Tuesday, November 30, 2021

NM State Aggies vs UMass Minutemen Football 11-27-21 Part 1


It was a battle between two 1-10 teams, but they had something to play for.  Were the Aggies or the Minutemen going to be the worst Division I FBS Football team this season?  That was how they were selling the game on the radio pregame.  It was going to be between two teams trying desperately not to lose. 

 

The other way they were selling the game was free tickets to Aggie Men’s Basketball.  For a $10 football ticket, they’d give you two tickets to the New Year’s Day game.*  (* The game will be against Chicago State and likely be uncompetitive.  Also, they will be the cheap seats in the upper bowl.)  All that said, what a deal!  During the last basketball game radio broadcast, they promoted the heck out of this offer. 

 

I told Ron about the football game.  I wasn’t sure if he was recovered from his cold enough to go, so I was mostly asking if he’d be interested in the basketball game later.  Ron wanted to go, though.  I was also concerned about the weather as the forecast was for rain.  Ron dismissed this as well.  He said the rain would happen at night and it would be sunny during the day.  Ron was right there.  It was a beautiful, cloudless day.  For late November, it was even warm out in the sun with only a slight cool breeze.

 

We drove by the Pan-Am Center first.  The Aggie Pride Band was performing by the side of the building to a gathered crowd.  There were several groups tailgating in the football parking lot and quite a few parked there, however, we ended up parking right near the stadium.  This felt like a bad sign for attendance.  Indeed, even Ron was a bit shocked when we got inside the sparsely occupied stadium. 

 

A lot of the students were still on Thanksgiving break.  Given the team’s record, it wasn’t surprising that the fans weren’t in attendance.  (They were probably watching the Michigan/Ohio State game, as I would have been if it had been raining here.)  Club 27 on the east side of the stadium only had a handful of fans.  (It was so nice out, most were sitting outside on the balcony.)  It could have been worse.  The Visitor’s section was empty.  Athletic Director Mario Moccia surveyed the crowd from the sidelines in obvious displeasure. 

 

Ron and I found some “ambiguity” on our tickets.  We might have misinterpreted the seat numbers slightly.  We found “our” seats on the fifty yard line in the lower bowl.  I thought these were much more expensive seats.  Unfortunately, there weren’t any ushers there to help direct us.  (The students being Thanksgiving break probably accounted for the absence.)  In any case, there were plenty of open seats in the area.  Nobody cared.  I probably should have bought some kettle corn at least to make up for it, but I was still recovering from my Thanksgiving food coma.  I did not need extra food in my life.

 

I guess to set up the game, I’ll recap a little.  The Aggies’ last two games were against Alabama and Kentucky.  They were brutal beatings.  I did think that the Aggies showed some grit against the Wildcats, as they picked up four turnovers in the game and held on a goal line stand for four downs.  The full program for this game was a PDF online and listed the Minutemen’s schedule.  (Only a two-sided sheet with the roster was available at the game.)  Though having the same record, their losses were even worse than ours.  The Aggies were favored in the game by six.  Unfortunately from looking at the roster, my neighbor who had transferred here for football, never made it on to the team.    

 

 

First Quarter

UMass won the toss and deferred.  The Aggies took the opening kick and drove downfield for a touchdown.  The main play was a 40-yard bomb from QB Jonah Johnson to Isaiah Garcia-Castaneda.  Running back, Juwaun Price took it in from about four yards out for the score.  7-0 Aggies.  Also during the drive, the t-shirt Gatling cannon fired into the crowd (nowhere near us). 

 

Wave, the new Wonder Dog, got his first work getting the tee after the Aggie kick.  He’d be getting a workout today.  Maybe it was a good thing that Striking had retired.  UMass took a sack deep in their end and had to punt from their endzone.  The Aggies got the ball at around midfield, but the drive went backward.  Coach Martin changed a play from the sidelines a couple of times, which ended up as a delay of game, and then Johnson took a sack.

