The New Mexico Military Institute Bronco football team fell to the NJCAA's second-ranked team in the nation, 34-23, in Kilgore, TX.

The Broncos didn't give up a single point to Kilgore College in the entire second half, but it wasn't enough to overcome a fast Ranger start that saw NMMI trail 20-0 at the end of the first quarter.

"We just got in too big of a hole at the start of the game," said head coach Joe Forchtner. "We turned the ball over too many times, had a couple special teams mistakes: a bad snap on a punt and a fumble on a punt return. Those were things that last week were the difference when we blocked two punts. Every possession matters."

NMMI's first points came on a 12-play, 75-yard drive. Freshman quarterback Diego Pavia combined with last week's NJCAA Player of the Week, soph running back Anthony Grant, for 50 of those yards on the ground. A Pavia pass to freshman wide-out Jaylin Smith collected another 19, and the drive was capped by a 1-yard Pavia plunge into the end zone with 12:47 left in the second quarter.

NMMI finished the half with a 36-yard field goal by freshman place-kicker William Testa after a 9-play, 55-yard drive stalled at the Kilgore 19.

But in between those two Institute scores, the Rangers put up 14 more points, giving Kilgore a 34-10 lead going into the locker room at halftime.

In the second half the Bronco defense made six consecutive stops, including a 20-yard scoop-and-score by sophomore linebacker Jaden Amasiu in the waning minutes of the contest.

"We knew we weren't going to be able to get it all back at one time, it would have to be piece-by-piece," said Forchtner. "So our goal at the start of the second half was to get six defense stops and we thought we'd need five offensive scores."

The Bronco offense sputtered, however, managing a single score between a pair of interceptions, a failed fourth-and-long and a punt.

That NMMI score came on the Broncos' second possession of the game. Pavia again crossed the end zone on a keeper, this time from 2 yards out, completing an 11-play, 73-yard drive with 6:55 left in the third stanza.

"We're not gonna hang our heads," concluded NMMI's head coach. "I'll feel terrible and hate my life for about a day, but we're all going to go back to work. The only way we're going to beat Blinn is by outworking them this week."

With the loss, NMMI drops to 1-2 overall and 1-2 in the Southwestern Junior College Football Conference. They'll take on visiting Blinn College next Saturday, April 17 at Wigwam Stadium in Seminole, TX at 2:00 PM CDT.