Miner Illustrated Magazine: Vol. 1 Issue 24

On Deck: 9/11’s Effect on Sports 8

El Paso’s Own Katie Dorman 10

Football’s Resurgance of Tight End Players 13

The Final Word 17

VOL 1 ISSUE 24 SEPTEMBER 14, 2011

MINERILLUSTRATED

MINERILLUSTRATED

VOL I ISSUE 24 SEPTEMBER 14, 2011

Who would have known that in two week’s time I would see fans of the football team go from controlled excitement to questioning and hesitation. I fielded a lot of questions this summer about the progression of the team and how they were going to do. I think I’ve answered more questions in three day’s time than I did all summer.

I guess I never expected for the injury bug to bite our cover boy Nick Lamaison. I suppose I just thought he would just make it through the season with out any bumps or bruises. Boy, I was wrong.

In any case, the Miners now have to rely on each other even more to get through the next four weeks and continue to fight very much like they did at SMU. There’s fight in this team and they’ll have to prove they can fight like no other more than ever.

As they continue to battle, Jay Hall will have a tremendous group of players at the tight end position to help him through everything. Our feature revolves around those four players and how their individual personalities have gelled to form one solid unit.

Football isn’t the only tale of working though challenges and Gus’ player profile on senior and El Pasoan Katie Dorman shows us how she has worked through being on the brink of never playing soccer again to leading the soccer team this year as captain.

In our columns, Sal reflects on the events of the ten-year anniversary of 9/11 and what sports mean to him. Josh wraps up the issue with a nice piece on why Miner fans should now give up on the football team.

Finally, on a business note, I’d like to invite everyone to join the Miner Illustrated staff as we host our Pick Axe Party with our partners Smitty’s Pit Bar-B-Que. We are very happy to have $1.75 beers, delicious tacos and those famous ribs that Smitty’s is known for. In addition to the food specials, we’ll have the pick axe car flag as well as the brand new pick axe tee, just in time for the NMSU game this weekend in Las Cruces.

We can’t wait to see you all there!

Chris Avila

a publication of Shamrock Media LLC

CHRIS AVILAPRESIDENT and

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

JEFF TAYLORCHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER

GUS CONTRERASSAL GUERRERO

ANGEL LUNAALEX MORALES

JOSH PUGASTAFF WRITERS

DANNY LEVARIODIRECTOR OF BUSINESS

OPERATIONS

SUZETTE THOMPSONMAGAZINE DESIGN

Letters to the editor, general feedback and advertising

inquiries:[email protected]

Cover photo: UTEP Miners quarterback Nick Lamaison (7) attempts a pass against

the Southern Methodist Mustangs at Gerald J. Ford

Stadium. The Mustangs defeated the Miners 28-17.

Photo: Jerome Miron-US PRESSWIRE

From The EDITOR

Southern Methodist Mustangs line-backer Ja’Gared Davis (56) strips the ball from UTEP Miners quarterback Javia Hall (1) and scores a touchdown during the fourth quarter at Gerald J. Ford Stadium. The Mustangs defeat-ed the Miners 28-17. Photo: Jerome Miron-US PRESSWIRE

THE BIG PICK

M I N E R I L L U S T R A T E D . C O M 6

readerRESPONSE

As part of our Monday morning column, staff writer Sal Guerrero lit a fire with his peice on the UTEP-SMU game. Here are some of the responses from that column.

Guerrero: Offensive Line Crux of Problems

NOT sure if you watched the game, but I believe the missed block mentioned in your article, that led to the that 4th quarter defensive TD, was missed by Banyard, the running back, NOT due to the offensive line, which would make your argument moot. RIGHT??

JD

True JD it was a sad attempt at a block by Banyard but the other sacks were on the shoulders of the line, and honestly looking at the play again smu was in a three man front with a stand up End acting as a LB on Banyards side, the tackle should have fanned to the stand up end and let Banyard flare to the left leaving him open and the qb protected, so it had to be a miscommunication why would you have 7 men to block a maximum of 5 guys rushing that play, they could have easily been picked up with only the o line if they would have communicated better, SMU didn’t even really rush the nose he was just waiting to swat the ball down, but I do understand what your saying banyard still went to pick him up and he should have done a better job blocking him, he doesn’t seem to be playing with the same intensity that I saw last year and obviously not running as confident with the lack of holes to run through….

