Peter Dindinger – NMMI Sports Press
On paper, most critics thought it would be a classic shootout between Tyler Junior College quarterback General Booty, one of the nation's top passers, and the unblemished No. 6 ranked New Mexico Military Institute Bronco football team.
Well, they were wrong.
The Bronco defense grabbed three interceptions off Booty to help guide the offense to a dominating 49-13 victory over the Apaches on Saturday evening at the Wool Bowl.
"It's awesome just to see the guys come out and get the results we're looking for," said NMMI head coach Kurt Taufa'asau. "Give credit to our players and also to our staff for showing up every day, sacrificing the time away from their families to come and bring this team together."
NMMI (6-0 overall, 4-0 Southwest Junior College Football Conference) got off to a slow start on offense.
The Apaches capped off an eight-play drive with a 21-yard field goal by Matthew O'Brien with 5:42 in the opening quarter.
NMMI answered back on a quick three-play, 52-yard drive that resulted in a 33-yard touchdown pass from Diego Pavia to Jaylin Smith with less than 33 seconds on the clock.
To start the second quarter, Tyler cut the deficit to one on a 29-yard field goal by Shea Yurkunas.
After a 54-yard catch by Malik Phillips, the Broncos were in good field position at the Tyler 12. Phillips later found the end zone with a six-yard run to extend NMMI's lead to 14-6 with 12:05 remaining in the second quarter.
Tre O'Guinn grabbed an interception on Tyler's first play of its next offensive series.
The Tyler miscue led to a six-yard touchdown pass from Pavia to Smith with 8:59 remaining.
Joseph Norwood picked off two interceptions in the first half to spoil the Apache offense.
Tyler (3-3, 2-2) got the ball to start the second half as it ended up punting away on fourth-and-five. Lemario Larry returned the punt for a 77-yard touchdown run to make the score 28-6.
With Booty on the sidelines for the majority of the second half, backup quarterback Landry Kinne entered the game.
The Bronco defense got a key sack from Edy Dos Santos and a fourth-and-13 stop to help the offense generate a six-play, 60-yard drive.
Anthony Grant capped it off by barreling into the end zone on a two-yard run to increase the Broncos' lead to 29 points with just under five minutes left in the third quarter.
Tyler finally put together its first touchdown drive that resulted in a three-yard connection from Kinne to Nick Rempert.
NMMI answered back on four quick plays. Grant found the end zone once more, this time from eight yards out to make the score 42-13 at the end of three.
The Broncos punched it one last time with a three-yard run by Patrick Charles with four minutes left in the ballgame.
NMMI compiled 423 yards of offense, 244 of which came on the ground.
Pavia completed 12 of 22 passes for 179 yards with two scores while he rushed for 85 yards on nine carries.
Grant had eight carries for 60 yards and two touchdowns while Smith reeled in six receptions for 92 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Phillips finished with two carries for 31 yards along with three catches for 67 yards.
Booty was held to 141 yards passing as he completed 11 of 23 passes.
NMMI hosts Cisco College at 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 23. Cisco edged Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, 14-12.
Just like every conference game, every given Saturday is a grind, which is nothing foreign to the Broncos.
"It just goes to show what we can do as a team. There's still room to improve," added Taufa'asau. "There's a reason why this place is called the grindhouse. We're just trying to build on it and keep stacking bricks."