SILVER CITY, N.M. – It will be Homecoming this Saturday as the Western New Mexico University football team will battle Fort Lewis College at 1:30 p.m. at Ben Altamirano Field.
FLC (1-3, 0-2 RMAC) will be on the road for the fourth time out of five games this season when they make the trek to Silver City. The Skyhawks won their second game of the season coming back to win at Oklahoma Panhandle State (45-38). So far in RMAC play they have been defeated by Black Hills State (40-14) and last week at home against New Mexico Highlands (45-10).
Jordan Doyle powers the offense both through the air and on the ground. FLC's main signal caller has thrown for 958 yards, while rushing for 223. He has tallied five touchdowns each through the air and on the ground, all of which lead the team. PJ Hall has rushed for 131 yards on 45 attempts. Receiving-wise, Andrew Johnson has a pair of touchdowns, along with 20 catches for 307 yards. Esley Simmons III is tied for the team lead in TDs with Johnson, while hauling in 12 passes for 195 yards. Ryan Ross leads the defense with 19 stops, along with four for loss, a sack and an interception.
Last year, FLC came back to edge the Mustangs, 38-28, in Durango. The teams have split the last two meetings in Silver City, with WNMU winning by the score of 42-34 in 2012, while in 2010 went to the Skyhawks (30-27). The next year in 2011, WNMU returned the favor surviving a bus fire and borrowed equipment to down the Skyhawks in Durango, 26-17.
WNMU enters with the same 1-3 overall record and 0-2 mark in conference games. This past weekend against No. 2 CSU-Pueblo, the Mustangs were within a touchdown at halftime (14-7) before the ThunderWolves exploded for a 31-0 second half advantage and 45-7 victory.
Marques Rodgers (Gardena, CA/Serra) and
Cleavon Barnes (Lancaster, CA/Lancaster ) have formed a solid one-two punch out of the backfield so far this season. Rodgers leads the team in attempts (59), yards (290) and is tied for the team lead in touchdowns with one. Barnes has added 38 attempts for 190 yards and a touchdown.
Preston Blincoe (El Centro, CA/Imperial) and
Michael Coe (Carlsbad, CA/Carlsbad) have each added a rushing TD.
Mitch Glasmann (Temecula, CA/Chaparral) has thrown for 1,242 yards, completing 82-of-173 that has included 11 touchdowns.
Donald Byrd (Long Beach, CA/Long Beach Poly) has brought in 23 of those passes for 412 yards and four touchdowns, all of which lead the team. Rodgers has added 12 catches for 187 yards and 2 TD,
Xavier Ayers (Albuquerque, NM/Albuquerque) has 11 catches for 188 and 3 TD, while
Marcus Smith (San Diego, CA/Mira Mesa HS) and
Brent Courtney (Oceanside CA/Carlsbad HS) have a TD reception each.
Dominic Barry (Moreno Valley, CA/Vista Del Lago), coming off of his game-high 11 tackle performance against CSU-Pueblo, now leads the team in tackles with 25. He has added two tackles for loss and a sack.
Brandon Perkins (Tucson, AZ/Desert View ) has added 23 stops, while
Kristian King (Redlands, CA/Redlands East Valley) (22),
Zachary Dembrowski (Lake Elsinore/Elsinore HS) (21) and
Cody Hawkins (Show Low, AZ/Show Low) (20) all have at least 20 stops.
Anthony Avina (Lake Elsinore, CA/Lakeside HS), Dembrowski and Barry have a sack each to tie for the team lead, while
Darius Guillory (Temecula, CA/Chaparral) has the team's interception.
At halftime, the three WNMU Athletic Hall of Fame inductees will be honored in Jerry Reyes, Doug Ragsdale and Sheri (Richardson) Camarena. Live stats, audio and video will be available for the game.