Minerfan

Banyard could have done a better job, no doubt. But–with a little QB savvy Hall should see the rush, the right side was wide open to take a few steps to a clear area to make the throw, an easy, simple adjustment that good QBs make with ease. On the pick he threw he only took a step and a half drop- not enough to clear the LOS, that ball is not tipped if he takes a correct drop on that play. Lineman are expected to make all the reads,

blocks and tough adjustments but the QB isn’t? And none of this “he’s a RS Fr.” BS. Texas alternated a RS Fr and true Fr this weekend and both looked super. It’s amazing how much better the line looked when they were in.

Oline

@oline so the lack of success on offense is due to an inexperienced hall? Cause you left out the previous sacks when laimason was in, which got him injured? And I’m guessing the minimal rushing yards is due to the runningbacks not breaking 2 tackles before getting to the LOS & not the lack of holes to run through? How is a qb suppose to have confidence to take a few steps to the right when he’s been getting pressured from the right, left, and middle in previous plays? Confidence and trust have to do with a lot of decisions made by players, and I’m sure the RS freshman and Frosh QB at UT has that confidence and trust. I’m not trying to say it’s ALL the o lines fault but the vast majority of the problems are starting up front.

Minerfan

Who said anything about Lamaison? My comment was about a video that was tagged regarding Hall. The article rags on the Oline and I really believe that they are getting the majority of the blame unjustly. The first drive of the game was the only drive that resulted in a touchdown. The oline must have been pretty good then. The offense? Needs a lot of work. RBs are pretty nonparticipating. Also, I’m not as impressed by the QBs as everyone else is. 50% completion rate last week doesn’t cut it, neither does 3 picks/3fumbles in to games. Call me out!? That’s for kids, not retired old farts.

Oline

Only thing I can say about the first drive and also Halls first drive is that those two were sort of the only two drives where they didn’t bring more than 5 rushers every other play, after we scored the first touchdown that’s when the heat came, then they backed off when Hall came in then started blitzing Halls second drive, smart by SMU obviously exposing the lack of protection that UTEP can provide while being pressured…we look decent on offense when we are 6-7 men blocking there 4-5 men pressure, but when the numbers are even we look pitiful, getting bitched slapped by LBs and Dlinemen, it’s like we take two players to block one of theirs. And I have to agree with you on the RB situation, I’m pretty disappointed thus far, we have 3 senior RBs thqt aren’t showing any life, Banyard seems to be real down and not playing with the same passion as last year, but like they always say your only as good as your line is…I still have to agree with this article I do think the offenses problems are starting up front which is effecting every other position , and it would go the same way if the offense was stellar it would alll start up front,(which isn’t the case right now) you got to face the facts sometimes as bias as it seems. & lastly thanks you for respecting my words , I see a lot of times when someone voices their opinions it ends up in a big argument rather than a discussion.

Minerfan

period, 191 in the second, 126 in the third and 117 in the fourth.

Senior RB Vernon Frazier registered 123 all-purpose yards, including 113 yards in kickoff returns against the Mustangs. Frazier compiled 105 yards in returns against Stony Brook in UTEP’s season opener. Frazier has collected over 100 yards in returns in back-to-back games having never recorded over 100 (either in rushing or returns) in his career prior to 2011.

Freshman Steven Valadez, who took over as the Miners’ kickoff man this season, is averaging 69 yards per kick. Six of his nine kickoffs have gone into the end zone. Last year the Miners had a little over double the number of touchbacks (13) in a 13-game season.

1967 (301.1), 2005 (300.6) and 2006 (312.8).

Three freshmen - QB Jay Hall, WR Anthony McGhee and RB Nathan Jeffery - produced their first numbers against SMU. Hall, who replaced the injured Nick Lamaison, was 8-of-20 for 130 yards. Hall connected with McGhee for two receptions good for 13 yards. Jeffery saw special teams action, posting one kickoff return for 27 yards.

