NMMI Sports Press

The New Mexico Military Institute Broncos held on for a 28-26 victory over the Lackawanna Falcons in the first annual HF Sinclair Wool Bowl Friday night in a game that had big plays and big mistakes from both teams.

"I'm proud of the way our guys fought all game," said second-year Bronco head coach Kurt Taufa'asau, who has now won a national title and a bowl game with an overall record of 21-4. "It wasn't pretty, but the guys got the job done. That's what happens sometimes when you don't play a game for two weeks, so kind of sloppy, but the guys stepped up when we needed them most."

NMMI committed 15 penalties for 170 yards, more than double the penalty yardage levied against Lackawanna. But four picks, a couple stuffed 2-point conversions and consecutive turnovers on downs helped the Broncos make up for the miscues.

Each team punted their first possession as the Broncos and Falcons tried to shake off the rust. The first big play from the Bronco Black Swarm defense came just five minutes into the game when defensive back Horacio Moronta picked a Lackawanna pass at midfield and returned it to the 21-yard line.

The Broncos failed to score on their ensuing drive, missing a long field goal. Lackawanna took advantage of the good field position as Falcon quarterback Barry Brown completed a long pass to Jordan Sellers down to the NMMI 8-yard line. Brown ran it in a play later, but a bad snap on the PAT cost them points that would matter later.

The Broncos responded with a 77-yard scoring drive highlighted by a 56-yard carry by speedy running back Dontrevius Jackson and an 11-yard touchdown pass from Kobe Muasau to Treyvion Beamon in the back of the end zone. William Testa booted the extra point and the Broncos took a 7-6 lead with 5:29 remaining in the opening quarter.

Lackawanna scored on their next drive to make it 13-7 and this time the Broncos were unable to respond in kind. Muasau was sacked twice and a trick play to wide receiver and former Roswell High quarterback Dominic Nava was sniffed out.

The Bronco defense held on the next Lackawanna drive, despite a pass interference penalty, as linebacker Vili Taufatofua chased down Brown on third-and-6, forcing a fumble and a punt from the Falcons.

But once again, the Bronco offense stalled and punted the ball back to Lackawanna. The NMMI defense brought the pain again with a Taufatofua sack followed by an interception by Lemario Larry at the Bronco 39.

With the NMMI offense needing a boost, backup quarterback Mason Myers entered the game midway through the second quarter and immediately provided a spark. He completed three-straight passes, the first to Terrence Moore and the next two to Malik Phillips, including a 14-yard touchdown pass as Phillips streaked inside.

"Mason is a veteran and that's what a veteran quarterback does," Taufa'asau said. "You stay ready and when it's your time, you come in and do your job."

The Bronco defense came up with another big turnover on the next Falcon drive, again committing two costly penalties, but making up for it deep in their own territory as Buju Aumua-Tuisavura broke up a pass followed by another breakup from Zavier Walker that popped up the ball for Darius McClendon to make the pick.

NMMI drove the ball from their own 11 to the Lackawanna 11 before Myers was unable to corral a low snap and the Falcons jumped on it. With less than a minute until halftime, the Falcons were content to run the ball a couple times and go to the locker room.

The Broncos received the second-half kickoff and Myers got the offense rolling right away with a 28-yard completion to Phillips to start the drive and an 11-yard touchdown scramble from Myers to put the Broncos on top 21-13.

The Broncos forced a turnover on downs on the next two Lackawanna possessions and the Broncos went up 28-13 after wide receiver Treyvion Beamon wowed the Wool Bowl crowd with his speed on a 49-yard diving catch, and with his strength and skill on a touchdown catch in the back corner of the end zone that he ripped away from the defender.

"That's just the type of player Treyvion is," Taufa'asau said. "He can go off any second. And with him opposite Malik Phillips, man, I'm just glad they're on our side. Credit to the work they put in each week and paying attention to the coaches."

Both offenses went cold toward the end of the third quarter, and after a long injury timeout with the Broncos in the red zone, Myers threw a pick six to Ambrose Fletcher to make the score 28-19. The Broncos pushed the 2-point run back which was immediately followed by an unsportsmanlike penalty against the Lackawanna coaches. It was not clear what prompted the penalty.

The Broncos missed a field goal midway through the fourth quarter, but Charles Henderson extinguished another Falcon drive with an interception on a long heave by Brown. But the Broncos went three-and-out, giving the Falcons another chance with 4:30 left in the contest.

Again, penalties hurt the Broncos on a crucial drive, including an unsportsmanlike call that gave Lackawanna a first down in the NMMI red zone. From there the Falcons ran Terez Worthy three times until he found pay dirt. Lackawanna opted for the PAT kick to close the gap to 2 points.

The Broncos offense stalled again and the Falcons had one last shot with 1:41 left. The Broncos kept everything in front of them, allowing a couple short passes before linebacker Tyler Martinez tackled Worthy for no gain on fourth-and-1, sealing the victory for the No. 9 Broncos.

Myers finished the game with 249 yards on 17-of-32 passing with two touchdown passes and a touchdown rush. He was picked once and sacked once.

Phillips led the Broncos with six grabs for 107 yards and a touchdown, Beamon had four catches for 74 yards and two scores, and Moore snagged three balls for 57 yards.

Jackson led the ground attack with 10 carries for 74 yards and Jeiel Stark toted the rock seven times for 32 yards.

On the defensive side, Moronta led all tacklers with 10, including two for a loss and his 29-yard interception return. Taufatofua had 6 tackles including two sacks and a forced fumble.

After the game, Taufa'asau reflected on a season that could've gone any number of directions with so many close games.

"We could easily be sitting in the top two, but if you go back and look at our losses this year, we didn't take care of the ball," he said. "We had some special teams troubles here and there, couldn't convert in the red zone at Tyler, but I'm just glad these guys got it done tonight and can send these sophomores off on a high note."

Taufa'asau was impressed by the pomp and circumstance surrounding the HF Sinclair Wool Bowl and happy to see the community come out to support the Wool Bowl and the Broncos with by far the biggest crowd of the year and the best streaming numbers of the season.

"Shout out to the bowl committee, coach (Joe) Forchtner, the sponsors and all the people that helped make this happen," he said. "It was great to see the stands filled, all the little kids running around. This was a great event for Roswell and we hope it stays around for a long time."

Taufa'asau also thanked the NMMI administrators, athletic trainers and support staff that help keep the Bronco football program humming along.

"Big thanks to everyone that makes it possible for us to come out and play and win," Taufa'asau said. "And of course, to all my assistant coaches, all our players, all the parents that support us and their kids. None of this is possible without everyone pulling in the same direction."

Bowl director and former Bronco head football coach Joe Forchtner confirmed that the Wool Bowl will return next year.

"It'll be back for sure," he said. "General (Jerry) Grizzle (NMMI President and Superintendent) wants it back no matter what. We've been approved by the NJCAA for next year already. I don't think I've ever seen that many people at a NMMI game."