Following UTPB’s 37-14 win over the Western New Mexico Mustangs on Senior Night last Saturday, senior defensive back D’Ondre Robinson was pleased with the outcome, defensively, during Monday’s UTPB press conference.
“I was extremely pleased with our team because we were preparing for a lot of a lot of the tricky stuff and a lot of the motion plays,” Robinson said.
Robinson believed shutting down Western New Mexico’s passing offense was due in large part to communication and not just brute strength.
“We were really communicating that aspect of football more than the physical aspect because we know that if we communicate with each other, we know that we can stop anybody, so we weren’t worried about their offense,” Robinson said.
Both he and Carrigan were asked about their actions and thoughts when 340-pound sophomore defensive lineman Victor Idusuyi had a 19-yard fumble recovery and return for a touchdown in the early moments of the third quarter.
“I thought he was going to get caught from behind,” Robinson said. “And then I was celebrating already. I was happy that I was rooting for him. I told him I was proud of him. I’m proud because he came a long way.”
Carrigan thought the play was over before the return.
“I was, like, ‘Holy cow, the (referees) did not blow the play dead’,” Carrigan said. “I was more just dumbfounded that it was still a live ball.”
As for the team, the Falcons have now won two straight games and are back at 0.500 at 5-5 overall but Carrigan does not believe in this positive momentum.
“I do not believe in a whole lot of momentum, because the momentum is now gone,” Carrigan said. “Whatever that has been done in the past is irrelevant.”
>> Ready to start the season: The UTPB men’s basketball team is looking forward to its first games of the regular season, with back-to-back games on the road in Silver City, N. M. against the Adams State Grizzlies on Friday night and the Westminster Griffins on Saturday .
“We are all ready to play somebody else, as opposed to playing against each other,” head coach Kyle Tolin said.
The Falcons are now transitioning from day-to-day practices against each other to now game-planning against their opponents and Tolin believes the team is getting stronger in doing so.
“We are still trying to build toughness,” Tolin said. “The toughest most disciplined team wins most of the time.”
In the season opener against the Grizzlies on Friday, Tolin is having a hard time game-planning and creating a scouting report for this opponent, given that there is a whole new cast of players on that roster.
“It’s hard because we played them last year,” Tolin said. “There’s only 1-2 guys on the team that played in the game last year, so you’re going based off of looking at stuff and things like that.”
Regardless, Tolin is eager to have his team start the regular season in a matter of days.
“I think we’re all excited and ready to get a chance to play,” Tolin said.
>> Follow Sameer Malla on Twitter at @OA_SameerMalla
