesa CMU 5-1 , 4-1
3
Fort Lewis FLC 0-7 , 0-6
Winner
Colorado Mesa CMU
5-1 , 4-1
55
Final
3
Fort Lewis FLC
0-7 , 0-6
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
CMU Colorado Mesa 14 20 7 14 55
FLC Fort Lewis 3 0 0 0 3

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

Rutz has career day on defense, but five turnovers plague Skyhawks in Homecoming loss to Colorado Mesa

DURANGO, Colo. — Playing in front of a spirited crowd for Homecoming weekend at Ray Dennison Memorial Field, the Fort Lewis College football team was hampered by five offensive turnovers — three interceptions, a fumble and a turnover on downs — in a 55-3 loss to Colorado Mesa University.

Fort Lewis (0-7 overall, 0-6 RMAC) had gone three straight games without an offensive turnover, and only had six turnovers on the season, before Saturday's loss to the visiting Mavericks (5-1 overall, 4-1 RMAC).  

"We went a couple weeks without an offensive turnover, which was a bright spot for us, but the turnover bug found us (Saturday) and it put our defense in bad situations several times and knocked us out of rhythm," said FLC head football coach, Darrius G. Smith. "You're definitely not going to give yourself an opportunity to win a ballgame when you turn the ball over like that."

The Skyhawks got off to a good start Saturday, forcing a turnover on Colorado Mesa's opening drive via an interception and 21-yard return by junior defensive back Clayton Rutz that set FLC up at its own 38-yard line.

It was the first big play on a career day for Rutz as he finished with nine tackles, an interception, 2.5 sacks and two forced fumbles on the afternoon, lining up in multiple spots in the FLC defense.

"Clayton is a good football player for us and to see that light click on for him, to see things register for him, schematically, that was great to see," Smith said. "We used Clayton in several different spots because he has the speed to come off the edge. We blitzed him a couple times from the secondary, disguised coverage, and it was great to see them land because he was doing the right thing."

FLC would capitalize on a career-long, 40-yard field goal cashed in by freshman kicker Hunter Villavicencio to go up 3-0 with 8:41 remaining in the first quarter.

Colorado Mesa answered with a nine-play, 59-yard scoring drive to take a 7-3 lead with 4:52 remaining, then bumped its advantage to 14-3 at the 1:23 mark on a quick strike 55-yard touchdown run from Darick Holmes one play after an interception for the CMU defense.

The Mavericks would go into the halftime locker rooms up 34-3 as the FLC offense struggled to regain traction.

FLC finished with 99 yards of total offense, led by redshirt junior running back Jeff Hansen with 35 net yards on 15 carries, while fellow redshirt junior tight end Zach Russell paced the FLC pass catchers with four grabs for 33 yards.

Defensively, FLC redshirt sophomore Jayden Helms, who entered the ballgame second among all NCAA Division II players in tackles, added to his strong seasons with a team-high 13 total tackles.

Redshirt sophomore Max Hyson added seven tackles, a fumble recovery and a sack — one of a season-high six sacks for the Skyhawks — while senior linebacker Shawn Garcia Jr. chipped in six tackles and his first sack of 2021.

The Skyhawks will look to regroup and get ready for a road trip out to Chadron, Nebraska next weekend to square off against the Chadron State College Eagles. Kickoff is scheduled for 12 p.m. at Don Beebe Stadium.
 
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