The Western New Mexico football team hasn’t finished a season with a winning record since 1994, but that hasn’t stopped the Mustangs from rallying together their city, their home state — even opposing teams in their conference.
En route from Silver City, N.M., to Durango on Saturday for a game against Fort Lewis, the team’s bus caught fire after a leaky brake line or a flat tire sparked a blaze. Everyone on the bus got out in time, but flames destroyed the team’s equipment. Shoes, pads, jerseys, even books and laptops all burned.
The stranded team was finally picked up 25 miles south of Bloomfield, N.M, five hours later, and made it to Durango. The Mustangs’ women’s golf team delivered backup gear, a sports company provided sneakers and the team traded helmets between the offense and defense.
Still, Western New Mexico defeated Fort Lewis 26-17. The Mustangs are 2-1 this season, the only blemish a loss to San Diego in Week 2.
“Everything is great,” Western athletic director Mark Coleman said Thursday. “We didn’t have any injuries — that was the most important thing. And we’re hoping by this weekend we will have all our helmets, shoulder pads, everything we need for Saturday.”
Other than last week’s wayward road trip, Saturday’s Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference matchup in Silver City against Colorado Mines (2-1) will be the Mustangs’ toughest test this season. The Orediggers, coming off a 40-34 upset loss last week to New Mexico Highlands that dropped them out of the NCAA Division II rankings, will be motivated.
“The last game, to win after everything happened, was a great one to pull out,” Coleman said. “They really came together as a team. Saturday’s gonna be a tough game. But they’ll come in ready. They’re feeling really good about where they’re headed.”
The Mustangs already are ahead with home-field advantage. The athletic department scraped together funds to replace the team’s lost books. The New Mexico football team donated equipment; the Silver City chamber of commerce gave $21,000. Rival RMAC schools also called offering help.
“The biggest thing is the support we’ve seen,” Coleman said. “Sometimes you don’t know that people care until there’s a crisis. The people who came to our rescue, different schools in the RMAC — phone call after phone call, e-mail after e-mail offering to help. It’s been amazing.”
Nick Groke: 303-954-1015 or ngroke@denverpost.com
