by Landon Dyksterhouse
Daily Lobo
Sophomore Kole McKamey and junior Hank Baskett led the Cherry team to a convincing 19-3 lead before the annual Cherry/Silver game was called off due to bad weather with more than seven minutes left in the fourth quarter.
The Silver team scored first with a 55-yard field goal by last season's starting kicker Wes Zunker. Those would be the only points the Silver team would score.
On the next series, the Cherry team drove down the field from the 31-yard line to get within field-goal range. Sophomore Kenny Byrd finished the drive with a 32-yard field goal, tying the game at three going into halftime.
The Cherry team scored the first touchdown in the third quarter on a Daniel Ramirez two-yard run to put the Cherry team up 10-3. Ramirez led all rushers in the game with 50 yards.
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On the next play, Michael Tuohy of the Cherry team recovered a fumble off a double reverse on the 18-yard line. The Silver team denied the Cherry an opportunity to score a touchdown, but could not stop another 32-yard field goal by Byrd.
The most exciting play of the game came in the third quarter, with just more than four minutes left to play. McKamey tossed a short pass to Baskett, who outran the secondary for a 77-yard touchdown. The extra point was mishandled, leaving the Cherry team with a 19-3 lead. The series summed up a game that featured terrific plays and inexperience at the same time.
"The game was sloppy," offensive coordinator Dan Dodd said. "Some guys made some big-time plays. Hank Baskett dropped a couple balls, but came back and caught the slant-and-go for a touchdown."
Baskett finished with 98 yards receiving, and junior Martin Romero had 18.
Head coach Rocky Long added that the young team is unproven in 75 percent of its starting positions.
Despite the Cherry team's dominance offensively, Martellius Epps stood out for the Silver, leading all defensive players with four solo tackles.
The game also featured four fumbles, several dropped passes and a missed extra point.
"I thought the first two weeks of spring practice we didn't look like a team that could compete with anybody," Long said. "The last week of spring practice I saw guys that started acting like college football players. We have progressed a lot, and they played better than I expected them to today."
UNM is the only school in the country since 1999 to increase its win total every year. The Lobos went 8-5 last season, but lost 25 lettermen and 14 starters from the 2003 squad.
McKamey said the team still hopes to improve on last year's record.
"We all want to win the Mountain West Conference," McKamey said. "And I think we have the ability to do it. It is definitely our goal to win the conference."
McKamey went 5-for-10 for 113 yards, and junior Tali Ena went 2-for-6 for 19 yards for the Silver team.