The UTEP defense has allowed 21 points in the first quarter, 10 in the second, 7 in the third and 0 in the fourth this season (opponents have scored 14 points off fumble recoveries). The Miners have yielded 366 yards in the opening

M I N E R I L L U S T R A T E D . C O M 7

Of UTEP’s 39 first downs this season, 34 have come either via the pass or the penalty. With only five rushing first downs, the Miners are on pace for 30 in 12 games. The school record for fewest rushing first downs since 1950 is 38 in 2006, when UTEP also had a whale of a time running the football (57.6 ypg).

UTEP has passed for 270+ yards in its first two games of the season for the first time since 1986, when the Miners amassed 457 yards through the air versus Northern Michigan and 290 against Air Force. The Miners are averaging 320.5 yards passing per game to rank 20th in the country. Only four UTEP teams have averaged better than 300 yards passing over the course of a season -- 1965 (342.6),

The Miners hold a 51-35-2 advantage in the series, but are 16-19-1 in the City of the Crosses. The Miners are 2-1 in Las Cruces during the Mike Price Era and are

5-2 all-time under Price. UTEP will be looking to win consecutive road games in the series for the first time since a four-contest streak which spanned from 1986-91. The Miners’ last win at Aggie Memorial came on Sept. 19, 2009 in a 38-12 victory, despite a three-hour rain/lightning delay.

3

51-35-2

270+

by theNUMBERS39

0

123

69

not until I got to school when I realized how grand this whole situation was, my teachers were stunned, the students could be seen talking amongst each other, but it was not about your typical gossip or where the next party was. As the school day came to an end it was followed by afternoon football practice. The locker room was dead silent, the radio that was seemingly always playing AC/DC was shut off, and my teammates and I got dressed one pant leg at a time not uttering a word.

It was an unusual feeling as we suited up to play a sport that felt meaningless with the country coming to its knees. It felt wrong, but we were obligated to be there. But then we did something different, my coach made us take a knee and spoke to us about what happened, about war and how just like in a game, we would have to overcome everything that was in front of us. It is hard for me to recall exactly what he said, but I remember not feeling as vulnerable as I had. Practice lasted maybe an hour that day and then he sent us home to be with our families.

That weekend games were postponed; even UTEP who were scheduled to face off against Texas Tech canceled the game in the wake of the disaster that unfolded on the east coast. The tragedy had struck us all. The country changed that day, and along with that, sports have changed. Since then, sports became an outlet of sorts for Americans. A game no longer felt like a game, the rival on the other side of the field was still disliked, but nonetheless we were Americans who

sang the same anthem before each game, and pledged to the same flag everyday at school. Sports is funny like that, it can make the whole world feel larger than it is, but at the same time it can feel just as insignificant from one day to the next. That year changed my life, it changed all our lives,

and as it has done for the past 20 years, football helped me cope with it all. I learned to love the sport all over again, never taking it for granted, that is why I write about it passionately every week. Sports brings families and friends together on those days that are the most important, just like it did for New Yorkers in the following weeks after the attacks. We laugh, cheer, yell and sometimes even cry, but we do it together. Sports is something that no matter how hard someone tries to take it away, they cannot.

SAL GURRERO

After Saturday’s UTEP game, along with the nine or so other college football games I watched, I was awestruck with the amount of emotion that sports has brought to my life. Along with my family and friends, college football has always been that one constant in my life that I can count on to help me cope with rigors of work and hardship I have endured. So I sat on my couch after the Michigan-Notre Dame game thinking about what sports really means to this country, how in the face of adversity there truly is nothing better than to come together and cheer on your favorite team. With the tenth anniversary of the September 11 attacks on the United States, a wave of emotions came over me this weekend. We have all felt the sadness and grief for those effected by it. I myself have lost a friend to the war oversees, which would never have started if it was not for that horrific day 10 years ago this week. I remember waking up that Tuesday morning and not understanding the world that had come crashing down. My mother tried to explain it to me, but at that time I could not comprehend the events as I do now. I was only 15 then and playing football rather than writing about it was the only thing I cared about then. It was

M I N E R I L L U S T R A T E D . C O M 8

ON DECK:How 9/11 Changed My View on Sports

Lounge and Patio

It’s not your average Cincinnati District watering hole.

Outdoor patio with anupscale atmosphere.

