Aztecs Win Coach’s Way, Beat Cowboys

Ten games into its first season under Al Luginbill, the San Diego State football team played its first game the way its new coach had preached the game should be played.

SDSU used a pressure defense that shut out Wyoming in the second half and kept The Aztecs in the game late enough for their high-powered offense to awake when it matter the most.

The result was a 27-17 victory Saturday night in a Western Athletic Conference game in front of 20,564 at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium.

The victory, which assured the Aztecs of their first winning season since 1986, was SDSU’s fifth in a row and sixth in seven games. That is the first time since a seven-game streak in 1977 that the Aztecs (6-3-1, 4-2 in WAC) have won five in a row in the same season.

The loss ended a three-game winning streak by Wyoming (4-6, 4-3) and eliminated the two-time defending champions from the conference race.

The winning score came on a 49-yard touchdown run by senior running back Ron Slack with 7:57 to play that broke a 17-17 halftime tie. Andy Trakas added the insurance points with his second field goal--a 27-yarder with 1:50 remaining.

“Offensively we had everything possibly go wrong, yet we came back when we needed it,” Luginbill said. “The victory put us in the upper echelon of the conference and knocked them out.”

For those used to the wild, often losing games of the past two years, this was quite a switch. But it was the kind of performance Luginbill has said since the day he took over that he wanted the Aztecs to be known for playing.

No clearer was the value of the Aztec defense than in a series of fourth-and-one situations in their own territory in the second half.

Three times the Cowboys had opportunities to break the 17-17 tie in the second half and each time they failed in a different way.

The first time they went for a first down on fourth-and-one at the SDSU 28 and failed when a handoff to fullback Mark Timmer gained nothing. The next time, faced with almost an identical situation--fourth-and-one at the SDSU 28--they elected to attempt a 46-yard field goal. That did not work either as Sean Flemming’s try went wide left.

The final lost opportunity came early in the fourth quarter on a fourth-and-one at the SDSU 29. The Cowboys again went for it, but turned the ball over to the Aztecs when the sneak by quarterback Tom Corontzos netted no gain.

It was from that failed fourth-down play that the Aztecs launched their winning six-play, 71-yard drive that ended with Slack’s second touchdown on a third-and-one at the Wyoming 49.

“I didn’t get touched,” Slack said. “Dan McGwire (the quarterback) said in the huddle that were going to score a touchdown on this play. I figured if Jim Jennings got a key block, which he did, and the offensive line blocked I could go. I came off the blocks and I never looked back.”

Earlier he had opened the scoring with a one-yard run in the first quarter. Slack carried 15 times for 80 yards and two touchdowns. But take away his 49-yard winning touchdown run, and he would have little to show statistically.

The best stats came from the punter, and how often can you say that about an SDSU game.

Joe Santos punted eight times, equaling his season-high, for an average of 43.5 yards per kick. That included a 60-yarder in the first half and 64-yarder in the second half.

Compare that to the numbers from McGwire.

McGwire was 18 of 36 for 256 yards and one touchdown. But the most telling statistic was the five times he was sacked, equaling his season high, for a loss of 38 yards.

But while McGwire had his troubles, it was Corontzos who bore the worst of what was a tough night for quarterbacks. It was against Corontzos that the Aztecs’ pressure defense, with its frequent blitzes, did the most harm.

Corontzos completed 10 of 27 passes for 160 yards and one touchdown. But he was sacked six times for a loss of 37 yards, and the two first-half interceptions he threw to cornerback Marlon Andrews resulted in 10 Aztec points.

“We put good pressure on the quarterback,” Luginbill said. “He is not very nimble.”

Before the game, Luginbill had called it one of the most important in his brief tenure. He said playing Wyoming would be a measure of how far his program had come.

The Aztecs passed that test; now comes the real challenge. A two-game finish starting Saturday at No. 7 Miami and concluding Nov. 25 against No. 21 Brigham Young.

What a contrast the first half of this game was to last week when the Aztecs and New Mexico combined for 66 points and 764 yards in total offense.

