Stolz Pleased by WAC Wins, Says Aztecs Can Improve

If someone would have told first-year Coach Denny Stolz that San Diego State would win its first three Western Athletic Conference games this year, he would have dismissed it as ambitious thinking at best.

But after defeating Texas El Paso, 15-10, Saturday, the Aztecs (3-0) are in sole possession of first place and the conference’s only undefeated record.

Still, Stolz is not altogether content with the Aztecs, 4-2 overall.

“I’m very happy about (being 3-0),” Stolz said Sunday. “You couldn’t be in any better shape. . . . (But) we’re a long ways from where we can be someday.

“It would be my evaluation that our toughest games are still ahead of us in the conference. And we have to get better.”

Eliminating penalties are high on Stolz’s list of improvements. SDSU committed 13 penalties for 100 yards Saturday.

“We can’t make penalties on big plays,” he said. “They are just penalties, but unfortunately they were all on big plays.”

Chris Hardy ran 44 yards for a touchdown on SDSU’s first drive but it was nullified by a clipping penalty. SDSU settled for a 34-yard field goal by Kevin Rahill. A 37-yard field goal by Rahill was nullified in the second quarter because of a holding penalty. With the additional five yards, Rahill missed the next attempt.

“Some penalties are penalties,” Stolz said. “Other times, it’s just bad judgment and we have to eliminate the bad-judgment ones.”

Penalties aside, Stolz was pleased with his team’s play. Quarterback Todd Santos made his first appearance since breaking his throwing wrist three weeks ago. Santos completed 16 of 25 passes for 183 yards.

“He really was sharp,” Stolz said of Santos. “We dropped four passes on him. He had 100 yards called back (because of penalties). We made it very difficult for ourselves. But he threw the ball well. I think he was only off target on one of his (25) passes, and that time I think he stumbled on the turf.”

Stolz was most impressed with the way the Aztec offense controlled the ball in the fourth quarter, after UTEP scored its final points on Hugo Castellano’s 34-yard field goal with 4:52 to play.

“We ran the ball well at the end of the game,” Stolz said. “Our offensive line punched out well in the fourth quarter.”

The Aztec defense, overcoming its injuries of the early season, most notably the loss of defensive lineman Levi Esene, also pleased Stolz. The Aztecs sacked Sammy Garza four times. Esene was credited with 2 1/2 sacks.

“The whole defense is playing better,” Stolz said. “We have a lot more depth on the defensive line because we had to play a lot of the young kids when Levi was out.”

SDSU plays at home Saturday night against Air Force after a three-game trip. Stolz said he would like to see sellout crowd for the homecoming game.

“I don’t know what more you can ask for,” he said. “You’ve got Air force coming in here and we’re undefeated in the league.