On Saturday afternoon, New Mexico Military Institute opened Southwest Junior College Football Conference play with an impressive 36-22 win over No. 12 Kilgore College on the NMMI campus at Colt Field. With the win, the Broncos improve to 2-1 with a 1-0 to conference play while Kilgore dips to 0-1 in conference play with a 1-1 overall record.
Q1
The game opened up with four consecutive punts as neither side could establish any rhythm early on. On the third offensive drive for the Broncos Jake South was intercepted by Brayden West to get Kilgore back on the field. From the NMMI 13 yard line, Kilgore used one play to take a 7-0 lead with a 13-yard rushing touchdown by James Johnson.
On the ensuing kickoff, Geramyah Porter returned the ball for a 99-yard touchdown to knot the game at 7-7 with 4:33 remaining in the opening quarter.
Q2
On the second defensive drive for NMMI of the quarter, Ricky Harding came up with his first interception to set the Bronco offense up at the 14-yard line after a nifty return. From 14 yards out, Jake South scrambled for his first touchdown of the afternoon to put the home team ahead 13-7 after a failed extra point attempt by Daniel Skoog with 9:31 left in the half.
The Broncos were able to keep Kilgore from scoring any points the rest of the quarter. Late in the half, Ricky Harding picked off Jahrik Jones for the second time of the half. However, NMMI would give the ball away in the next two plays as Wyatt Gomez fumbled.
Q3
The Broncos opened the second half with a 12-yard punt that set up Kilgore in excellent field position. In just one play, Liam Oczkowski found Devontae Mozee from 51 yards out to give the Rangers a 14-13 advantage with 10:24 remaining in the third quarter.
In just six plays, the Broncos responded with a 47-yard touchdown pass from Jake South to Samuel Monfre to put NMMI back on top 20-14 with 6:41 left in the third quarter. The remainder of the quarter saw both punt the ball back to the opposing offense.
Q4
Up by six, NMMI opened the final period with a 12-play, 39-yard drive to chew off just over six minutes on the clock. The drive was capped by a 38-yard field goal by Daniel Skoog to put the Broncos ahead by two possessions with 6:33 remaining in the contest.
After forcing a quick punt, Dylan Donahoe took three consecutive handoffs before finding the end zone on a three-yard rushing touchdown to give NMMI a 30-14 lead. However, Kilgore answered with a 9-play, 65-yard drive, capped by a 4-yard rushing touchdown by Liam Oczkowski to make a 30-22 ball game.
On their next offensive possession, it took just three plays for Dylan Donahoe to find the end zone with a 47-yard breakaway run to secure the 36-22 win for the Broncos.
On the ground, Dylan Donahoe led the way with 14 carries, 120 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Through the air, Jake South went 12-for-22, for 146 yards to go along with a passing and rushing touchdown. Samuel Monfre led all receivers with 74 yards on just three catches. On the defensive side, Ricky Harding had a pair of interceptions while Hammond Russell V tallied 11 total tackles to lead the way for the Broncos.
Second year Head Coach, Oliver Soukup on the win, "Good to start 1-0 in conference play, Kilgore is always a top dog in the conference, so getting a win – at home is good. I'm proud of the guys on how they were composed following the lighting delay and other conditions, we did a great job of coming back out and finishing it off," Soukup said. "Geramyah Porter, dude is a weapon. He does a great job when he has the ball in his hands and we try getting it to him any way we can … the kickoff return was big because they had just scored, so it was an immediate answer and I was really proud of them for the response," Soukup said.
UP NEXT
The Broncos hit the road for the first time this season as they travel to take on Blinn College on Saturday, Sept. 20, with kickoff slated for 7 p.m. CDT in Brenham, TX.