M I N E R I L L U S T R A T E D . C O M 1 0

HOMETOWN HERO:El Pasoan Leader of Miner SoccerGUS CONTRERAS

Being named captain is a big achievement in any athlete’s life, but the honor means more for hometown player senior Katie Dorman. Over the last several years, Dorman has gone from almost having to quit playing because of illness after high school to walking on the UTEP team and finally to becoming team captain her senior year. “I’m really honored and really grateful to coach Cross for giving me this opportunity to be a leader and develop these skills on the soccer field and apply them to all aspects of my life,” Dorman said. “I love it, I love being captain and the responsibility that comes with it.” The road was not always easy, but hard work and dedication have paved the way for the El Pasoan to succeed on and off the field. Dorman developed a problem with her thyroid while out of the country, and was unable to play soccer until the medical issue was taken care of. Katie recovered from her medical issues and fought back, worked on her game and got back into shape in order to have a chance to make the UTEP squad. “She is an inspiration to all of us because she became sick and not playing soccer, to a walk on, scholarship player, conference player, and the captain of our team,” head coach Kevin Cross said. “She is a great person, probably the best person we’ve had in the program as far as character; she’s just a great person.” In Dorman’s freshman year at UTEP, she made the team as a walk on in the summer and proved that she should be on team by making 21 appearances while earning three starts. She managed to score a goal, and create an assist in that season setting her up for her sophomore season with the team. Her sophomore season proved to be much better for Dorman as she equaled her goals from the previous season and managed to make an appearance in all of UTEP’s games. The only goal she scored came against Southern Miss in the 79th minute that secured a 1-0 win for the Miners. Not only did Dorman have a successful season on the field, she was successful in the classroom by making the C-USA academic honor roll. This experience would be key for Dorman’s jump to playing more of an active roll in the Miners offense. Katie Dorman made the jump from role player to full on offensive threat for UTEP in her junior season by scoring 11 goals tying for most goals on the team, and tying for second in C-USA in most goals. Dorman scored two goals in three

games last season, and nearly doubled the amount of assists from the previous season to seven and was named C-USA player of the week in September. “She single handedly won us some games last season; fighting for balls, getting the last pass in, or getting the last shot in on goal,” Cross said. Dorman hasn’t gotten off to a fast pace yet this season, but has been very instrumental in her off the ball movement and trying to find space to make some runs at the goal from the wings. She has had her chances at goal, but so far hasn’t been fortunate enough to make them, but with persistence, those opportunities should eventually lead to goals scored. “She won’t quit, that’s what make her good,” Cross said. “If you have a whole team of Katie Dorman’s you never lose a game, and that’s the way games are won, with players that don’t quit.” The success on the field has also translated to off the field success, which is not talked about very much. Dorman has completed her degree in nursing, and the time and dedication that it took had to have been difficult at times. “My coaches were very flexible and helpful with me to let me finish my degree before the season started, so that I could really focus on soccer this semester,” Dorman said. Katie’s dedication to soccer and a degree in nursing is very inspiring considering how much time and effort goes into nursing school. That maturity and dedication really defines her on and off the playing field, which separates her from many other student athletes around the country. One of the great things about Dorman’s story is comes from being a local and representing UTEP and El Paso. “I think since I’m from here I have such a huge love for my community,” Dorman said. “I’m grateful for their support, and it makes me want to play harder, show better and help carry my team to win and make our community proud of us to call us their team.” It isn’t everyday that one can truly be inspired by one person’s strength and resolve, but one person you can say that is about Katie Dorman and the determination it has taken her to the point she is at now. This may be her final year of eligibility, but with such a strong character and the never say die attitude many people will and have seen that on and off the field. The UTEP soccer team is very fortunate to have a captain that will never quit on her team, and hopefully that will translate to the Miners making some noise in C-USA play in 2011.

