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Western New Mexico University Athletics

Western New Mexico University Athletics
D'Angelo Bowie
Jay Hemphill, WNMU
41
Winner UT Permian Basin UTPB 1-3 , 1-1
32
Western N.M. WNMU 0-4 , 0-2
Winner
UT Permian Basin UTPB
1-3 , 1-1
41
Final
32
Western N.M. WNMU
0-4 , 0-2
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
UTPB UT Permian Basin 0 24 10 7 41
WNMU Western N.M. 14 0 12 6 32

Game Recap: Football | | Brian Kortz

Mustangs Pile up Nearly 600 yards against Falcons in Homecoming Contest

SILVER CITY, N.M. – It wasn't a question of whether the Western New Mexico University football team was going to have a hard to moving the ball, but finishing became the issue. Despite outgaining UT Permian Basin by over 250 yards, turnovers and a few drives that stalled deep in UTPB territory were the difference as the Falcons posted the 41-32 Lone Star Conference win over the Mustangs on Homecoming Saturday afternoon.

With it being Homecoming, Scott Woodard and Liz Narkon-Vito were both inducted into the Hall of Fame during a breakfast and at halftime.

WNMU (0-4, 0-2 LSC) went for 572 yards, including 496 through the air, but four turnovers and two drives that ended on downs were enough for UTPB (1-3, 1-1 LSC) to claim their first LSC win and first win over a Division II opponent in just their second year as a program.

Redshirt senior Javia Hall (Dallas, TX/Skyline) again was passing most of the afternoon as he completed 42-70 for 496 yards and four touchdowns, but also had two interceptions. Redshirt senior D'Angelo Bowie (Virginia Beach, VA/Landstown) caught 12 passes for 158 yards and a score, while freshman Elijah Jones (Gilbert, AZ/Campo Verde) also went over 100 yards with 102 on seven catches and a score. Senior Evan Beebe (Chula Vista, CA/Mater Dei Catholic) and freshman Sean North (Corona, CA/Santiago) had the other touchdown catches.

The ground game chewed up 76 yards, with senior Justin Harris (Temecula, CA/Chaparral) going for 38 yards and sophomore DeAndre Williams (Tucson, AZ/Tucson Magnet) with 33 yards. Hall added 16 yards on the ground.

WNMU started the game out just the way you would like, as they forced UTPB into a quick three-and-out and then marched right down the field to put the first points of the game on the board. An 11 play drive followed, as WNMU picked up a pair of third downs, first on a five-yard reception to Beebe and later on the touchdown on third-and-goal at the 11 when Beebe caught the pass from Hall for the 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter.

Junior safety AJ Smith (San Diego, CA/Point Loma), back in the lineup after missing the previous two games, delivered on the next Falcon possession when he snagged an errant pass for an interception at the WNMU 37. The offense went to work again, going on another 11 play drive that saw them convert three third downs. The first on third-and-four with a 14-yard strike to Jones. Later at the UTPB 20, Harris caught a five-yard pass from Hall to move the chains. On the final third down, Hall bootlegged out and was able to elude a few defenders to get in for the rushing score and a 14-0 lead with two minutes to go in the first quarter.

A theme of the day was how WNMU dominated time of possession as they held a 35:28 to 24:32 edge with the clock.

With WNMU in good shape ahead 14-0, the second quarter came and it had a similar feel to last week's game, as UTPB got on a roll and piled up 24 unanswered points before halftime. First, the Falcons finished off a six play, 50-yard drive with a TD pass to cut the deficit to seven at 14-7 five seconds into the second quarter. After forcing a three-and-out on defense, they marched 41 yards and Bailey Giffen ended the drive with a 46-yard field goal to move to within four at 14-10.

Then the turnovers started, as Hall was about to get sacked, he tried to hit his receiver out in the flat, but Chris Hoad was waiting and he intercepted the pass and went untouched 49 yards for the touchdown and a 17-14 lead for UTPB.
The second turnover before halftime was a real gut punch, as WNMU was driving all the way down to the UTPB 23 when Hall tried to pick up the first down on third down, but Hoad forced the fumble and Xavier Brooks recovered and returned it 40 yards to setup UTPB at the WNMU 39. It paid immediate dividends as Kameron Mathis found Kristian Brown on the very first snap after the turnover for a 39-yard pitch-and-catch for a 24-14 lead with six minutes to go before halftime.

WNMU tried to score before the half, but a false start penalty allowed for a 10 second runoff and the drive stalled at the UTPB 10 to leave the Falcons with a 24-14 lead at the break.

A third turnover hit the Mustangs right out of halftime, as an attempted end around reverse to Bowie was fumbled and picked up at the WNMU 14. The Mustang defense held strong, as they only gave up a 25-yard field goal to move the Falcon lead to 13 at 27-14.

The Mustangs got back into it five minutes into the third quarter when they embarked on a nine play, 72-yard drive that ended when Hall found Jones for the 23-yard score. The ensuing extra point was blocked to leave UTPB with the 27-20 lead. On the drive, Hall found North for a big 12-yard pickup on third-and-eight.

After stuffing the Falcons again, the WNMU offense moved swiftly in five plays to chew up 77 yards and pull to within one when Hall hit Bowie for a 33-yard TD. The extra point was again blocked to leave UTPB with a 27-26 lead. On the drive, a big personal foul helped move the sticks and then after pass plays of 16 and 12, Bowie ended it with the 33-yarder.

Just when it looked like WNMU was poised to regain the lead, the Falcons came up big on offense. After an on-side kick was recovered by UTPB out near midfield, they would move 56 yards in seven plays to move the lead back to eight at 34-26 with just a minute to go in the third.

It would remain that way into the fourth quarter, as both defenses kept making big stops. Midway through the final frame, WNMU started out near midfield after just a four yard punt by UTPB. Hall went right to work finding Harris for a 36-yard gain down to the UTPB 17. The drive looked like it would stall at that point, when a big defensive holding penalty on fourth down kept the drive alive. On the next play, Hall found North for the touchdown. The two-point try failed to keep UTPB ahead at 34-32 with six minutes to play in the game.

UTPB then went into chew the clock mode, as they picked up a big third down and later a 27-yard run to get down inside the WNMU 30. They would end up settling for a 38-yard field goal attempt that went wide and left the door open for the Mustangs as they trailed by two with two minutes to play.

The drive had a tough start, as back-to-back five yard penalties had WNMU looking at a first-and-20 at the WNMU 11. After two plays netted just a yard, on third-and-19 Hall rushed for 11 yards to setup a fourth-and-eight. With the game on the line, Hall tried to hit North near the sideline, but the pass was short and turned the ball over on downs.

UTPB scored one last time to seal the victory.

Mathis completed 12-34 for 168 yards and two touchdowns, along with one interception for UTPB. Mitchell Leonard caught five passes for 81 yards and a score. Brandon Infiesto rushed 18 times for 78 yards and a score.

On defense, Hoad had a monster game with 14 tackles, eight solo, along with a half tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception, a pass breakup and quarterback hurry. Redshirt senior Dominic Barry (Moreno Valley, CA/Vista Del Lago) led the Mustangs with 10 tackles, a tackle for loss and three quarterback hurries. Davis added seven tackles, a pass breakup and quarterback hurry.

WNMU will hit the road next Saturday (Sep. 30) for the first time in almost a month as they will play at No. 13 Midwestern State with kickoff set for 7 p.m. Central Time. Midwestern State had a bye this week.
 
 
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