EL PASO — College debuts, or debuts of any kind, don’t get much better than the one David Vega had for the NMMI Broncos on Saturday. Vega went 14 for 21 for 335 yards and three touchdowns in his first career collegiate start as the Broncos rolled over the Monterrey Tech Rams 55-19.
NMMI head coach Jeff Lynn was pleased with his freshman’s performance.
“You know, he just played the way that he has practiced up to this point,” he said. “He is very accurate with the football. They were loading the box and I told him he’d have to make plays and he did. He did a good job.
“He stepped up and did a really good job for us. You start a freshman quarterback and you usually make sure to call plays to put him in a rhythm and make sure he has success. I did not feel like I had to do that with David. I felt like I was playing with a two-year kid. He has played in a lot of big games over in Goddard and I don’t think the stage was too big for him.”
For Vega, trying to execute the offense trumped any nerves the signal caller may have had.
“I was just trying to execute,” he said. “I wasn’t too nervous because I’ve taken a lot of the first-team snaps. We had a scrimmage last week, so I was kind of expecting what was out here. The speed is a lot faster and the players are a lot bigger, but I was just focused on executing on offense.”
NMMIs Tracy Craft looks for a hole in the Monterrey Tech defense during the Broncos win over the Rams, Saturday. (Lawrence Foster Photo)
The Bronco defense opened the game by forcing a Ram three-and-out as Marquis Buycks stopped Carlos Kabata on third down.
On NMMI’s first possession, David Vega hit Sonny Duran in the left flats and he tight-roped the sideline for a 61-yard touchdown, giving the Broncos a 7-0 lead.
That touchdown pass was Vega’s first attempt as a Bronco and he was just trying to not throw a bad pass or interception.
“That first pass was big,” he said. “It was just kind of a boost because I didn’t want to be nervous and throw an interception on my first pass. Throwing the touchdown really helped me out the rest of the game and gave me some confidence.”
The Rams answered right back with an 8-play, 76-yard touchdown drive.
The drive was capped off by a Dwein Garcia 10-yard scoring pass to Kabata that tied the score at 7.
NMMI regained the lead on its next possession with a 25-yard field goal by Jarred Martin, but a block in the back prevented a touchdown.
The Bronco defense stiffened after that, forcing two turnovers on the next two Ram possessions.
The first turnover came when the Rams’ Garcia scrambled for 20 yards, but fumbled.
Everette Howell recovered the fumble for the Broncos, but the offense wasn’t able to cash in on the good field position.
The Broncos got the ball back quickly, though, when Jeremy Coleman intercepted a Garcia pass.
NMMI wasn’t able to put points on the board following the interception as they turned the ball over on downs at midfield.
The Rams were finally able to mount a drive after their defensive stand, but a missed field goal gave the Broncos a third chance to increase their lead.
NMMI running back Sonny Duran blows past Monterrey defender Jose Solis and down the sideline during NMMI’s victory, Saturday. (Lawrence Foster Photo
NMMI methodically drove the ball down the field on a 9-play, 71-yard drive that culminated in Vega’s second touchdown pass — an 11-yard quick slant to Jontrel Colbert. After the PAT, the Broncos led 17-7.
Monterrey Tech was able to put a touchdown on the board just before the end of the first half, cutting the deficit to 17-13.
Whatever momentum the Rams’ score gave them, NMMI quickly recaptured it in the second half. The Broncos returned the opening kickoff 57 yards to the Ram 34 and, on the first play from scrimmage, Craft took a pitch and raced 34 yards to the end zone, giving NMMI a 24-13 lead.
“I think it was huge to come back with that score,” Lynn said. “We challenged our guys at halftime. We told them we need to come out offensively and get a score and that’s what they did. That set the tone for the second half and we just rolled from there.”
Monterrey Tech scored a touchdown on its next drive to make the score 24-19 and, three plays later, the defense intercepted a tipped Vega pass deep in their own territory, setting up a potential go-ahead drive. The Rams moved the ball inside the 10-yard line, but the Bronco defense came up big with a sack by Howell and a stuffed screen pass. That forced a field goal attempt that clanged off the upright, preserving NMMI’s lead.
“That was a huge stop by our defense,” Lynn said. “That took the air out of them a little bit. After that point they really didn’t challenge us. Give the credit to the defense, they did a good job on that possession.”
NMMI’s Marquis Buycks, right, gets a third-down stop for the Broncos by bringing down Monterrey Tech’s Carlos Kabata during the Broncos’ 55-19 win over the Rams in El Paso, Saturday. (Lawrence Foster Photo)
Overall, Lynn was pleased with how his squad performed in its first game of the season.
“You know we are happy,” he said. “We didn’t have a lot of first-game things like stupid penalties and fumbled snaps. That was real positive. If we can kind of build on that and continue to play mistake free football we will be in good shape.”
Reprinted with permission.
