New Mexico Lobos vs Sam Houston State Bearkats Football Recap

Sam Houston State 48, New Mexico 45

It was a historic game for all the wrong reasons in Albuquerque, as a homecoming shootout with Sam Houston State ended in a 48-45 overtime loss for the New Mexico Lobos. After the game, it got even worse—or better, perhaps, if you are a suffering Lobo fan—as another turn in the Mike Locksley circus has resulted in the coach being fired on Sunday afternoon.

New Mexico was on the run – and not in a good sense – for most of this contest against an FCS opponent, but the Lobos owed their ability to even remain in the game at all to Deon Long, the wide receiver who began the contest with a 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. However, New Mexico was short on those kinds of key plays. The visitors were the ones who did almost all the dictating on Saturday.

The Lobos would surrender lots of big plays to Sam Houston State all game long, and the parade of haymakers began quite early. Bearkat quarterback Brian Bell hit Brandon Closner for a 44-yard touchdown pass, and Tim Flanders scored on a 61-yard run. Long continued to step up for New Mexico – UNM quarterback Tarean Austin found Long for touchdown passes of 25 and 54 yards. However, those two bolts of lightning merely made the score 21-all at halftime. New Mexico was keeping pace with Sam Houston State, not the other way around.

Things were looking dire for New Mexico late, as a 53-yard touchdown run by Flanders had the Bearkats up 42-28 with seven minutes left. However, reserve signal caller B.R. Holbrook came in to lead New Mexico to overtime, hitting Long on a 20-yard score with seconds remaining to force overtime. In the overtime period, the Lobos were held to a field goal, and Sam Houston State scored a touchdown on a Flanders run to claim the 48-45 win. SHSU rushed for 373 yards in the game, including 194 yards from Flanders. Long finished with nine receptions for 209 yards and three touchdowns, on top of the kickoff return for a touchdown.

After the game, news from Albuquerque came that a teenager who claimed to be a UNM recruit, Joshua Butts, was arrested for driving under the influence in an SUV registered to Locksley, the Lobo head coach who has been immersed in legal troubles and various unsavory incidents throughout his tenure in the Land of Enchantment. This news, the loss, and Locksley’s 2-26 record at New Mexico led to his firing on Sunday. Assistant George Barlow will be interim coach for the remainder of the season for New Mexico.

> Find a great selection of New Mexico Lobos apparel & merchandise online as well as the MWC Football Scoreboard!

By: Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer