Peter Dindinger – NMMI Sports Press

To top off the homecoming weekend, the New Mexico Military Institute Bronco football team had high hopes to keep their unblemished record intact.

Unfortunately, Cisco College spoiled the festivities by notching the 38-19 upset of the fifth-ranked Broncos on Saturday afternoon at the Wool Bowl.

The Wranglers (4-3, 3-2) have now won their last three meetings against NMMI. The Broncos were trying to pick up their first win over Cisco College since Oct. 6, 2018.

Cisco's defense came up big on NMMI's first offensive series.

Patrick Charles was stopped for no gain on fourth-and-one to give the Wranglers the ball on their own 25 yard line.

The Wrangler offense was also stopped short on fourth-and-one as Travis Dixon wasn't unable to get any yardage on a carry.

NMMI was forced to punt on its next drive. A sack by Charles Gonzales and a holding penalty hurt NMMI's chances of mustering up any positive yards.

Mehki Hagens got Cisco on the board with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Jamison Greenway with 43.2 seconds in the first quarter.

The Bronco offense continued to struggle in the first half as it punted the ball away once again, this time on fourth-and-eight.

Cisco was able to put together a nine-play, 62-yard drive that resulted in a 19-yard touchdown run by Christian Mosley with just under 10 minutes to go in the second quarter.

NMMI had a punt blocked on fourth-and-25 on its next drive. Gonzales came up with the block and recovered the ball at the NMMI 20.

The Wranglers got three points out of the special teams play with a 31-yard field goal by Kaleb Cue, which made the score 17-0 with 5:27 remaining in the first half.

Taking advantage of a personal foul penalty on Cisco and a 19-yard scramble by Diego Pavia, the Broncos finally got into the end zone on a six-play drive.

Pavia punched it in from eight yards out to cut the deficit to 10 with less than 55 seconds on the clock.

The Bronco defense came away with a sack by Edy Dos Santos to end the first half.

Cisco started the second half scoring on a 16-yard touchdown pass from Hagens to Justin Hammond with 9:18 in the third quarter.

Nothing seemed to work for the Broncos on offense as they went three-and-out once again.

The Wranglers increased their lead to 24 points by capping off a quick six-play drive with a 16-yard touchdown reception by Hammond from Hagens.

After two big scrambles of 24 and 25 yards from Pavia, the Broncos scored on a five-yard touchdown pass from Pavia to Malik Phillips.

The two point conversion try was failed, making the score 31-13 with 1:16 remaining.

NMMI forced the Wranglers to punt on their next drive, spoiling a 13-play series on fourth-and-21 after a sack by William Middleton.

The Broncos took the ball 88 yards on nine plays. Pavia connected with Phillips once again, this time for a 12-yard touchdown.

NMMI tried to go for two but were unsuccessful to make the deficit 12 with 3:55 left to go in the ballgame.

Trying to spark a rally, the Broncos went for the onside kick but came up short as Dixon recovered for the Wranglers.

Cisco put the finishing touches on the game as Hagens walked into the end zone on a 17-yard touchdown with 1:03 on the clock.

The Broncos tallied 427 yards of total offense compared to 381 for Cisco.

NMMI committed 10 penalties for 104 yards.

Pavia led the Bronco rushing attack with 143 yards on 15 carries while Anthony Grant had 19 attempts for 82 yards.

Through the air, Pavia went 15 for 32 with 163 yards. Terrance Moore caught four passes for 56 yards while Phillips finished with 26 yards on four catches.

Hagens led Cisco completing 12 of 18 passes for 142 yards.

Dixon rushed for 92 yards on 21 carries while Mosley had 88 yards on 14 rushes. Hammond led the receiving corps with three catches for 34 yards.

The Broncos will have to regroup as they travel to Miami, Okla., to take on Northeastern Oklahoma A&M at 1 p.m. CDT Saturday. NEO is fresh off a 64-0 victory over nonconference opponent Gordon's Prep.