Posts Tagged ‘Dallas Branch’

SDSU 20, Air Force 14

Posted: October 24, 2021 in Uncategorized
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What a game, what a game, what a game.

Both defenses were pound city. Smack, hammer, slam and repeat. Get up. More is on the way.

As for the Aztec offense, meh. But, meh was good enough to win. Lucas Johnson was a serviceable 11/13. Though his 72 yards was poor. Yet, I will not complain. Greg Bell did not make an appearance until the 12:30 mark in the third quarter. In his place, Jeff Hecklinski proved a rotation of Kaegun Williams, Jordan Byrd and Chance Bell was more than effective: We gathered the occasional first down, scored now and then, and kept the ball. 229 yards of total offense was bland, but enough.

The SDSU defense was stellar plus. Kurt Mattix is a man with a plan. Swarm to the ball. Hit hard and often. Air Force had a total of 259 yards. Only 192 rushing yards. Wow-wee. Oh, yeah, 4/16 on third down. A deep bow to the Air Force receiver, #0, who dropped a pass that would have been a touchdown. Luck and talent are hard to beat. Keshawn Banks’ second quarter ankle grab of the A.F. quarterback was brilliant. Mr. Banks introduced a new form of “gotcha!”. Dallas Branch’s one-handed interception set the tone for the game. Air Force had the ball with 2:18 remaining in the fourth quarter and did nothing. By the way, congrats to Mr. Branch, Vai Kaho and Desmond Bessent for joining the starters.

3-0/7-0. Who knew?

Go Aztecs.

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Aztecs 31, Lobos 7

Posted: October 11, 2021 in Uncategorized
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I will complain first. Yes, you know who remains my subject of complaint and concern. At some point, our talented running game will not be enough to secure a close win. Passing will be required. Specifically, the type of passing featuring completed passes. Not overthrowing, under throwing and plain old missing badly passing. The first quarter was a testament to how not to complete a pass. “Do you see the wide open receiver? You will want to throw the ball ten yards beyond his hands.” To describe Mr. Brookshire’s incompletions as inaccurate is a crime. 11/24/130 is a bad first half, not a game’s worth of effort. Yet, ’tis not true for Mr. Brookshire.

336 yards of total offense was enough to beat New Mexico. No, I did not feel bad for Danny Gonzales and Rocky Long. Those two gentlemen continue to have a lot to fix in Albuquerque. The Lobos lone touchdown was defensive, thus the SDSU defense pitched the proverbial shutout. The Aztec defense stuffed the UNM run to the tune of 66 yards rushing (1.9 yards per rush) and harassed the Lobo receiving corp into a meager 127 yards or less than 5 yards a catch. 16 third down attempts yielded success on only 3 occasions. 4 sacks for 35 yards is the SDSU norm. Every little bit helps. Kudos to Dallas Branch upon his return for 5 solo tackles which included 1 for a loss of 6 yards.

The Lobos did not help themselves with a whopping 9 penalties for 86 yards. A result reflective of much frustration. I was also surprised with the decision to return each Aztec kickoff from half inside the end zone. So much for strategy.

Matt Araiza averaged a puny (for him) 48.2 yards per boot. Oh, the shame.

Yep, we are ranked. Started the game at #25. Woke up Monday morning at #24.

To San Jose we go. Remember, last year Nick Nash nipped numerous wounds upon us last year. I trust we arrive focused and motivated by bad memories.

1-0/5-0.

Go, Aztecs.