New Mexico Military takes NJCAA title
The New Mexico Military Institute had the odds stacked against it.
The Broncos came into their first NJCAA Division I championship game against an Iowa Western Community College program that was ranked No. 1 in the nation and undefeated this season. The Reivers, who were also making their third title-game appearance in the past decade, were a combined 17-1 during the spring and fall 2021 seasons.
Still, New Mexico Military was in command from the onset at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock on Friday night, shutting out the Reivers in the first half before taking a 31-13 win for its first-ever NJCAA national championship.
“It means a lot,” New Mexico Military Coach Kurt Taufa’asau said. “The credit goes out to the guys that believed when we went out and recruited them. Because getting kids to New Mexico Military, it’s not easy. It ain’t just, ‘Hey, come play football, go to school.’ ”
Taufa’asau was almost as new to his role as his team’s title appearance. A New Mexico Military alumnus and former assistant, he’d been made the school’s interim head coach in the spring and was promoted from his interim role at the end of the Broncos’ regular season.
New Mexico Military (12-1) finished the game with 373 yards of offense, 252 of which came on the ground. Running back Anthony Grant, the No. 14 juco recruit in the nation, was named the game’s MVP and led the way on the ground, rushing for 192 yards and a touchdown. Quarterback Diego Pava was the Broncos’ second-leading rusher, with 55 yards. He passed for 121 yards and scored 3 total touchdowns.
The Broncos controlled the clock, out-possessing Iowa Western 28:29 to 23:41, with drives of 6:30 and 7:50 to close out both halves.
“That’s our goal, just run clock down, get a score,” said Broncos left tackle Tyrone Webber, the No. 7 juco recruit in the country. “It’s just to keep the ball moving.”
“Our linemen are very athletic, and when you mix that with our quarterback, who’s also athletic, the best quarterback in the nation, and then you have the best running back in the nation, it’s pretty easy for us to block up front.”
Defense was one of the biggest factors in the Broncos’ success, as they generated three turnovers, and that came as early as the first drive of the game.
New Mexico Military faced a three-and-out situation, punting from its 42. But Iowa Western’s Kaden Wetjen muffed the punt, giving the ball back to the Broncos at the Iowa Western 23. Two plays later, New Mexico Military had its first points on a 23-yard run by Grant for a 7-0 lead.
The Broncos also came up with a fumble recovery on Iowa Western’s first drive of the second half and took back the momentum later in the quarter stymieing a Reivers drive with an interception at the goal line.
Iowa Western (10-1) outgained the Broncos with 384 total yards. Quarterback Nate Glantz made the biggest impact, throwing for 310 yards and 2 touchdowns on 18-of31 passing. Ryan Flournoy was Glantz’ top target, generating 170 yards and both of Glantz’s touchdowns on six receptions.
The Reivers had 74 yards rushing, with Moses Bryant leading the way with 40 yards.