November 25th, 2024 3:00pm
LSC Playoff Round 1 Recap
Butt-head: Whoa. I think just figured something out, Beavis.
Beavis: What?
Butt-head: This sucks.
Beavis: Yeah. It really sucks.
- Beavis and Butt-Head Do America
I have to tell you, I wasn’t expecting this, not at all. Sure, I picked Western Colorado, but I also thought CWU had a legitimate chance to win, and they did. They needed a better third quarter and to get points when they have a drive of nearly 9 minutes long. And Angelo State – I knew Bemidji State was going to bring the defense even without star defensive end Marcus Hansen, but to grind out a win on the ground by wearing out the Angelo State defense with their back-up quarterback – that surprised me.
Bemidji State wins at Angelo State 24-14
Angelo State started this game out fine – their first drive had gone 51 yards and they were facing a fourth-an-3 at the Bemidji State 24-yard line. Deciding that it was best not to try a field goal, Braeden Fuller called his own number but was stopped a yard short of the line to gain by Darnell McCrea.
The Rams would gain all of 10 more yards of offense for the rest of the first half.
Even with the offensive problems, the game was tied 7-7 early in the second quarter thanks to a Quentin Lucas punt block that set up the Rams at the BSU 1-yard line followed by Alex Wyatt scoring on a 1-yard run on the following play. BSU would answer with their best drive of the game, a 14-play, 75-yard drive capped by a 9-yard touchdown pass from Sam McGath to Brice Peters to put the Beavers back up 14-7.
The score would remain that way until the 12:05 mark of the fourth quarter, when Fuller, on the second play after BSU missed a 36-yard field goal, panicked under the Beaver defensive line pressure and threw maybe the worst pass he has thrown all season, a high-arching pass toward midfield that looked more like a punt than a pass which was (for the first time all season) intercepted. Isaiah Johnson took the ball at his own 40-yard line and brought it to the ASU 36, where the Beavers would convert on the field goal attempt to make the score 17-7.
But ASU wasn’t dead, as Fuller led the Rams on their best drive of the day, a 10-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that ended with an 8-yard touchdown catch by Corey Sandolph. After both teams turned it over on downs on their next possession, back-up quarterback Connor Carver, who came in as a running option at quarterback, broke through a tired ASU defense (which was missing top player Eric Rascoe due to an injury) for a 59-yard touchdown run that would have many ASU fans remembering the big runs John Matocha made against them in their matchups with Colorado Mines. Now down 24-14, a last-second attempt at an ASU rally ended with another interception of Fuller by Johnson in the end zone with 51 seconds left, and the Beavers took to the victory formation.
This game was very much like last year’s Bemidji State 10-3 win over UTPB, where the BSU defense was the star of the game. The Beavers won despite throwing for just 31 yards, but they ran for 231 yards. They were able to keep the Rams defense on the field despite going 2 for 15 on third down. The BSU defense also kept the Rams offense from moving the ball consistently outside of their two scoring drives. The formidable BSU defensive front held ASU to 93 rushing yards and sacked Fuller 4 times and pressured him many other times, especially on his first interception.
This game was also very much like Angelo State’s first two games of the season, where strong ASU defensive efforts kept the game close, but offensive difficulties kept the Rams out the win column in those two road games at MIAA opponents. As it turns out, ASU, who did a whole lot right in running the table in conference play, ends up with a 0-3 record outside LSC play.
Bemidji State improves to 9-3 and Angelo State’s season ends at 9-3.
Western Colorado wins at home against Central Washington 28-21
There was a lot to like for CWU in this game:
So what went wrong? Like in CWU’s other losses this season in LSC play, it was costly mistakes. In the first quarter, a Kennedy McGill (who once again led CWU in passing and rushing) fumble was recovered by WC’s Jaydon Young. Five plays later, Drew Nash, who matched McGill by being WC’s leading passer and rusher, scored on a 5-yard run for the game’s first score. Another mistake came in the third quarter with the Wildcats down 21-10. After an 11-play, 51-yard drive that took 8:35 off the clock, Cooper Britton’s 41-yard field goal try missed. CWU would get a field goal early in the fourth quarter, but the Mountaineers would answer with their best drive of the day, a 3-play, 75-yard stampede started by two Nash runs for a total of 40 yards and then a Nash touchdown pass to DJ Allen Jr. of 35 yards to put WC up two scores. CWU would answer themselves with a 2-yard Tyler Flanagan run and 2-point conversion to make it 28-21 with 2:26 left in the game, but WC was able to run the clock down to 55 seconds thanks to a leaping 26-yard catch by Josiah Ayon between 2 CWU defenders on a third-and-12 desperate heave of a pass that Nash threw up for grabs at midfield. After finally forcing a WC punt, CWU took the ball at their own 20-yard line hoping for a more-than-mile-high miracle.
That miracle was sadly not to be, as Young (as the WC defensive front had done all day) once again made a huge play by sacking McGill for a 3-yard loss and running 20 seconds off the clock. After an incomplete pass to Darrien Gaines, McGill tried for a hook-and-ladder play by completing a short pass to Tyler Flanagan, whose lateral to Marcus Cook was fumbled back to (who else?) Jaydon Young, and the Mountaineers could finally breathe easy.
In a game that was even outside of the third quarter, it was that third quarter that ultimately gave the Mountaineers’ margin of victory. Both teams had the ball twice and WC was able to come away with a touchdown while CWU missed a field goal on their only scoring chance of the quarter. Ultimately, it was those CWU mistakes that gave WCU extra chances and cost CWU time to attempt a comeback. WCU’s lone mistake that led to an empty drive, a missed field goal early in the second quarter, was not converted by CWU to any points.
Western Colorado improves to 11-1 and Central Washington’s season ends at 8-4.
Well, that’s (almost) it for the LSC season. Texas-Permian Basin still has some postseason football left when they face off against Central Missouri of the MIAA in the Heritage Bowl next Saturday. I’m guessing there will be quite a bit of offense in that one. I’ll have a preview for that game next week, which will now be the final game of the 2024 LSC season.