Durango – Matt Gutierrez scored five touchdowns, and the Fort Lewis Skyhawks clinched their first winning season in 20 years with a 38-31 victory over New Mexico Highlands Saturday.
Gutierrez competed 26-of-37 passes for 344 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed 19 times for 115 yards and two touchdowns for Fort Lewis (6-4, 6-2 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference).
Matt Weaver led Fort Lewis’ receivers with eight catches for 167 yards, including a 56-yard touchdown.
Trailing 38-17 in the fourth quarter, New Mexico Highlands’ Ronnie Simpson found Ikaika Neizman in the end zone for a 9-yard score, then ran in an 11-yard touchdown to pull within 38-31 with 3:37 remaining. But the Cowboys (1-10, 0-8 RMAC) could not score again.
Simpson completed 21-of-45 passes for 225 yards and three touchdowns.
Fort Lewis’ last winning season was in 1985.
Mines 42, Adams State 27
Golden – Garrett Mehl and Danny Medina each threw for two touchdowns and the Colorado School of Mines clinched a school-record sixth straight winning season.
Mehl completed 10-of-21 passes for 130 yards, while Medina completed 5-for-8 passes for 119 yards.
Medina’s 5-yard TD pass to Michael Curl gave the Orediggers (6-5, 6-2 RMAC) a 21-7 lead in the second quarter.
But Adams State (6-5, 5-3) rallied, scoring touchdowns on a 5-yard run by Scott Coxon and a 2-yard run by Tyree Walton to tie it at 21 with 11:08 left in the third quarter.
Mehl then hit Brent Chacon for a 25-yard touchdown to make it 28-21. Coxon scored on a 1-yard run for the Grizzlies, but Wayne Durham’s extra point attempt was blocked, making it 28-27.
Mehl threw a 36-yard TD pass to Derek Dykstra, then ran in another 6-yard score for the winning margin.
Coxon completed 28-of-44 passes for 384 yards, but had two interceptions.
North Dakota State 44, Northern Colorado 0
Fargo, N.D. – The Bison rolled up a season-high 501 yards of total offense in its first win over the Golden Bears (3-5, 0-3 Great West Football Conference) in four years.
NDSU (6-3, 2-2) dominated the ground game, outrushing the Bears 284-22.
Northern Colorado quarterback Nick Hager completed just 15 of 26 passes for 150 yards and was sacked four times.
Cinque Chapman led the Bison ground game with 107 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries. Kyle Steffes finished with 63 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries.
It was Northern Colorado’s worst loss to the Bison since 1984, when NDSU routed the Bears 62-14.
Western State 26, Fort Hays State 14
Hays, Kan. – Daniel Brethauer passed for 249 yards and Jason Davis kicked four field goals.
Brethauer threw a 21-yard TD pass to J.R. Finley and John Watson scored on a 1-yard run as Western State (2-9, 2-6 RMAC) took a 17-7 halftime lead.
Fort Hays (2-8, 2-6) opened the scoring on Reed Gottula’s 5-yard run in the first quarter.
The Tigers closed within 17-14 when Tyler Elder ran 70 yards for a score on the opening series of the second half, but Davis kicked field goals of 27, 39 and 26 yards for the Mountaineers.
Nebraska-Kearney 24, Mesa State 14
Kearney, Neb. – Marcus Goldenstein threw for 245 yards and pair of touchdowns.
Goldenstein threw a 57-yarder to Richie Ross in the first quarter for the opening score of the game, and connected with Steve Bremmer on a 49-yard pass for a third-quarter score.
Ross ended with 63 receiving yards. He also threw for 80 yards and a touchdown in the win for UNK (9-2, 7-1 RMAC).
Sean McGraw threw for 231 yards and two scores for Mesa State (5-6, 4-4).
