The second game of the season, at then-ranked North Carolina, had a big WIN written all over it till that INT in the end zone at the very end. And the Poinsettia Bowl, with all its ups and downs, looked like a win after an impressive drive, but ended with a near-miss FG.
Think about it. If we win those two, we go 9-4. That’s a very successful season. Instead we wind up just 7-6, a discouraging step backward from last year’s 8-5, topped off with a big bowl win.
I try not to be a critic of players or coaches but there were some things that at least caused questions. I know coaches always defend what they do, but this game did leave me puzzled (and a lot of Aztec fans grumbling) on a few occasions. And while Quinn Kaehler has taken some shots for this game, our receivers were far from their best, partly because Ezell Ruffin hurt the mix by being benched for missing a practice.
DJ Pumphrey set a single-season rushing record, and netted 112 yards. But he had a costly fumble.
On the other side of the ball, our defense played well enough to win almost any game. They held the Middies to a total of only 271 yards, far less than their average of 429 a game. Their QB, who had averaged 112 yards a game rushing, ran for only 9 yards net.
So we hold our breath until next season, buoyed by the fact that we had a lot of good young players who should be even better next year. My 757th Aztec football game was not one I will treasure, but I do look forward to 758th when we face a yet-to-be named opponent on Saturday, September 5.
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DJ Pumphrey’s 112 rushing yards in the Poinsettia Bowl
gave him 1,867 for the year, breaking George Jones’ 19-year-old Aztec record of
1,842. DJ is tied with Norm Nygaard (1952-54) for 7th best with
2,619 career rushing yards. DJ, RT Pearce Slater (#71), FB Dakota Gordon (#46)
and three other starting OL all return in 2015. (Photo by Ernie Anderson)
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