Senior Katie Dorman, seen here charging against Prairie View A&M this season, has become a leader on the soccer team and in the classroom. Michael P. Reese/UTEP Athletics

Sophomore Kevin Parry charged forward after making a reception during the UTEP-Stony Brook contest in the Sun Bowl September 3. Jeff Taylor

M I N E R I L L U S T R A T E D . C O M 1 3

have four there is a lot we can do because we have backups. We can develop players.” Leading the way for tight ends this season is Perry, who as a sophomore is the most experience of the group. Perry saw some action last year as a freshman playing in all 12 games in a blocking role, but he also caught three catches for 53 yards. Perry has been a standout since high school where he was named TAPPS 4A All-District as wide receiver. Arguably one of the most athletic on the team, Perry also plays on the UTEP basketball team as power forward. In high school Hoop Scoop Online rated him the 38th-best Texas recruit in the 2009 basketball class. “Being a two-sport athlete gives me an advantage because it helps with my hand-eye coordination,” Perry said. “In basketball I may catch the ball 100 times, versus football I may get it three or four times thrown my way.” Perry’s athletics roots run deep with his father, Gerald Perry, who played for the Denver Broncos, Los Angeles Rams and Raiders organization, and his cousin Stephen Jackson who plays for the Milwaukee Bucks. Although Perry is a tight end now, in high school he never saw action at that position, which played a role in his transition to the next level. “Being a wide receiver gave me an advantage in the passing game, but it set me behind in the pass blocking and the run blocking,” he said. “I had to catch up with that. I love blocking now that I’m 250, when I was 205 I hated it.” Individually, Perry said he thinks he helps bring a bigger dynamic to the team because the defense doesn’t know whether it is pass or run this year. Last year when I was in the game the defense knew it was pass, I improved in the weight room and now when I’m in it could be run, he said. Along with Perry, Tomlinson has seen significant action at the tight end this position so far in the 2011 season. Like his fellow teammates he has been used as more of a blocking tight end more than anything, but ironically the only two catches he has made this season are the first of his career and both were touchdowns that helped lead UTEP to victory against Stony Brook on Sept. 3. “The game came as a surprise, I never thought I would catch two touchdowns in one game,” Tomlinson said. “It feels good to get that, but it also puts a high expectation for me because I have to do more for the team.” Coming from Klein, Texas, Tomlinson was a three-star recruit at his high school and ranked in the top-100 in

SAL GUERRERO

During head coach Mike Price’s tenure, he has built a reputation for recruiting great quarterbacks and defensive backs. In an odd turn of event from the previous seven seasons, Price has his offense focused on the tight ends, a position that could add balance to an offense that has yet to find its mantra. In years past it was not uncommon to see a spread offense with the focus towards the wide receivers or even a slot back. This year, however, Price has plugged in a two-tight end set to his repertoire. Not since the days of former head coach Gary Nord, who recruited the standout tight end Brian Natkin, has the position at UTEP been touted this high. This season has had big changes to the offense, with addition of sophomore’s Kevin Perry, Katrae Ford and Craig Wenrick and red shirt freshman Eric Tomlinson rounding out the depth chart. All four of players have the build to be potential prospects with heights ranging from 6-feet 4-inches to 6-feet 6-inches. This is just one significant detail about the players, assistant head coach/tight ends coach Jeff Woodruff said besides all the stats about the players look, what counts is every single one of them can catch the ball and block. “It is a young group this year; we had a veteran group with Goldtrap and Moore that were experienced guys that were around for a while,” Woodruff said. “Now we have a young group and they are getting better right now, trying to develop.” With the help of four underclassman, all of whom were all highly coveted tight ends coming out of high school, the Miners now have a balanced offensive unit. This is a change of pace for a Price-style offense, which utilized the tight end position in the past, but more of a blocking position rather than a go-to or a check down choice for the quarterbacks. Last year Johnny Moor and Elijah Goldtrap were among the starters, but they did not see significant action in terms of catching the ball. The two seniors from last season’s squad combined for a total of 85 yards and no touchdowns. That is a stark contrast to this year’s unit who nearly surpassed that mark in the first game of the season against Stony Brook. “When you have two tight ends it is kind of hard to put in a two-tight-end package because if one gets dinged then we’re out of the whole package,” Woodruff said. “When you

