Cowboys Look To Rebound From First Loss
Soccer Loses RMAC Opener
New Mexico Highlands squared off against FCS opponent Southern Utah University this past weekend and escaped Cedar City, Utah, with a respectable 45-23 loss — its first defeat of the season.
So what did we learn about the Cowboys from this game? Not much.
But what Highlands learned from playing against a NCAA DI squad will be put on display when Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play resumes Saturday at 1 p.m. at Perkins Stadium. The Cowboys (2-1, 1-0 RMAC) will host No. 18-ranked Colorado School of Mines (3-0, 1-0).
The Orediggers are coming off three-straight blowout wins, including welcoming Black Hills State to the RMAC with a 42-19 drubbing this past Saturday in Golden, Colo. Mines opened the season with a 57-16 win over William Jewel College, followed by a 71-7 victory over South Dakota Mines.
Quarterback Matt Brown leads the Mines offense, finishing 37-of-63 for 407 passing yards, while adding 19 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, against the Yellow Jackets. Senior wideout Cody Renken was his prime target, hauling in 14 passes for 163 yards. Through three games, Brown has completed 90-of-141 passes for 1,114 yards and 10 touchdowns against one interception. He is fourth nationally in total offense per game (395.67), fifth in passing yards and fourth in completions per game (30).
Mines’ offense will take on a Cowboys defense that held the SUU Thunderbirds to 365 total yards. Abdul Kanneh led the way for the Cowboys with seven tackles, three passes defended and two interceptions, which he returned for 121 yards and two touchdowns. Jared Koster followed with 10 tackles, and DiAmaal Holmes had eight.
On of fense, Highlands continued to roll with two quarterbacks.
Taylor Genuser completed 4-of-7 passes for 55 yards before exiting the game. Emmanuel Lewis relieved him, completing 19-of-32 passes for 311 yards and a score. Darius Davis led the Cowboys with nine catches for 173 yards and a touchdown. Kevon Williams followed with two catches for 90 yards. SOCCER
Highlands entered RMAC play by dropping its first two contests, including a 3-2 overtime loss to Adams State College to fall to 2-4 overall.
The Cowgirls led nearly the entire game, but allowed two goals in the final 15 minutes of regulation to send the game into overtime. Adams State completed the comeback with the golden goal 2 minutes, 30 seconds into overtime.
Striker Marci Johnson continues to lead Highlands in scoring, connecting on her third goal for eight points on the year. Fellow Cowgirl striker Kelsie Roberts scored her second goal of the season during the loss for her fifth point of the season.
Highlands remains on the road this week, traveling to Grand Junction, Colo., to take on Colorado Mesa University. The Mavericks are currently in third place in the RMAC, with a 1-0-1 conference record and 4-0-2 in overall play. Game time is 7 p.m. CROSS-COUNTRY
Henrique Chavez of Mora continues to shine this season for Highlands, helping the Cowboys complete the one-two sweep at the Regis University Regional Preview meet Monday in Denver.
Chavez and teammate Ismael Samano finished just 2 seconds apart to lead the 18thranked Cowboys to a runnerup finish behind perennial national powerhouse Adams State.
The Cowboys are off until their home meet — the Highlands University Cross-Country Jam — Sept. 29 at the Gene Torres Golf Course. VOLLEYBALL
Darrian Mullen just about single-handedly gave Highlands its first RMAC win of the season, recording 26 kills and a .352 hitting percentage to lead the Cowgirls (4-6 overall, 1-1 RMAC) back from a 2-1 deficit to defeat Fort Lewis (4-6, 1-1) in five sets (25-22, 18-25, 15-25, 25-12, 15-10) in Durango, Colo., on Saturday. The win was on the heels of a straight-set 0-3 (25-15, 25-14, 25-12) conference loss to Colorado Mesa in Grand Junction the night before. Highlands — which beat Eastern New Mexico, 3-1 (25-23, 25-18, 22-25, 25-14), on Tuesday in nonconference play — begins a threematch RMAC homestand Friday against Western State College, which is 1-9 overall and 0-2 in conference play. Match time is 7 p.m.