 

There were two groups of Cheerleaders working on both ends of the field, instead of just one end.  They must have a bunch of Cheerleaders this year.  Regrettably, they weren’t working midfield where we were.  Ron was particularly disappointed.  On UMass’ next possession, they had a fourth and one on their own 35 and went for it.  Risky, but they made it.  There was a glare on the scoreboard making it unreadable for looking at the downs; I was relying on the radio call.  Ron was also disappointed that he’d forgotten his radio.  The crowd got good and loud on the next third down.  There wasn’t a huge crowd, but they were the diehards. 

 

The Minutemen would have to punt, but the Aggies ended up starting on their own five.  No problem.  Johnson tagged Andre Bodison in stride down the middle of the field for 45 yards.  Later, Terrell Warner made a couple of yards on a catch, but did it one-handed.  Impressive.  (I also found out that there are two #7’s listed on the Aggie roster.  Terrell plays on offense; DJ McCullough plays on defense.)  The First Quarter expired during the drive.             

 

Second Quarter

There was the fan hamburger-making contest in the end zone during the break with the fans dressed as buns.  It always ends amusingly.  The Aggies kept their drive going with a 20-yard pass to Bodison.  Johnson found him again right down the middle.  The Aggies were inside the ten and went for it on a fourth and one.  The radio call said the teams weren’t leaving anything on the table today.  Price took the handoff on a sweep around the end and danced into the end zone.  14-0 Aggies.

 

I was probably overdressed for the weather with my heavy coat, but I was concerned the cold wind might pickup.  I might have thought more about putting on some sunblock.  I was getting toasty on the right side of my face from the sun.  Garrett Dzuro (the “D” is silent), the UMass main quarterback, ran for 30 yards on their next possession.  Jared Chisari finished the drive with a 20-yard run for a touchdown.  (There are also two #29’s on their roster and on different sides of the ball.  Actually after looking more closely, there were a bunch of players on both teams with duplicate numbers.)  The PAT was missed, so the score was now 14-6 Aggies.  The Pride Band, who were on the Minutemen’s side of field, took to taunting them after the score.

 

The Men’s Tennis team was honored on field for winning a share of the WAC championship during the break.  UMass was offsides on their kickoff and had to re-kick.  The return ended up at the same place, the 17 yard line, but the returner took a harder hit.  A pass interference call gave the Aggies 15 yards.  A deep ball to the end zone missed.  The defender tripped on some signage running out of end zone.  The Aggies were in a fourth and four on their own 36 and went for it.  (Why not?)  Johnson made a scrambling basketball-like shot to Warner to make it.  The drive finished with Johnson finding Jared Wyatt alone in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown.  21-6 Aggies.

 

Whoa!  Who is that on the sidelines?  Is it?  Is it?  Yes, it was my favorite Sports Marketing intern, Emerson.  Maybe.  I think so.  She’s let her hair grow out and looked glamorous.  In any case, a very attractive young woman escorted Wave out on the field.  The dog was recognized by PA Ed Carnathan.  Wave jumped up and down.  He knew what was going on and hammed it up. 

 

A late hit on the sidelines and an offsides call got the ball past midfield for UMass, but then they got backed up by a false start.  Once again, there was another fourth and one on their own end of the field.  It was a good day for gambling.  They made it.  During a long delay while the officials reviewed the play, the Cheerleaders took to the field to cheer.  The Band was leaving the stands at the time, so the Cheerleaders had to work without the usual music.  Back to the action, the Minutemen’s drive was capped by an Ellis Merriweather 15-yard run for a touchdown.  21-13 Aggies.

 

There was about a minute and a half left in the half when the Aggies got the ball.  Justice Powers was open for a 33-yard reception.  Johnson found Bodison down the middle for 20 yards.  Price then scampered into the end zone from 15 yards out.  That was three plays in about 30 seconds for the score.  “Why weren’t they doing that earlier?” asked Ron.  The PAT was blocked, so the score was 27-13 Aggies.  The defense would hold on UMass’ possession, so that would be the halftime score. 

 

Continued in Part 2

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