The hallmark of Rocky Long coached teams is that they are mentally tough
and mentally prepared for any challenge that comes their way. Earlier this
season I asked Coach Long why he moved practices to 6AM in the morning. His
response at the time was, “we have to prepare our players for anything that
comes their way. They have to be able to adapt to anything that is thrown at
them.”
Prior to Saturday’s game all Lobo fans heard about was the Wyoming
weather! RB’s Wynel Seldon and Devin Moore, the Wyoming running back version of
“Thunder and Lightning” was the toast of the Wyoming offensive attack. In other
weather news the game was halted late in the 2nd half due to real
lightning danger as both teams and fans were cleared away.
This is where Rocky Long’s, “we have to prepare our players for anything
that comes their way” comes into play as the game delayed for nearly 2 hours.
How would the Lobos come out to end the 1st half? As an added twist,
as soon as the final 2 minutes finished the two teams would flip sides and start
the 2nd half.
Well with Wyoming’s “Thunder and Lightning” held in check (21 yards on 38
carries) and a real storm putting a scare into Cowboy fans it was “The Breeze”
that stole the show. Yes #81 Travis Brown aka T-Breezy that sprinted up
the sideline, beating his defender by a step and hauling in a perfectly thrown
ball by Donovan Porterie that ended with T-Breezy taking the rock 63 yards for
UNM’s only offensive TD.
They Call me
T-Breezy
After a quick 2-minute half time the teams switched sides and Wyoming
received the ball, both teams exchanged possessions with the Lobos getting the
better end of the deal as Jordan Scott pinned the Cowboys on their own
seven-yard line. Next play Wyoming QB Karsten Sween fumbled the exchange and
Lobo safety Ian Clark scooped up the ball and scored the Lobos’ 2nd
TD of the game.
Toss in a pair of field goals by John Sullivan and the final score was
20-7 and the 2007 like most Rocky Long coached football teams proved once again
that mental toughness and mental preparedness can and will win games.
Now I’ve written a lot about the scores, but how can you discount the
play of the Lobo defense. Wyoming was the “hottest” team in the MWC as of late
and the Lobo defense toyed with them. Wyoming’s Thunder and Lightning were held
in check and the player that suffered the most damage because of it was Wyoming
QB Karsten Sween, who was eventually sat down after receiving two big shots by
Lobo defenders.
The 1st blast by Sr. Major Mosley as Sween tried to run for
the first down. After being tied up down low as Sween made a lunge The Major
dropped a massive forearm down on Sween flattening him! At first it looked like
a helmet to helmet deal, but in one of the few replays the Mtn showed today it
was obviously a clean hit. Mosley got up, Sween was hearing birdies and seeing
stars. Sween tried to come in one more time, but he just didn’t look right in a
couple of pass attempts that went awry, and in a subsequent scramble found
himself in Frankie Solomon’s crosshairs as the young Soph lowered his shoulder
pads and flattened the Wyoming QB out for the final blow…
It wasn’t just Major and Frankie laying the lumber as Glover Quin showed
that he has recovered nicely thank you very much… as he layed out Wyoming
receiver Michael Ford. Credit to Ford, he held onto the ball after the textbook
tackle by Glover. Still the Ooohs and Aaahs that the tackle elicited from the
crowd at SneakerZ were well worth it.
Some odds
and ends
How good are our safeties? Well… Out of the top 5 tacklers this afternoon
4 of them were safeties as Ian Clark not only scored a TD, but he was also in on
8 tackles.
Did anyone see DeAndre Wright slap the ball out of Wyoming receiver’s
hands? DeAndre was the shut down CB we love to see around here.
If you go to practice, you always here Coach Troy Reffet screaming, “come
on Lo-Vaato! Come on Lo-Vaato! You know today Reffet was screaming that as
Jeremiah Lovato finished the day with 5 tackles and was very dominant in the
middle of the line.
Is it just me or do we no longer hear… John Sullivan has tough shoes to
fill… Seems like the next kicker is going to be hearing that in ’08.
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today’s podcast from SneakerZ
All photos are AP Photos