Sept. 28, 2008
Lobo Football
Saturday: Lobos 35, New Mexico State 24
Next: Lobos vs. Wyoming (Oct 4), 7:30 p.m., University Stadium
By Richard Stevens
Senior Writer/GoLobos.com
LAS CRUCES, N.M. – You couldn’t really say a Lobos star was born Saturday night in Aggie Memorial Stadium. But you can say a Lobos’ season that could have been turned into a falling star was given new life in a dramatic 35-24 win over downstate rival New Mexico State.
It was an improbable win in at least one way for the University of New Mexico.
The Lobos marched to Aggie town riding the young arm of redshirt freshman quarterback Brad Gruner and promptly fell into a 14-0 hole as the Aggies struck twice through the air on TDs of 84 yards and 79 yards. UNM was down two TDs less than four minutes into the game.
No big deal. The Lobos, now 2-3 on the season, kind of like it when their backs are pressed against the wall and victory seems beyond their grasp.
“I just told them that I thought it was as big a win against New Mexico State as we’ve ever had because it looked so bad early,” said Lobos’ coach Rocky Long. “It looked terrible early, like it was going to be a repeat of last week (a 56-14 Tulsa win). But somehow they hung in there and made enough plays to win.”
The Lobos didn’t do anything real fancy. As Long said, they hung in there. They made a few plays. They ran the ball for 297 yards. They also kept the faith in each other and their game plan and seemed to wear the smaller Aggies down with physical play.
“There wasn’t any doubt,” said Lobo running back Paul Baker, who ran for 146 yards and one TD. “We know we have fight in us and we know we are a team with heart that will keep fighting and keep fighting until it’s all over.
“We just kept pounding and pounding the ball at them and when it works, you wear your opponent out. This was so emotional for us. We needed this one so bad. They (Aggies) came out fighting. They were at home and we knew we had to stay in there and just keep slugging with them.”
The Aggies’ main weapon Saturday night was the arm of Chase Holbrook, which struck twice on those early TDs. Holbrook had a decent night going 24-of-38 with three TDs and one interception. But Holbrook only pushed the Aggies into the end zone once in the second half.
The leadership award in this win probably should go to Gruner, who marched the Lobos on drives of 80 yards and 58 yards in the fourth quarter to pull UNM out of a 24-16 hole and into a 28-24 lead. The Lobos final TD, a 44-yard run by James Wright, came with 48 seconds to play when UNM was simply trying to run out the clock.
“I would say those were senior drives,” Gruner said of the two key UNM drives that gave the Lobos the lead. “But I had a lot of leadership behind me. It was the guys on the field who helped me get through this.”
A key play on the drive that pulled UNM to within two points at 24-22 was a 46-yard keeper by Gruner. Two plays later, Gruner hit Jermaine McQueen on an 18-yard TD pass. McQueen pulled the ball in near the left sideline, juked his way past an Aggie defender, and leaped into the end zone. UNM went for a 2-point conversion, but Gruner’s pass was incomplete.
“That run felt good,” Gruner said of his 46-yard dash. “I got a little winded at the end. I ran the option in high school, so that play felt pretty familiar. This was such a good win for us. This feels so great because a lot of people were relying on me, but mostly I feel good for all these guys.”
Another key figure in the UNM win was kicker James Aho, who converted field goals from 28, 42 and 22 yards. The Lobos also got 49 yards from tailback Rodney Ferguson, who only carried the ball 15 times because of a shoulder injury. Wright, a redshirt freshman, got his first carries as a Lobo. His third UNM tote was that 44-yard TD.
Gruner went 7-of-16 out of the pocket for 55 yards and one TD.
“We’re still going to have to throw it better than we are throwing it right now to have a chance to win any more games,” said Long. “But it was good enough tonight and that’s all that matters (tonight).”
The Lobos finished with 352 yards on offense to 430 yards for the Aggies. NMSU, now 1-2, had 48 yards on the ground. The Lobos’ ground game dominated the time of possession battle clocking out at 38:34 to 21:20 for NMSU. UNM had 23 first downs to 15 for the Aggies. Neither team lost a fumble and both Gruner and Holbrook had a single interception.
The Lobos next play Wyoming in UNM’s homecoming game this Saturday at University Stadium.
The Lobos were down 17-10 at the half, but outscored NMSU 25-7 in the second half.
The drive that pulled UNM into a 24-22 deficit was first kept alive on a pass interference call handing UNM a first down on the Lobos’ 34-yard line. Gruner then went around the left side for 46 yards and UNM was knocking on the Aggies’ door at the 20-yard line. Gruner got the Lobos’ into the end zone hitting McQueen on the left sideline. McQueen put a move on the Aggies’ defender, kept his balance and did some pay back by diving into the NMSU end zone.
The Lobos went for the two-point conversion but Gruner’s pass was behind the receiver and the Lobos trailed NMSU 24-22 with 10:16 to play in the game. The Lobos’ scoring drive went 80 yards.
The Aggies went three-and-out on the next offensive series. The Lobos and Gruner took over at the UNM 42-yard line with 8:40 to play. Time was getting short, but the Lobos were looking at a short field.
A key play on the drive came with 6:21 to play and UNM looking at a 3rd-and-41. Gruner rolled out to the right and hit tight end Chris Mark for the first down. Baker then went for another 10 yards and UNM had a 1st-and-10 at the NMSU 25-yard line. Baker again went 10 yards for a first at the 15-yard line.
Baker finally got some rest and Wright went up the middle on his first career carry as a Lobo. Wright went eight yards to the NMSU 3-yard line.
Baker came in a bit fresher and sprinting around the right side and into the end zone to push UNM into its first lead of the game at 28-24. UNM went for the 2-point conversion and failed.
The Aggies got the ball on the kickoff at their 23-yard line with 4:08 left to play – 77 yards away from the UNM end zone. The Aggies needed a TD to avoid their sixth straight defeat to UNM.
It all came down to one play for the Aggies – and for the Lobos. NMSU was looking at a 4th-and-four at its 47-yard line with 2:25 to play.
Holbrook took the ball in the shotgun position and drifted back under a harsh UNM rush. Lobo Herbert Felder III pressured Holbrook into a hurried pass that was nowhere near anybody. UNM took over on downs and appeared ready to run out the clock.
Instead, Wright used his third career carry as a Lobo to scamper 44 yards into the Aggies’ end zone. The Lobos 14-point deficit turned into a 35-24 UNM win.
“You have to give our (rushing) yardage to the offensive line,” said Baker. “They did the job all night.”
Editor’s note: Richard Stevens is a former Associate Sports Editor and sports columnist for The Albuquerque Tribune. You can reach him at rstevens50@comcast.net. Previous articles are available at The Richard Stevens Corner