Newcomb’s running game hits stride against Wingate: Skyhawks rack up 323 rushing yards

WINGATE, N.M. – It took five games into the regular season for the Newcomb football team to find their niche.

The Skyhawks picked up its second consecutive win of the season with a 60-6 bulldozing win over injury-riddled Wingate last Friday night.

“We just killed ourselves in our first four games,” said first-year Skyhawk coach Vincent Lee. “We beat ourselves with mistakes, penalties, turnovers and missed executions, but these guys kept working.”

Lee, who previously coached at Tuba City High, said his team started to click during the Shiprock game on Sept. 22 when they beat the Chieftains 40-0.

That momentum carried over into the Wingate game as the Skyhawks racked up 323 yards on the ground and 18 yards in the air.

“Our offense played immaculate tonight,” Lee said. “We were able to put up (60) points and it’s been a process of getting a little better every week and just minimizing our mistakes.”

Newcomb had four ball carriers with seniors Dion Lee and Mikal Ashley carrying the bulk of the load.

Lee rushed for 159 yards on 15 carries and scored two touchdowns while Ashley had 123 yards on seven carries and two rushing TDs. Ashley also had an 18-yard TD reception.

Early in the season, Lee said his 2-4 club struggled with its blocking assignments as they were unable to sustain drives against Laguna Acoma, Moriarty, Cuba and Crownpoint.

“We started to get it together in that Crownpoint game, but we still made mistakes,” the Newcomb coach said. “These guys were finally able to put it together against Shiprock and like I said they put in the work, and they kept learning.

“They understand the schemes and concepts and if you put it all together, we’re a run heavy team,” Lee added. “That’s our personnel. We have very big, strong linemen and their talent is run blocking.”

Those blocks have paid dividends for Newcomb’s offense as the Skyhawks also got 45 yards rushing from senior tailback Elias Manning.

“We’ve got a three-headed monster with Dion Lee, Elias Manning and Mikal Ashley,” Lee said. “They all complement one another, so you can’t focus on one guy. They all share the role. In the beginning, it was very difficult because they weren’t working together as a unit.

“They weren’t blocking for each other and that was part of learning the schemes,” he said. “Now they understand that they’re a unit and they’re working together very effectively.”

Wingate coach AD Jim said they had a tough time studying film on Newcomb as they used different schemes in its previous games.

“They came out with a completely different set with Moriarty and Crownpoint,” he said. “I went to their game with Shiprock and they ran the same scheme they used against us.

“It was hard to prepare on what they were going to bring,” Jim added. “We just could not stop the run game. I don’t think we forced a fourth down at all the whole game.”

When asked about his personnel, Jim admitted that he was out 12 starters last Friday night with a majority of the team playing on both sides of the ball.

“I definitely don’t want to take away anything from Newcomb because they came ready to play,” the Wingate coach said while noting that some of his players have been out for five weeks due to injuries.

“I’ve had to play a lot of younger guys and I guess we had to baptize them by fire,” Jim said. “But you know, it’s really about how much character is built through adversity and tough times.”

Jim said he hopes to have those players back in a couple of weeks as Wingate will travel to Zuni for its last nondistrict game before hosting Crownpoint on Oct. 13.

The Bears got its lone score after Newcomb fumbled the ball on its opening possession. Wingate went 38 yards with junior running back Isaiah Garcia completing a four-play drive with a two-yard TD run with 10:34 remaining in the opening quarter.

From that point on it was all Newcomb as the Skyhawks started picking away at Wingate’s defense.

After running the ball for 33 yards, Newcomb quarterback LaDainian John connected with Ashley on an 18-yard scoring strike at the 7:36 mark.

Lee tacked on the next two scores from 17 yards and nine yards out before Manning scored on a nine-yard rushing TD for a 32-6 halftime lead.

Lee and Ashley both had one TD run in the third quarter while Kinjii Natonabah came up big on the defensive end. The junior free safety scooped up a pair of Wingate fumbles and ran them back for touchdowns.

His second TD at the 11:07 mark in the fourth quarter ended the game.

“Kinjii Natonabah played lights out,” said Skyhawk defensive coordinator Patrick Boone, who jumped ship with head coach Lee from Tuba City to Newcomb.

“Our nose tackle, Jayden Abeita, played well but all the credit goes to the kids,” he said.

Boone said his defensive unit will be tested when the Skyhawks travel to Thoreau for its last nondistrict game on Friday night.

“We’re looking forward to playing them,” Boone said of Thoreau as the Hawks have compiled a 3-3 record heading to its showdown with Newcomb.

“We have a lot of momentum going into that Thoreau game, so that really benefits us,” Lee added. “We’ve watched some film on Thoreau and they’re a big, strong and physical team. I really think it’s going to be an absolute dogfight. Whoever makes the least mistakes and executes on both sides of the ball is going to come out with a ‘W’ so we’re going to work our butts off in practice to make sure we execute.”

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