Seven turnovers and costly penalties hurt the Fort Lewis College Skyhawks dearly Saturday in the opening game of their conference schedule.
FLC (1-2, 0-1 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) lost 40-14 on the road at Black Hills State University in Spearfish, South Dakota. Three fumbles in the first quarter led directly to 17 points for the Yellow Jackets, who controlled the game start to finish.
“A junior high team can’t turn it over like we did and expect to win,” FLC head coach John L. Smith said. “When you turn it over three times right off the bat, you are so far behind that you have to do everything you can and throw the ball all over to try to catch up.”
Smith attributed the poor performance to a bad week of practice, which was interrupted by lightning and rain storms around Durango.
“It was the worst week of preparation I’ve ever gone through in 40 years of coaching,” the former Arkansas, Idaho, Louisville, Michigan State and Utah State head coach said. “The circumstances were not good with us in the gym where there is no room to practice. I don’t think we got a real practice day in all week, but that is something we have to overcome. A football team has to be tough enough to overcome adversity and know how to go the extra mile in preparation, but we have no clue.
“The players and coaches all did a horrible job, and consequently we didn’t look like a football team.”
Black Hills State (2-1, 1-0 RMAC) had great field position much of a windy day that was hard on kickers. After an FLC punt after the opening drive, the Yellow Jackets needed just four plays to go 33 yards to score a touchdown on a 1-yard run by quarterback Ward Anderson.
FLC quarterback Jordan Doyle then fumbled on the next Skyhawks play. The fumble was forced and recovered by Brian Baldwin, and it set up a 23-yard field goal by Diego Carstens that gave Black Hills State a 10-0 lead.
The Skyhakws then fumbled on the ensuing kick return, as Esley Simmons III couldn’t hang onto the ball. Steven Soderstrom scooped up that loose ball, and Anderson was in the endzone on another rushing touchdown a minute later to make it 17-0 in a flash.
FLC drove the ball across midfield, then struggled with another punt, as they saw a Doyle kick go just 12 yards to the Black Hills State 25-yard line. The Skyhawks quickly got the ball back, but a fumble by Andrew Johnson turned it back over to the Yellow Jackets once more.
Anderson needed just one play to get the Yellow Jackets into the endzone again, as he hit Anthony Eboreim on a 34-yard touchdown pass to make it 24-0 with 9 seconds to play in the first quarter.
The Skyhawks played with the wind in their favor in the second quarter and scored a touchdown when Doyle hit Simmons on a 7-yard scoring pass. That score came with just 16 seconds remaining in the first half and made it 24-7.
But FLC couldn’t sustain any momentum in the second half. After the defense forced a quick three-and-out, Doyle was intercepted by Allan Stubbs, who returned it 31 yards to the FLC 34-yard line.
Later in the third quarter, the Skyhawks took a safety when a long snap went over the head of the punter and out of the back of the endzone.
Joshua Roybal came up with an interception for the Skyhawks early in the fourth quarter. It was a big stop, as the Yellow Jackets once again were knocking on the door of the endzone, but the Skyhawks’ offense couldn’t find a score. Doyle’s ensuing 91-yard touchdown run was called back for holding, and that put FLC back on its own 4-yard line.
Phydell Paris answered with a 20-yard run for Black Hills State. He finished with 81 yards and the one touchdown on 17 carries to lead the Yellow Jackets. Anderson finished 25-of-39 passing for 195 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
Doyle gave the Skyhawks their second touchdown of the game with 5 minutes, 16 seconds to play in the game when he hit Durango High School alumnus Jordan Gillen on a 19-yard pass. But the Skyhawks never got any closer than their 33-14 deficit.
Doyle had a pass intercepted by JJ Kilgore with 1:10 to go in the game, and Kilgore returned it 68 yards for a touchdown to make it 40-14.
Doyle also was intercepted on the game’s final play. He finished the game 27-of-53 passing for 256 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions. He now has five touchdown passes this season and six interceptions. Doyle also was the leading rusher for FLC with 88 yards on 22 carries.
PJ Hall rushed nine times for 27 yards for FLC. Johnson was the team’s leading receiver with 91 yards on five receptions. Andrew Ike had 42 yards receiving on six receptions, and Simmons had 54 yards on five catches, including one touchdown.
It was a tough way to open the conference schedule for the Skyhawks, who will play at home for the first time this season next week at noon Saturday against New Mexico Highlands (1-2, 1-0 RMAC).
“We gotta turn it around,” Smith said. “Hopefully we can look in the mirror, all of us, and say ‘What do we have to do to get better and to prepare better?’”
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