NMMI Sports Press
The top-ranked Bronco Football team erased a 14-point deficit and then held on late to defeat the Navarro Bulldogs 40-35 Saturday at the Wool Bowl in NMMI’s first conference action of the season.
Bronco freshman quarterback Koby Muasau had another solid outing going 14-of-25 for 240 yards and three touchdowns. He also threw his first interception of the season, but the Bronco defense didn’t allow that drive to go past midfield.
Sophomore wideout Terrance Moore was the biggest recipient of Muasau’s aerial attacks with six catches for 155 yards and two scores. Tight end Jordan Mendoza hauled in three catches for 53 yards and a score.
Last week’s workhorse, running back Jeiel Stark carried the ball 23 times for 92 yards and a late touchdown to help put the game out of reach for Navarro.
“We have balance on offense,” said second-year Bronco head coach Kurt Taufa’asau after the game. “If the run game isn’t working, we have guys on the outside that can make plays and a quarterback that can operate the offense. Our guys kept fighting, executed the game plan and finished all four quarters.”
The Bulldogs came out hot with two quick scoring drives to go up 14-0 midway through the opening quarter. The Broncos responded with their own scoring drive consisting of a few rushing plays to pick up NMMI’s first new set of downs of the afternoon, followed by a 47-yard touchdown strike from Muasau to Moore.
The Bulldogs would score again before the end of the first quarter to take a 21-7 lead, but from there, the Broncos would keep Navarro off the scoreboard until late in the fourth quarter.
The NMMI defense gave up 606 total yards of offense, but still impressed their head coach with their resilience.
“There’s a lot of young guys on that side of the ball, but it’s no excuse,” he said. “I thought those guys really fought back. They held them at 21 for a long time. I don’t like giving up those last two touchdowns, but sometimes that’s just part of the game. But I liked how our guys fought back.”
The Broncos pulled within a touchdown early in the second quarter, using a 53-second drive that ended with a short Muasau pass to Mendoza, who powered his way into the end zone, dragging a Bulldog behind.
On the first play of the next Navarro possession, the defense made up for some of those yards allowed when sophomore defensive back Ghvon Furlow picked a pass by Bulldog QB Dane Jentsch and returned it 36 yards to pay dirt.
With the score knotted at 21-all, the NMMI defense stayed in control, allowing just 21 yards on the next drive and turning the Bulldogs over on downs. The Broncos took the lead on a 33-yard field goal by William Testa.
The defense kept it up with a forced fumble by Vili Taufatofua and recovery by Horacio Moronta at the Navarro 4-yard line, but the Bronco offense again settled for a Testa field goal to take a 27-21 lead with just more than six minutes left in the half. Special teams got in on the fun on the next Navarro drive as Taufatofua blocked a field goal attempt.
Both teams would miss field goals to start a relatively quiet third quarter, but the Broncos would put up six points late in the frame on a 25-yard touchdown connection between Muasau and Moore. Testa missed the PAT and the score was 33-21 in favor of the Institute.
The Bulldogs pulled within six, but Jeiel Stark’s 8-yard scoring rush put the game out of reach.
Freshman linebacker Tyler Martinez lead the Bronco defense with 10 total tackles and half a sack. Linebacker Champ Jenkins had eight tackles with half a sack and Taufatofua had seven tackles, a sack and two tackles for a loss to go along with his forced fumble and blocked field goal.
After the game, Taufa’asau told his team to expect hard-fought contests from every Southwest Junior College Football Conference opponent.
“If you don’t bring your A-game every day of the week and on Saturday, you’re gonna get beat,” he said. “It wasn’t pretty today, but credit to the guys for fighting through it. I’m proud of them for that, but it doesn’t get any easier.”
The Broncos hit the road for the first time this year to play Kilgore College in Longview, TX next Saturday at 2 p.m. MDT. The No. 6 Kilgore Rangers defeated Northeastern Oklahoma A&M 41-0 Saturday to move to 2-0 on the season.
“It’s going to be a hostile environment,” said Taufa’asau. “I think they’ll be ready for us. Last year, they came here ranked second and we took care of business, so I’m pretty sure they’ll be ready.”