It was all about respect for the UNM football team in its 53-0 thrashing of intrastate rival New Mexico State University Saturday at University Stadium.
During the pre-game warm-ups the 21 Lobo seniors playing in their final home game were being introduced to the 32,343 in attendance. The Aggies tried to disrupt the ceremony by running onto the field in the middle of the introductions.
"They did it right in the middle of my name," senior safety Scott Gerhardt said. "It made us mad but we are a classy team. We are going to show it on the field and we did (Saturday). You could tell before the game that they did not have any class. New Mexico State disrespects this rivalry and that is a stupid thing to do."
The Lobos (6-5) ran through, around and over the NMSU defense, collecting a season-high 350 yards rushing. Meanwhile the UNM defense held an opponent under 300 yards total offense for the fifth straight game.
UNM posted its largest margin of victory since 1960 and corralled a shutout for the first time since 1984 to help head coach Rocky Long earn his first winning season in his four years at UNM. The win also helped the Lobos become bowl eligible.
"I am proud of the senior class; the senior class has been with us through thick and thin," Long said. "They deserved a winning record and they went out and made it happen."
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The Lobos pounced on the Aggies early and never let up.
Leading 3-0 heading into the second quarter, the Lobos scored 16 straight points to begin the rout. Senior fullback Jarrod Baxter hammered his way in for a touchdown from three yards out to make the score 9-0 seconds into the quarter. Senior kicker Vladimir Borombozin missed the extra point, his first miss in 30 attempts dating back to last season.
However, he redeemed himself minutes later by kicking his second field goal of the game, a 34-yarder.
NMSU (5-7) tried to answer the score by putting together its only solid drive of the game, going on a 14-play, 80-yard march down the field, but kicker Dario Aguiniga missed a 27-yard field goal.
The Lobos started to dominate the line of scrimmage on offense and subsequently drove down the field on the ground to make the score 19-0 at halftime. UNM went on a nine-play-80 yard drive, which were all running plays, capped by a seven-yard gallop by sophomore quarterback Casey Kelly.
"We had a good feeling that we were going to be able to run the ball," Kelly said. "That was our primary game plan and we felt we could take advantage of some things up front that they did and (offensive coordinator Dan) Dodd had a great game plan with the fact that we smashed it down their throat."
Baxter led the Lobo rushing attack by amassing 138 yards on 21 carries.
The Lobos put the game out of reach in the third quarter by holding the ball for nearly 12 and a half minutes and running 22 plays, while the Aggies ran only four plays for nine yards.
The dominating rushing attack chewed up another 59 yards on seven attempts to score another touchdown by Baxter on a seven-yard scamper.
The defense, pressuring the Aggie quarterbacks all day, created a turnover one play later when senior cornerback Stephen Persley intercepted a pass at the NMSU 33.
UNM scored seven plays later when senior tailback Holmon Wiggins turned in a one-yard touchdown run.
The Lobos outscored NMSU 21-0 in the final quarter, including a blocked punt for a touchdown. With the crowd looking for more points, chanting "Block that punt," the Lobos obliged. Senior nose tackle Tony Mazzoti streaked through the middle and blocked the Aggie punt at the 30-yard line. Senior linebacker Amos Wilson scooped up the fumble and rambled into the end zone for the final score with three minutes left in the game.
"I am proud of the defense, especially since I am a senior," Gerhardt said. "This is the way you want to go out. Everybody played hard, they never gave up. They just kept killing them."
The large crowd helped UNM set a new season attendance record with an average of 31,268 in its six games.
