(Note: The following story was written by Albuquerque Journal Sports Editor Dan Russell and was edited by UNM Media Relations.)
Dayton, Ohio — New Mexico struck for early touchdowns in both the first and third quartersto defeat Western Michigan, 28-12 in a chilled Aviation Bowl football game.
Freezing weather, including sleet and snow, nearly grounded the inaugural (and only) Aviation contest and limited the contest to approximately 4,000 fans even though advance sales had surpassed 5,000.
New Mexico drove for two touchdowns to open the game and to also open the second half. Then it capitalized on Western errors to add the two other touchdowns.
Two fumble recoveries in the first quarter helped set up the second touchdown of the game. Chuck Cummings intercepted a pass and streaked 43 yards for the final Lobo touchdown.
Quarterback Jim Cromartie plunged for three yards for New Mexico’s first touchdown. Halfback Bobby Santiago picked up the second touchdown from 10 yards out, and Bobby Morgan also went over from the 10 for the third score.
Santiago, who suffered bruised ribs atthe end ofthe first half and saw only limited action in the second half, was voted the top back of the game. Santiago gained a total of 86 yards and had a 60-yard touchdown run nullified by a clipping penalty. Cummings was voted the outstanding lineman.
“Our kids were really up,” said UNM head coach Bill Weeks. “They came to play and they hit hard and executed well throughout. Santiago and Cummings were outstanding and I felt that Bobby Morgan had his best game of the year.”
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Western Michigan | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 12 | |
| New Mexico | 14 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 28 | |
| Scoring | ||||||
| UNM – Cromartie 3 run (kick blocked) | ||||||
| UNM – Santiago 10 run (Morgan run) | ||||||
| WMU – White 4 run (run failed) | ||||||
| UNM – Morgan 10 run (run failed) | ||||||
| UNM – Cummings 43 interception (Bradford run) | ||||||
| WMU – Cooke 5 pass from Chlebek (pass failed) | ||||||
| Statistics | ||||||
| UNM | WMU | |||||
| First Downs | 20 | 18 | ||||
| Rushing Yards | 339 | 96 | ||||
| Passing Yards | 0 | 207 | ||||
| Passing | 0-3-0 | 18-33-2 | ||||
| Total Offense | 339 | 303 | ||||
| Fumbles-Lost | 2-0 | 4-3 | ||||
| Penalties-Yards | 10-90 | 4-30 | ||||
| Punts-Avg. | 7-33.3 | 4-36.0 | ||||