QUAD-CORE:Tight End Unit Makes a Resurgance

Continued on page 16

LIMITED SUPPLIES– FIRST COME, FIRST SERVE EXTRA DISCOUNTS ON DISPLAY PIECES

CASH-VISA-M/C-DISCOVER-AMEXDelivery Available

Call for more information: 915-588-5843 or 915-487-2800

NO SALES TAX IF YOU MENTION THIS AD

HOME FURNISHINGS LIQUIDATIONFACTORY CLOSEOUTS AND OVERSTOCKS

7pc.. Bedroom Sets from $490Sectional Living Room Sets from $590

100% Leather Sofa Sets from $620

Visit us at 28-H Concord St,behind the airport by Ft. Bliss

BRAND NEW MATTRESS SETSSEALY - SIMMONS - LADY AMERICANA

Twin Sets - $99 Full Sets - $119Queen Sets - $139 King Sets - $290

Ft. Bliss InternationalAirport

ASC ClearanceOutlet

M I N E R I L L U S T R A T E D . C O M 1 5

Volleyball: For the second MI Magazine issue in a row, senior libero Stephanie Figueroa was named the Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week, the league announced on Monday. This is Figueroa’s fourth career defensive player of the week honor and her second this season.

The Sabana Seca, Puerto Rico native was selected to the MCM Elegante Invitational All-Tournament team after registering a career-high 31 digs against Baylor. Figueroa dominated defensively averaging 6.08 digs per set and 0.31 service aces per set.

Photo: Jeff Taylor

Cross Country: Justice Chirchir (left photo, middle runner) was named Conference USA Cross Country Athlete of the Week and Risper Kimaiyo (right photo) earned co-athlete announced the league officials Tuesday. The award is the second for Kimaiyo this season and her ninth career athlete of the week honor. The All-American claimed her third-consecutive title at the 26th Annual Lori Fitzgerald Invitational clocking in a time of 17:41 in the women’s 5K race at the Chamizal Memorial National Park. Chirchir posted a time of 21:41 to finish first at the invitational this weekend. This is the Kenyan native’s first athlete of the week honor of the season and third of his career. The Miners will travel to Las Cruces, N.M. on Saturday, Sept. 17 for the Kachina Classic.

Photos courtesy UTEP Athletics

noteWORTHY

Quad-core (continued)

the Houston area. He is the second youngest of the group of tight ends, and arguably the quietest, but Tomlinson proved himself in one game, turning some heads within the coaching circle at UTEP. Tomlinson said that the transition from the high school football field to the college has been tough because of the speed of the game, but the three other tight ends have helped him. With four players vying for two spots on the field at once, they compete each other in practice and during the games for playing time. “The competition causes us to work hard individually, which makes us work harder on the little things,” Wenrick said. “It makes us work hard on the field because if we take a play off, there is a guy behind us ready to take our place.” Wenrick, who was rated as the No. 46 tight end in the country by rivals.com, saw some playing time last season on special teams and has played a role blocking this season in the two and three tight end packages. When asked what it was like to

have to share the position among four players Wenrick said, “We know exactly what each of us has to do on the field, so if something goes wrong we coach each other. These guys are like my brothers, we really don’t see it as teammates, which helps us out there.” Sharing the same regard for his teammates as Wenrick, Ford said he feels the other tight ends are his brothers and that makes everything that much easier. Ford has seen the least of any of the four tight ends. Price said he fell in the depth chart last season, but is working hard to improve everyday. In high school Ford was more of a blocking tight end, and said he feels he needs to improve on technique and catching to get better this season. With the four players being so young and having little to no experience, it has been an up and down battle to see who sits where in the depth chart. From one week to the next it could change because of the talent and skill level of each player. “Improvement comes through workouts, passes with the quarterbacks and two-a-days,” Woodruff said. “Everything you see, especially in football, plays never happen the way

M I N E R I L L U S T R A T E D . C O M 1 6

you draw them up. Every play, every rep is a learning experience because you are experiencing something new.” Woodruff said his players have yet to learn it all because they do not have the game knowledge at this time in their young careers. He commented on their athleticism and how their ability to run after the catch could prove to be a big option for the team later on this season. “There is going to be a lot of good tight end play over the next few years,” Woodruff said. “They are a good group of guys who joke around, but also work hard and push each other.” Two games into the season the tight ends have registered a total of five catches for a total of 66 yards and two touchdowns. Woodruff said he wants to see improvement in his players blocking. UTEP has been held to under 100 yards rushing in each of their first two games. “They all want to play up to the expectation level this season, and that level is ‘What does it take to win a championship,’” Woodruff said. “We won against Stony Brook, tight ends caught two touchdowns, but they did not meet expectations so they all know they have to get better.”

