Final Stats
April 10, 2004
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Junior Hank Baskett caught three passes for 98 yards, including a 77-yard touchdown late in the third quarter as the Cherry downed the Silver, 19-3, in front of 520 hardy fans in the annual University of New Mexico spring football game this afternoon at University Stadium. Heavy rains fell throughout much of the game before lightning finally forced the Lobo coaches to stop the action early in the fourth quarter.
After the Silver took a 3-0 lead five minutes into the first quarter on senior Wes Zunker’s 55-yard field goal, the Cherry scored 19 unanswered points, culminating in Baskett’s touchdown. The Clovis, N.M. native pulled in a short crossing pass from sophomore Kole McKamey, sidestepped redshirt freshman cornerback Juamar Hall, broke a tackle and raced down the sideline and into the endzone.
Sophomore Kenny Byrd connected on a pair of 32-yard field goals, sandwiched around a two-yard Daniel Ramirez touchdown to complete the scoring for the Cherry.
Ramirez led all rushers with 49 yards on 13 carries. Junior DonTrell Moore, who has been nursing a sore toe, did not play. McKamey finished with 113 yards on 5-10 passing, while senior Tali Ena was 2-6 for 19 yards in limited action for the Silver. The Cherry outgained the Silver 165-29, mostly due to three Silver turnovers, including a pair of fumbles.
Despite the poor conditions, head coach Rocky Long said he was pleased with the effort and performance of his players.
“I was pleasantly surprised that the game looked as good as it did,” said Long. “I thought they played pretty well considering the elements and the fact that the players were on split squads.”
Long also said that he felt the team began to come together and play up to the coaching staff’s expectations over the final two weeks of spring football.
“I thought the last week we had some guys start playing like Division I football players,” he said. “The next four weeks, before school ends, they’ll go back into offseason workouts. They’ll go back into the weightroom and back to running after weights. I wish we could keep practicing because I’m starting to see some bright spots develop. I just hope they’re still there when we get back on the field this fall.”
New Mexico opens the 2004 season at home on Friday, Sept. 3 against Pac-10 power Washington State. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN.