Aztecs win 6-3 on last second field goal
The Aztecs turn in another amazing defensive performance. Chris Johnson with an interception and Owen Chambliss with 11 tackles lead the way. Defense holds Huskies to 170 total yards of offense.
Aztecs place kicker Gabe Plascencia kicked a 25-yard field goal as time expired to give the Aztecs a spirited 6-3 victory over Northern Illinois. The Aztecs (3-1) used swarming defenses to corral most of the offensive efforts by both teams. Northern Illinois (1-3) struggled to gain just 170 yards of offense, including only 57 yards through the air. 13,512 announced fans witnessed the defensive struggle on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. The Aztecs move to 7-0 alltime against NIU.
Plascencia has now kicked 17 consecutive field goals, the second-best active streak in the FBS. He has made 22 of 23 for his career. His winning kick was set up by a Huskie short punt giving the Aztecs the ball on their own 44. Lucky Sutton would be the workhorse on the drive, ripping off carries of 13, 3, 22, 4 and 3 yards. The Huskies then committed an offsides infraction giving the Aztecs a first down at the NIU 6. Senegal took a knee and Coach Sean Lewis milked the clock down to two seconds. Plascencia calmly knocked the 25 yarder through the middle of the uprights and the Aztecs are back in the thick of conference discussions.
The Aztecs were very aware to avoid a mental let down from last weeks momentum shifting win against California. They started strong, holding the Huskies to a 31-yard Andrew Glass field goal. This came after a 16-play, 62-yard drive that chewed nearly 8 minutes off the clock. The Aztecs returned the favor with a 13-play, 63 yard drive that culminated with Plascencia’s first field goal of 30 yards. Both teams would exchange punts multiple times and wound up heading into halftime tied at three. Coach Lewis commented on the effort by saying,
“The guys did a good job of rallying together and when we needed a drive where able to rely on those big boys up front and Lucky being able to create some dirty yards and explosive runs to set us up.”
Lucky Sutton was able to help sustain the Aztecs ground game with 88 yards on 17 carries. “Lucky did a great job” said Lewis. Jayden Denegal was 13-20 passing for 110 yards but with two interceptions. The Aztecs opening drive was stalled by an interception, but held the Huskies to a three-and-out. The next drive saw Denegal sacked and spun to the ground, which facilitated him leaving with a trainer. Both teams continued to excel in their punting teams. Early in the fourth period, Senegal returned and drive them down to the NIU 34 yardline, but the drive stalled out. With a fourth-and-1, Senegal tried to hit tight end Seth Adams but NIU safety Jasper Beeler grabbed it for an interception.
More punts continued and as time was winding down, NIU punter Danny Vuckovich only managed a 37 yard kick which left San Diego State in good field position for their game winning drive.
Coach Sean Lewis said “It feels great. It’s what good teams do. They find a way on the road to score one more point than the other guys.” AztecFast was designed to have a quick-paced, high tempo offense. The term may have to take on a new iteration as Fast has morphed into rock, solid, tough defense. The Aztecs offense only managed 65 plays while holding the Huskies to 56 plays. All fingers are pointing to an Aztec defensive resurgence. We’ve had that before with a non-existent offense, but this time it feels just a little bit better.
AZTEC TAKEAWAYS
This game was defense personified. Another Chris Johnson interception. Owen Chambliss with 11 tackles. Players are stepping up. The effect of Trey White has yet to be felt. The defense forced seven NIU punts for a 42.6 yard average. The Aztecs have their own punting weapon in Hunter Green who had a 47 yard average with 5 inside the 20. It has become a game of field position. The Aztecs are confident in not giving up the big play and they are able to hold offenses to punts. The season has seen two shutouts, a three point game and an aberration against Washington State where they gave up 36 points. That in hindsight could be a good wakeup call. Keep focused on each opponent and play your game plan. It seems to be working for the Aztecs right now.
NEXT OPPONENT IS THE CONFERENCE HOME OPENER AGAINST COLORADO STATE ON FRIDAY OCTOBER 3.
The Aztecs are back home to take on conference rival Colorado State in the Mountain West opener for both teams. The Aztecs enter the game as heavy favorites against a 1-3 Rams team that has struggled to find a way to win. They played well in the opener against Washington, dropping a 38-21 game. Next week they barely escaped a win over instate-rival Northern Colorado, winning 21-17. Next was a one point home loss to UTSA and this past weekend was a thumb down against Washington State who really is not a good team. The Friday night game is at 7:30 at Snapdragon Stadium.
AROUND THE MOUNTAIN WEST
There were several games being played and again, everything is clear as mud in many cases. One conference game was played with Hawaii being Air Force 44-35. The Warriors won’t go away and look to be a bowl contender. Air Force, meanwhile, has regressed and will probably be near the basement in the conference standings. Boise State hosted App State and took care of business 47-14. Watch out for the Broncos as they head into conference play. New Mexico defeated rival New Mexico State 38-20 in a highly entertaining game. The Lobos are another team that might make headway in the conference. Utah State had a valiant effort against SEC school Vanderbilt, but the Commodores were too much, winning 55-35. Colorado
State dropped a 20-3 game against Washington State. They have many serious questions as conference play begins. Finally, San Jose State travelled to Stanford out of the ACC. The Spartans led most of the game but gave up 16 points in the fourth quarter as the Cardinal had the winning score with 19 seconds left in the game. The Spartans fell 30-29. They have questions about their kicking game, as their place kicker missed two makeable kicks that would have given the Spartans the victory. They also lost their first game with kicking issues. If these can be figured out, the Spartans might see improvement, but until then, they are falling in the standings.
The following week will have some conference games which will go along way to establishing benchmarks in the standings. New Mexico travels to San Jose, which now looks like it coulde be a very entertaining game. UNLV is back in play, travelling to Wyoming in what will be a real test for the Rebels. Nevada travel to Fresno in what looks like a Wolfpack BBQ in Fresno. Air Force travels to Navy in a battle of running games. Finally, a big one is on tap with Boise State travelling to Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish are playing good football now. The Broncos have turned the corner. Notre Dame is favored 92% to 8%. I think the game will be closer than that and could in fact be a Boise State upset. The Broncos have a knack of winning the big game. This is about as big as it gets. The Irish are coming off of a 56-13 trouncing of Arkansas and then face NC State the following week. This looks to be an intriguing game. For the MWX, go Boise!
The Aztecs have found their momentum, and it’s a familiar place, their defense. Giving up 3 points in 3 of the last 4 games is convincing. Keep and maintain the defensive game plan and some big offensive plays will happen. The Aztecs are peaking as conference play begins, which is more than what can be said for a few other MWC teams.
Category: General Sports
