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Las Cruces, N.M. – The University of New Mexico football team had its 2-game winning streak over arch-rival New Mexico State broken tonight in a 24-13 loss in Las Cruces, N.M. The Lobos were held to their lowest point total in 13 games and allowed a 100-yard rusher for just the fifth time since the start of the 2000 season. Lobo quarterback Casey Kelly connected on 18 of 32 pass attempts for 207 yards, while freshman running back DonTrell Moore rushed for 79 yards and a touchdown in his first start of the season.
The Aggies drew first blood in tonight’s contest when junior Dario Aguiniga connected on a career long 52-yard field goal with 8:04 left in the first quarter. The Lobos, however, would counter with their first score early in the second quarter.
After the Lobo defense forced a three-and-out, New Mexico State had to punt. The ensuing kick drifted out-of-bounds, not allowing the NCAA’s leading punt-returner, Dwight Counter, a chance to give UNM good field position. Instead the Lobos took over at their own 11-yard line with 4:36 left in the first quarter. After orchestrating two first downs, the Lobo offense sputtered and UNM was stuck with a fourth-and-inches situation at midfield. Kelly converted UNM’s first fourth down play of the season with a quarterback sneak, keeping the drive alive. Kelly then connected with receiver Joe Manning for two 15-yard pass plays. That would set-up Kelly’s second quarterback sneak of the drive, but this time it was a 2-yard gain for a touchdown and a 7-3 lead with 13:41 left in the second quarter.
The Aggies looked like they were ready to take the lead back on their next possession when quarterback Paul Dombrowski took the option for a 50-yard gain setting up first-and-goal on the Lobo’s 10-yard line. At that point the Lobo defense stepped up again, not allowing the Aggies to get the touchdown. Instead, New Mexico State had to settle for a 20-yard field goal and a 7-6 score.
The Aggies threatened once more in the first half when Aguiniga just missed a 51-yard field goal attempt with 20 seconds left. His kick had the distance but was off the mark, allowing the Lobos to go into the locker room with a 7-6 lead.
The Aggies came out in the second half with a drive that stalled at midfield, forcing the punt. UNM took over at their own 20, and Kelly immediately connected with Counter for a 20-yard gain. What looked like the beginning of a good drive for the Lobos quickly changed when Kelly was picked off by the Aggies Rich Glover at the New Mexico State 49-yard line. On the next play, Dombrowski broke off a 46-yard run, giving the Aggies first-and-goal on the Lobo five-yard line. The Lobo defense held their ground for the first two downs, but Dombrowski punched it in on the third try. Dombrowski also took an option in for the two-point conversion, giving the Aggies a 14-7 lead with 9:39 left in the third quarter. Dombrowski rushed for 136 yards on the evening, making him just the 5th opponent to eclipse the 100-yard mark against the Lobo defense since the start of the 2000 season.
New Mexico State added to its lead on the next possession when Aguiniga convert his third field goal of the game. This time it was a 42-yard kick that was set up by two fourth down conversions. The score left the Lobos trailing 17-7 with 14:50 left in the game.
The Lobos came back on its next possession with a 12-play, 80-yard march to the end- zone. Kelly connected on two 25-yard pass-plays during the drive. The first was to Counter for a first down across midfield. The other pass went to Manning, converting a third and 23 situation and giving the Lobos a first down on the Aggie 23-yard line. New Mexico then gave the ball to Moore who used four straight carries to get the Lobos the touchdown. The extra-point attempt by Matt Goldstein was wide-right, and UNM was only able to close the gap to 17-13 with 8:20 left in the fourth quarter.
The gap wasn’t closed long as the Aggies drove 80-yards on six plays on their next possession, capped off with an 8-yard run by Eric Higgins for the score. The Aggies converted the extra-point attempt and increased their lead to 24-13 with 5:03 left in the game.
After Aguiniga’s kick-off kept UNM in their own end zone, the Lobos took over on the 20-yard line. Kelly missed on his first two pass attempts but was able to connect on his next five straight throws, ending with a 6-yard play to Adrian Boyd for a first down on the Aggie 15-yard line. The Lobos couldn’t gain any yards on the first two downs, but barely missed a touchdown when Kelly’s pass attempt to Jake Farrell was just out of his reach in the end zone. Kelly was hit as he tried to pass on the fourth down attempt, turning the ball over to New Mexico State on downs.
The Lobo defense did force a three-and-out on the next New Mexico State possession, but UNM was unable to mount any offense in their final possession and turned the ball over on downs again. New Mexico State ran out the clock for the 24-13 win.
For the game, UNM allowed 181 yards on just four rushes by New Mexico State that included runs of 58, 50, 46, and 27 yards. The Aggies only managed 81 yards on their other 45 rushing attempts. Manning led the Lobos in receiving with five catches for 61 yards while Counter extended his streak of making at least one catch to 16 games. He finished with five receptions for 56 yards. On the evening the Lobos were penalized, a season-high, 12 times for 90 yards, the most in the last 16 games.
The Lobos (2-3, 0-1 MWC) next face Texas Tech in Albuquerque, N.M on Friday, September 27 at 5:00 p.m. (M.D.T.). The Aggies (1-2, 0-0 Sun Belt) travel to Athens, Ga. for a match-up against Georgia on Saturday, September 28 at 11:00 a.m. (M.D.T.).a