Aztec "D" Steps Up
Report from Pima: ROSWELL, NM - The Pima Community College football team traveled to Roswell, New Mex. Saturday afternoon to take on the Broncos of New Mexico Military Institute in a WSFL conference matchup. The Aztecs, once again, put some points on the board but lost by a final score of 27-51.
The Aztecs are still looking for some consistency on defense but versus the Broncos the defense was able to make the big plays as Patrick Medina, (FR, Tucson, Ariz., Sunnyside HS); Bennie Thomas, (SO, Riviera Beach, Fla., Suncoast HS); and Victor Umeh, (SO, Arlington, Tex., Seguin HS) each ran fumble returns to the endzone.
"We struggled a bit on defense, but I am very proud of our physical play," said head coach Bill Laslett. "We made some hard hits, then capitalized and recovered some fumbles forced by those hits." The Aztecs other score came on a 26 yard pass play when quarterback Ryan Morgan, (FR, Tucson, Ariz., Pusch Ridge Christian Academy) hooked up with Chris Barnard, (FR, Dunedin, Fla., Dunedin HS). Morgan went 2-4 on the game passing for 33 yards.
Armando Pena, (FR, Yuma, Ariz., Cibola HS) took the bulk of the Aztec snaps as he went 9-20 with 84 yards of passing. The Aztecs only managed 211 yards of offense but the defense tried to help out by putting the three touchdowns on the board. "This was our second highest amount of points that we have scored this year," said Laslett. "We are getting better each week despite a lot of injuries and young
mistakes. I am very proud that these guys continue to play right to the end of each game; it shows a lot of heart and fight." The Aztecs will return home next Saturday as they will take on the number one team in the nation, Snow College. Kickoff is set for 2:00 pm at Amphi high school in Tucson.
Report from NMMI: Roswell, NM -- New Mexico Military Institute returned home after playing five of their first six football games on the road to treat the Corps of Cadets to a 51-27 victory over the Pima Community College Aztecs. The win snaps a five-game losing streak for NMMI and marks their firstconference win of the season.
The Broncos got two touchdown runs from Ovie Esalomi in the first quarter. His first score went for 4-yards while his second came from 68-yards out. NMMI extended their lead to 21-0 early in the second quarter when quarterback Stephen Baca connected with receiver Darrell Armstead for a 23-yard touchdown pass.
Troy Seivwright-Adams returned a Pima punt 55-yars for his second punt return touchdown of the season to extend the NMMI lead to 27-0. Pima could do little to muster any offense in the first half. I was their defense that did all of the scoring. Pima managed to recover two NMMI fumbles and return them 45 and 40 yards for two touchdowns in the second quarter. They would score their third touchdown of the game in the fourth quarter with another fumble recovery. This one went for 20-yards.
Despite the turnovers, the Broncos righted their ship picking up two touchdowns from running back Shandon Augustus and another from fullback Cortae Minor. NMMI rolled up 389 yards on the ground to Pima's 50. Esalomi led the Broncos with 143 yards and two scores on 16 carries. Minor just missed the century mark; he totaled 97 yards on 22 caries.
The NMMI defense limited Pima to 157 yards of total offense and one score while sacking the quarterback 6 times for a loss of 29 yards. Pima's three fumble returns for touchdowns went for 105 yards. The Broncos move to 2-5 on the season and 1-3 in the Western States Football League. Pima drops to 1-7 overall and 0-5 in conference. The Broncos host Arizona Western next weekend in their Homecoming game.
