LAS VEGAS, N.M. – It was a back-and-forth affair on Saturday between Western Colorado University Football and New Mexico Highlands University. The Mountaineers and Cowboys exchanged points all-game long, but it was NMHU to end on top, winning 20-16.
 
Western (2-8, 2-7 RMAC) was driven by the defense on Saturday. The Mountaineer defense stifled one of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference's most prolific offenses for much of the game.
 
Western forced two turnovers, but no defensive play was bigger than the 60-yard fumble return for a touchdown in the first quarter.
 
With NMHU driving onto the Western side of the field, linebacker Desmond Marfizo striped the Cowboy running back of the ball. Lane Farris scooped the ball off the ground and returned it 60 yards to the end zone, giving the Mountaineers a 10-3 lead.
 
Farris recorded a game-high 12 tackles, including 2.5 tackles for a loss and one sack.
 
The Cowboys got on the scoreboard first, making a 30-yard field goal on the opening drive. Western responded with a 10-play drive, ending with Chandler Davis knocking home a 45-yard field goal to tie the game at 3-3 with 5:49 left in the first quarter.
 
Heading into the fourth quarter, Western took a 16-13 lead. Following a 37-yard run by Isaac Fuqua, the Mountaineer offense found the end zone in the third quarter on a two-yard run by Tremell Stanley.
 
Fuqua recorded a game-high 96 yards on the ground, averaging 5.1 yards per carry.
 
Western's defense held the Cowboys scoreless in the third quarter thanks to an interception by Robert Garlock on the Mountaineers' 29-yard line on NMHU's next possession.
 
The Mountaineers will play the final game of the 2018 season on Saturday. Western hosts CSU-Pueblo at 1 p.m. in Mountaineer Bowl.