Western State College of Colorado

    WSC Football fell to the Fort Hays Tigers in the season opener 20-45 in Kansas on Saturday, Aug. 28.  While the Mountaineers had strong opening and finishing quarters, keeping pace with the Tigers 7-7 in the first and 13-14 in the fourth, they were shut out 0-17 and 0-7 in the second and third.
    Quarterback Miles Gorham saw his first collegiate start on Saturday, producing some impressive results.  Gorham completed 21 of his 32 pass attempts to six receivers, connecting for an average of 10 yards per completion and a total of 218 yards without a single turnover.  “I think he did a really good, smart job as far as taking what the defense would give him,” said head coach Patrick Stewart, “that gave us a chance to be really successful in the game.”  Gorham also punted nine time for an average of 36.2 yards.
    Curtis Prock opened the game with an 18-yard completion in the Mountaineers' second drive of the game, one that would lead to their first touchdown scored by a 4 yard run by Germaine Daniels.  Prock closed out the game with ten receptions, five of which resulted in first downs, and a total yard count of 97.  “Curtis is a very good receiver out of the tight end position and he's also a really good blocker” said Stewart, “he stepped up in the first game.”
    WR Shaun Suttorp had five receptions over the course of the game, but the quality of his completions far outranked the quantity.  Three of Suttorp's completions were first downs and one was a nine yard reception for a WSC touchdown.  “Shaun has been one of our leading receivers throughout his time with us,” said Stewart, “and that continues to be the case.”
    In reference to the two receivers, Prock and Suttorp, Stewart said, “We're expecting those guys to be leaders for us.”
    Chris Price and Mike Reynolds led the Western defense with eight tackles and Johnny Pieper added seven tackles and a forced fumble early in the third quarter after a 50-yard punt by Gorham.  Andrew Maxcy made his mark on the Tigers late in the third when he forced a big fourth down turnover, preventing the Tigers from punting.  “We were going to block the punt,” Stewart reflected with pride, “Mike Reynolds ran in there, was in position to block the punt, and forced the punter to pull it down and run and Andrew Maxcy made the tackle.”
    There were two things that Stewart wants to see a better job from in the future; “One is, on offense, we've got to run the football.  That and our inability to stop the running game on defense were the two factors that won (Fort Hays) the game.”
    Even though we lost our first game, the Mountaineers could be looking forward to a strong season.  “Everything that led to us not winning the game is correctable,” said Stewart, “and that's what is really exciting.  Once we get those things corrected we will be in the position to be more successful.”