THESE BRONCOS ROCK TOO
With players from Hawaii to Alaska and from Florida to New Mexico, NMMI has the No. 8 juco team in the country.
Joe Fortchner, an Elkhorn, Neb., native and history major from the University of Kansas, found his way to Roswell in 2006.
He’s been there ever since, happily married, coaching football at the New Mexico Military Institute.
NMMI is 4-0 and ranked eighth among the country’s junior colleges as Fortchner works his fifth year as head coach of the program.
He was an assistant at Delta (Miss.) State when a variety of contacts eventually landed him a job at NMMI. He coached the Broncos linebackers and defensive lineman before taking over the program when Josh Lynn left to coach Eastern New Mexico.
“I like what this place does for kids,” Fortchner said. “It’s not all roses, and some kids don’t realize how good it is until they leave.”
This year Fortchner has banded together a bunch from American Samoa to Canada, from Florida to Alaska, from Germany to Laguna Acoma.
“We’ve got a tough group of kids,” the coach said. “Nothing seems to faze them.”
But, he warns, there is a long way to go. Beginning with Saturday’s game at Trinity Valley CC in Athens, Texas, four of the next five NMMI opponents are ranked in the top 20, and the team that is not is traditional power Blinn.
The Broncos do have the services of quarterback Jordan Ta’amu, who leads the nation with 372.3 yards passing a game. NMMI coaches found him in Pearl City, Hawaii, when they were pursuing some offensive linemen. The sophomore sat the bench much of last year, watching Connor Cramer, who is now at New Mexico State.
“Some guys take a year on the bench and mentally shut down,” Fortchner said. “He did the exact opposite. He was taking notes, watching film, learning. He’s a sharp guy.”
His targets include Bryndan McCoyn (11 receptions, 173 yards), Sedarious Young (eight, 248) and Edward Kea (12, 147). McCoyn and Young are from Florida; Kea is Hawaiian.
NMMI ranks fourth in the nation in points (56.8 a game), fourth in yards (516.8 a game) and third in first downs (25.98 a game).
Defensively, Fortchner said the Broncos are a work in progress. Still, they have 20 sacks and limit opponents to 266.8 yards a game.
Alain Cimankinda, a freshman defensive lineman from Ontario, has 21 tackles and two sacks. Diontez Champion, a sophomore defensive back from Arlington, Texas, has three sacks and two forced fumbles.
Recruiting is not easy. NMMI is going against programs that don’t require students to wear uniforms, don’t make them keep their rooms clean every day and allow them to wear any variety of earrings.
“It takes a special kind of guy to come here and realize doing those things is the price of opportunity,” Fortchner said.
NMMI, which has 10 kids from New Mexico on its roster, recruits the state hard, but has competition from Eastern, Highlands and Western New Mexico. Offensive coordinator Drew Thatcher is a T or C native who played wide receiver for New Mexico State, and offensive line coach Robert Rodriguez is from Artesia.
Fortchner’s most vital New Mexico connection, however, is wife Shelby. She is a Goddard grad and coaches NMMI’s volleyball team.
“That’s pretty important,” Fortchner said.
WNMU: Quarterback Javia Hall was named Lone Star Conference offensive player of the week. Hall threw four touchdown passes and ran for two more scores in a 44-21 win over Panhandle State. The Mustangs (1-2, 1-1 Lone Star) visit UT Permian Basin on Saturday.
ENMU: The Greyhounds (1-2, 1-1 Lone Star) travel to Angelo State for a Saturday game. Manzano grad Quavshaun Branch had seven tackles for Eastern in a 49-10 loss to No. 7 Texas A&M Commerce.
NMHU: The Cowboys (0-3, 0-2 RMAC) are at CSU-Pueblo on Saturday. Jake Harrelson, a freshman linebacker from Ruidoso, leads Highlands with 21 tackles.