Show your Miner Pride with the new

PICK AXE TEEGet yours at the

“Pick Axe” Party, 9/15at Smitty’s Pit Bar-B-Que

from 6-8 pm for $15.

M I N E R I L L U S T R A T E D . C O M 1 7

JOSH PUGA

Just minutes after watching the Miners fall 28-17 to SMU on the road I realized this team is going to stick together no matter what. As I saw starting quarterback Nick Lamaison go down with a shoulder injury in the third quarter all I that was running in my mind was “here we go again”. When it comes to UTEP sports I tend to look at the glass half full, but seeing Lamaison sitting on the bench with his pads off I couldn’t help feeling that this is the beginning of the end. Things couldn’t get worse, right? Shortly after Lamaison’s injury the Miners recovered a fumble and during the return, defensive tackle Germard Reed suffers a scary apparent neck injury and is on the turf several minutes before being taken off the field in an ambulance. So what do the Miners do? Pack it in? Quit? Put their heads down? No, no and no. Redshirt freshman Jay Hall comes in and leads the Miner offense down the field as Leilyon Myers scored on a two yard touchdown run to bring the Miners within four points at 21-17 with six minutes left in the third quarter. Hall has a long way to go, but showed some moxie and gained some valuable experience. There was still some fight left in the Miners and while no one would have blamed them for giving up the team stuck together and did their best to stay in the game. Actually, UTEP still had a chance to take the lead late in the fourth quarter before Hall fumbled in the end zone thus sealing the Miners fate. While the offense sputtered with Lamaison out, I believe the glue that will keep this team together without their leading signal caller is the Miner defense.

After struggling once again in the first half, Andre Patterson and his unit slowed down the high-powered SMU offense and didn’t allow a single point in the second half. They gave up some yards, but came up with some big plays and timely turnovers. With Lamaison on the shelf for an extended amount of time coach Mike Price will need the defense to perform like most were expecting prior to the season. Still some improvements to make and plenty of games left to prove the doubters wrong. The offense will have to make do with Hall and will need the running game now more than ever, there was some progress,

but the offensive line continues to struggle opening up the running lanes and also couldn’t slow down the SMU pass rush. Just as important as the defense, the offensive line needs to get it together in a hurry to keep hope alive. Call me crazy, but I think UTEP is going to be ok and while the NMSU game got a lot more interesting after the Aggies upset win over Minnesota, Miner fans need to stay on the bandwagon. All offseason and prior to the season Price and the team have been preaching how there are no stars only the “team”. Like most coaches and teams that is always the cliché thing to say and that is understandable what else are they

supposed to say. Personally, I might not have bought into the coach speak and after Stony Brook I was concerned the SMU might expose the Miners. On the contrary, I think the SMU game showed that these Miners are going to fight until the end. They may not win six or more games especially with the injuries piling up, but they will be in almost every game from here on out. So Miner fans, hear me out. The SMU loss might have been hard to swallow with how close they came to pulling off the upset. Yes, I understand any loss is disappointing and think about this for a minute, if I recall they were

17-point underdogs on the road. Not trying to intentionally sugarcoat the loss, but they lost a game they were projected to lose. As a matter of fact they lost a game I predicted they would lose, not bragging in the least as I was hoping for an upset win. Just trying to prove a point to naysayers that feel this loss essentially ends any chance at a winning season. Last time I checked there were ten games left on the schedule and the Miners

are 1-1 on the season. I mean, a win next week in Las Cruces in the battle of I-10, followed by a probable loss in Tampa the following week to USF sets up the Miners at 2-2 with a huge home game against the Houston Cougars. Not too bad for a team still trying to find their identity. Sure 3-1 would have been ideal, but we play the cards we are dealt and hope for the best. And I honestly believe the “best” is yet to come.

THE FINAL WORD:Don’t Jump Off the Bandwagon Just Yet

Call me crazy, but I think UTEP is going to be ok and while the

NMSU game got a lot more interesting after the Aggies upset win over Minnesota,

Miner fans need to stay on the bandwagon.

signing OFF