This time the first half could almost be considered defense oriented or at least as defense-minded as a game can be in the offense-happy WAC.

The teams split 34 points and combined for 333 yards. Neither quarterback was effective as both came under heavy blitz pressure.

The Aztecs’ McGwire was nine of 21 for 140 yards and one touchdown. He was sacked twice.

The Cowboys’ Corontzos had even more troubles. He was five of 13 for 107 yards and one touchdown. But he was sacked four times, threw two interceptions that led to 10 Aztec points and tripped twice trying to back peddle after the snap.

The difficulties manifested themselves in the first three series that netted the Cowboys minus 12 yards and kept the first eight minutes of the game entirely in their territory.

The team’s running games were not much better than their passing attacks. The Aztecs, playing without suspended leading rusher Darrin Wagner, gained only 53 yards on 23 carries.

The Cowboys rushed for 33 on 16 tries. Most of that did not come until midway through the second quarter when their leading rusher, Dabby Dawson, finally started to move.

He gained 60 yards on his final three carries of the half after netting one yard on his first two attempts. But it was another type of run that made the big difference.

Dawson returned an Aztec kickoff 75 yards to set up a 43-yard field goal by Flemming on the final play of the half that tied the score at, 17-17.

The return was the latest in a series of kickoff coverage troubles for the Aztecs, who last week allowed New Mexico’s Terance Mathis to return a kick 96 yards for a touchdown.

This time Dawson was prevented from going 97 yards for a score when he was pulled down at the SDSU 22 by his face mask by freshman kicker Trakas.

Trakas apparently learned his lesson from the previous week when Mathis pushed him out of the way en route to his score.

The return came after the Aztecs had taken the lead at 17-14 on a 25-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jimmy Raye from McGwire with 1:33 left in the half.

The 89-yard drive started after SDSU cornerback Andrews, a junior transfer from Pasadena City College, intercepted a pass by Corontzos for the second time.

His initial interception was the first of his Aztec career. That one he returned 31 yards to set up a 39-yard field goal by Trakas that gave the Aztecs a 10-7 lead with 7:43 left in the second quarter.

The field goal was Trakas’ seventh in his past seven tries after missing six of 10 to start the season. It broke a 7-7 tie that was the result of a one-yard touchdown run by Slack and a 22-yard touchdown pass to Shawn Wiggins from Corontzos in the first quarter.

But the Cowboys took their first lead at 14-10 three plays later when Peter Gunn carried 17 yards for a touchdown. The score was set up by Dawson, who rushed for gains of nine and 48 yards on the previous two plays.

Aztec Notes

San Diego State wide receiver Monty Gilbreath extended his school-record streak of consecutive games with at least one reception to 35 with a 19-yard catch early in the first quarter. . . . Cornerback Kevin Drayton played with a cast on the left wrist he broke a week earlier against New Mexico. . . . The five inductees in the second group enshrined in the Aztec Hall of Fame were honored at halftime. They are Kevin Crow (soccer), the late Morris Gross (football, basketball, baseball), Tony Gwynn (baseball, basketball), Don Horn (football) and Jack Rand (track and field, football). The induction dinner was held Thursday.

WAC STANDINGS

Team Conf. Overall W L T W L T PF PA BYU 5 1 0 8 2 0 366 261 Air Force 4 1 0 7 3 0 369 243 Hawaii 5 2 0 7 2 0 365 166 SDSU 4 2 0 6 3 1 335 288 Wyoming 4 3 0 4 6 0 240 289 Colorado St. 4 3 0 5 5 1 350 304 Utah 2 4 0 4 6 0 296 412 UTEP 1 7 0 2 9 0 228 371 New Mexico 0 7 0 1 10 0 253 356

SATURDAY’S RESULTS San Diego State 27, Wyoming 17 Brigham Young 44, Air Force 35 Utah 41, New Mexico 39 Colorado State 52, Texas El Paso 0 Pacific at Hawaii, night NEXT SATURDAY’S GAMES San Diego State at Miami Utah at Brigham Young Texas El Paso at Wyoming Fresno State at New Mexico