The rain came down, but it couldn’t dampen the spirits of the 29,201 in attendance at Snapdragon Stadium on Saturday who took in San Diego State University’s intrepid 17-7 win over the visiting Boise State Broncos.
There were a lot of ramifications — all good — for the Aztecs.
The win kept SDSU in sole possession of first place in the Mountain West standings at 5-1 with two regular season games to play — one game ahead of Boise State (4-2), Fresno State (4-2), Hawaii (4-2), New Mexico (4-2) and UNLV (4-2).
Moreover, SDSU improved to 8-2 overall on the season with a bowl berth all but assured.
Still smarting from a 38-6 drubbing at Hawaii on Nov. 8, the Aztecs never trailed in the ballyhooed matchup against the Broncos. Quarterback Jayden Denegal scored on a one-yard run early in the second quarter. The visitors tied the game, 7-7, on a nine-yard run by Dylan Riley midway through the quarter before Denegal reached the end zone again on an eight-yard run with 1:10 to play in the first half.
Gabriel Plascencia made it a 10-point spread with a 47-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter.
With the wet field conditions, the emphasis was on the running game for the Aztecs, who logged just 17 passing yards as opposed to 277 rushing yards in the rugged contest.
“That was a lot of fun, great effort, great enthusiasm, great passion from the boys,” SDSU head coach Sean Lewis said. “I’m really proud of the discipline in a game like that where there’s a lot of emotion, our guys played with passion, they played with emotion, but they did not get emotional. I’m really pleased with how all three phases played together.
“I believe that we won situational football that really opened the game in some critical areas. We were able to limit their run game and lean on ours on a night when the good Lord thought it would be a good idea to rain for most of the night. I really appreciate the fans who came out and braved the elements. They did a great job of creating some awesome energy and an excellent environment for our guys to feed off.”
Lucky Sutton (Cathedral Catholic) rushed for 150 yards to break the 1,000-yard mark for the season, the 20th different Aztec to do so in program history. He currently has 1,048 rushing yards for the season, which is good for No. 23rd in Aztec history. It’s his fifth 100-yard rushing game his season.
“It feels great to pass 1,000 rushing yards, but I’ll say that I’m just really grateful and thankful for the offensive line,” said Sutton, who was named as a semifinalist for the Doak Walker Award as one of 10 on the list for top running back in the country. “I wouldn’t have gotten there without them, and they’ve done an incredible job turning around since last year. I’m really thankful for them. I can’t do anything without them, so it’s their achievement. I’m really proud of that.”
The loss was the second consecutive for Boise State while SDSU snapped a three-game losing streak against the Broncos, who defeated the Aztecs 56-24 last year.
Eastlake alumnus Trey White logged seven tackles, five unassisted, in the win over the Broncos while Hunter Green averaged 45.0 yards on six punts
Helix grad Christian Washington rushed for 98 yards on nine carries, including one 41-yard burst
SDSU hosts San Jose State (2-4 MW, 3-7 overall) this Saturday at 7:30 p.m. before traveling to New Mexico on Nov. 28.
The Old Trapper MW championship game is scheduled Dec. 5.
Red and Black
Plascencia was named this week as one of 20 semifinalists for the Lou Groza Award as the top place-kicker in the country. He has made 17 of 19 field goal attempts for an 89.5 field goal percentage and all 26 PATs.
Mountain West Standings
SDSU 5-1, 8-2
Fresno State 4-2, 7-3
Boise State 4-2, 6-4
New Mexico 4-2, 7-3
UNLV 4-2, 8-2
Hawaii 4-2, 7-3
Utah State 3-3, 5-5
Air Force 2-4, 3-7
Wyoming 2-4, 4-6
San Jose State 2-4, 3-7
Colorado State 1-5, 2-8
Nevada 1-5, 2-8
JC Football
Patriotic Bowl: The Southwestern College Jaguars (7-3) will host the Moorpark Raiders (6-4) in Saturday’s Caoches Fight Cancer Patriotic Bowl. Kick-off is 4 p.m. The Jags are coming off a 27-20 win over Chaffey to close the regular season.
Southwestern has averaged 35.3 points per game on offense this season. Primary quarterbacks include Brayten Silbor (1,445 passing yards, 15 touchdowns) and Ty McCutcheon (1,122 passing yards, 11 touchdowns).
National Southern Conference
Saddleback 7-0, 9-1
El Camino 6-1, 8-2
Riverside 5-2, 7-4
Southwestern 4-3, 7-3
San DIego Mesa 3-4, 4-6
Palomar 2-5, 3-7
Mt. San Jacitno 1-6, 3-7
Chaffey 0-7, 1-9
MLS: San Diego FC
Will the magic continue?
San Diego FC has announced its upcoming Major Soccer League Western Conference semifinal match against Minnesota United FC has sold out in advance of the teams’ single-elimination playoff match on Monday, Nov. 24, at Snapdragon Stadium.
The winner advances to the conference championship match.
The San Diego MLS expansion team passed its first playoff test by eliminating the Portland Timbers in the teams’ best-of-three Round One matchup. The locals captured the series opener, 2-1, on Oct. 26 but Portland knotted it up with a 3-2 kicks-from-the mark win in Oregon on Nov. 1.
San Diego advanced with a 4-0 home field win on Nov. 9 as Andreas Dreyer and Amahi Pellegrino each scored two goals.
