At Greeley, Dylan Orms threw two touchdown passes and ran for two more scores, leading Northern Colorado to a 35-21 victory over Idaho State on Saturday.
Orms was 18-for-24 for 188 yards passing. Jhamele Robinson added 89 rushing yards, and Andre Harris had a touchdown run for the Bears (2-1 overall and 1-1 in the Big Sky Conference).
Tavoy Moore kept the Bengals (1-2, 0-1) close with a stellar special-teams performance. Moore returned the opening kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown, added an 81-yard punt return for a score and finished with 237 return yards.
The Bengals have lost their last three meetings with Northern Colorado.
Fort Lewis 30, Western New Mexico 27
At Silver City, N.M., Richard Rodriguez connected on a 52-yard field goal with 18 seconds remaining to lift Fort Lewis College (1-1 overall, 1-0 in the RMAC) to a dramatic 30-27 win over Western New Mexico University (1-2, 0-1).
FLC sophomore quarterback Tim Jenkins completed 35-of-49 passes for 425 yards and three touchdowns.
His biggest completion of all began the Skyhawks’ game-winning drive. On the first play from scrimmage after Western New Mexico had tied the game at 27-27, Jenkins hooked up with Justin Johnson for a 54-yard strike to put FLC on the WNMU 21. After a sack moved the ball to the WNMU 34, Rodriguez connected on his 52-yard kick.
“It was exciting, but unnecessary excitement in the second half,” first-year head coach Cesar Rivas-Sandoval told the Fort Lewis College website. “I’m proud of our guys. They proved that we will fight and never quit.”
Rivas-Sandoval recorded his first victory as FLC’s head coach.
The Skyhawks led 24-9 at the half, thanks to three Jenkins TD passes and a pair of interceptions from redshirt freshman linebacker Willy Klein.
Mines 49, N.M Highlands 21
At Las Vegas, N.M., Colorado School of Mines beat New Mexico Highlands 49-21 as sophomore Jerrod Doucet caught 11 passes for 158 yards and two touchdowns. The Orediggers improved to 2-1 overall and 1-0 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. Highlands fell to 0-3 and 0-1.
Nebraska-Kearney 31, Mesa State 9
At Kearney, Neb., 23rd-ranked Nebraska-Kearney rolled to 21 first-quarter points to beat Mesa State 31-9.
In the RMAC opener for both teams, the Lopers (2-1) won their 11th straight league game, improving to 16-3 all-time against the Mavericks (0-2).
The game was decided in the first 15 minutes as UNK tallied three touchdowns.
Mesa did march 43 yards on the game’s opening drive, highlighted by a 20-yard run by punter Mike Brady on a fake punt. However, Loper senior DE Mason Brodine (Elm Creek) blocked a 35-yard field goal attempt from Caleb Pavy.
Chadron State 40, Western State 7
At Chadron, Neb., Eagles redshirt freshman running back Glen Clinton, making his first career start, rushed for 169 yards and one touchdown as the Eagles routed Western State 40-7.
The RMAC opener for both teams was a sloppy affair. The Eagles committed 11 penalties and only scored two touchdowns in seven-red zone chances, while Western State managed just nine first downs and 138 total yards of offense.
Western State’s only score came from Allan Aguilar who led the Mountaineers with three receptions and a touchdown reception in the second quarter.
