October 14, 2024 |
PHOTO – Cowboys vs Aztecs – Courtesy gowyo.com
In sports, Wyoming played some of its best defense of the season, but it wasn’t enough as the Cowboys fell to San Diego State 27-24 before a big home crowd inside the War on Saturday.
With the loss, the Cowboys fall to 1-and-1 in conference play. The Aztecs improved to 2-and-0.
Playing shorthanded, the Wyoming defense bottled up the Aztecs offense for much of the first half. Wyoming took the lead at the start of the fourth quarter as quarterback Evan Svoboda, struggling to breathe through a broken nose suffered last month, ran for 51 yards and a touchdown.
Keith Kelly and Kevin McKinney had the call as Wyoming took a 24-17 lead at the 14:50 mark of the fourth quarter.
The excitement didn’t last long. The Aztecs responded quickly, scoring after two plays. The first was a 53-yard pass. The second was 27-yard toss from quarterback Danny O’Neil to Jordan Napier to cap off an 80-yard drive.
San Digo State converted the extra point. Then at the 7:35 mark, Gabriel Plascenica locked down the 27-24 win for San Diego State with a field goal.
Head Coach Jay Sawvel paced the sidelines, shaking his head in disbelief at times, during the fourth quarter. The Cowboys showed some spark with big plays like a flea flicker and a fake punt in the first half. It wasn’t quite enough, though. Wyoming’s mistakes were the difference in the game, including a missed John Hoyland field-goal, a dropped deep ball, and giving up long pass play in the fourth quarter. Outside the locker room after the loss, Coach Sawvel said his team made the miscues that added up to defeat.
The loss comes in spite of Wyoming’s season-high 371 yards of total offense—190 on the ground and 181 passing. Running back Sam Scott put up 94 yards rushing. Svoboda threw two interceptions. The Wyoming defense were led by linebacker Shae Suiaunoa with 10 tackles.
Coach Sawvel talked about the health of his team.
With the loss, Wyoming falls to 1-and-5 overall, 0-2 in conference play.
The Cowboys are on the road at San Jose State this Saturday, in an afternoon matchup. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m.
