Fort Lewis College Athletics

Juma Kashanda vs. Colorado Mesa - Oct. 14, 2023

Cornerback Juma Kashanda (21) has three pass break ups and is one of only two Skyhawks to force and recover a fumble.

Skyhawks to welcome Black Hills State for Saturday Matinee

10/27/2023 11:00:00 AM

By: Hayden Mangan, Assistant Director of Athletic Communications

DURANGO, Colo. – Nearly 3,000 feet of elevation separates Durango and Spearfish, S.D. The Fort Lewis football team (0-8, 0-6 RMAC) will look to use its high-altitude advantage in tune with a rowdy home crowd as Black Hills State University (4-4, 3-3 RMAC) comes to town for a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference matchup. Kick-off is slated for 12:00 p.m. on Ray Dennison Memorial Field on Saturday, Oct. 28.

Last Time Out
The Skyhawks are coming off their longest conference road trip of the season and a 48-10 loss at South Dakota Mines (4-4, 3-3 RMAC). While Fort Lewis gave up only 30 combined yards on five penalties and made one turnover late in the fourth quarter, the Skyhawks could only produce 254 yards of total offense and a pair of scores on a 33-yard field goal from Hunter Villavicencio and a 31-yard receiving touchdown from Braden Wingle to Christopher Thomas Jr. just inside the pylon.

Fort Lewis Leaders
Wingle, with his 204 yards last weekend, now owns 3,119 career passing yards and stands as both 11^th in all-time career passing yards and the 11^th quarterback to surpass the 3,000 mark. Wingle's 64.6% completion percentage continues to rank third in the conference alongside his sixth-most total yards with 1,634. Thomas Jr. now leads all receivers and backs with four touchdowns while Peyton Monson remains the conference leader with 474 kick return yards, 172 more than the next closest returner.

Scouting Black Hills State
Quarterback Tanner Clarkson and the Yellow Jackets are riding back-to-back losses to then-14th-ranked Western Colorado University (8-0, 6-0 RMAC) and first-ranked Colorado School of Mines (8-0, 6-0 RMAC). Black Hills State is averaging 388.6 yards per game on 132.2 rushing and 256.4 passing. Clarkson is 138-for-230 (60%) on the season for 2,038 yards – the second most in the league – and 15 touchdowns to three interceptions. Running back Nolan Susel has rushed for 439 yards and eight touchdowns while also making 18 receptions for another 224 yards and three scores.

Looking Ahead
Next week Fort Lewis will make its final road trip of the season heading into the highest collegiate field in the United States to do battle with ninth-ranked Western Colorado. The Skyhawks and Mountaineers are scheduled to kick off at 1:00 p.m.

With ongoing construction at the Mountaineer Bowl, all football games are being played at Katy O. Rady Field. Due to the facilities' limited capacity, WCU has ensured 100 tickets for Skyhawks fans planning to make the trip to Gunnison, Colo. Fans looking to purchase said tickets will need to use the passcode "FLC2023" on the Mountaineers ticketing site HERE.

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