In the 102nd Battle of I-10 rivalry game against the University of Texas at El Paso Miners, the New Mexico State University Aggies contended to take home the Silver Spade Trophy – and a chance to improve a heavy loss record.
Ahead of UTEP’s move to the Mountain West Conference next season, this matchup could be the last for the foreseeable future, adding an increased sense of hunger for a victory between these teams.
Faced with his first collegiate game start for NMSU, rookie quarterback Adam Damante stepped in for starting quarterback Logan Fife, after he was injured in last week’s game against the Tennessee Volunteers.
The Miners had to keep an eye on the Aggies this game since NMSU ranks fourth in the nation for forced turnovers.
This turned out to be something that the Miners were aware of, proven by Ashten Emory quickly running the ball 56 yards before being taken down in the red zone, leading to UTEP’s first touchdown by Skyler Locklear.
With UTEP out to a 7-0 lead against NMSU, the Aggies tried to continue their drive with a pass, but was intercepted by the Miners, resulting in yet another touchdown, ran in 30 yards by Emery, now at 14-0.
Responding to the two back-to-back touchdowns, NMSU’s run game was forced to act. A fumbled pass was put directly into the Miner’s hands for an explosive few plays, with a dart thrown to the end zone by Locklear and caught by Miner wide receiver Wondame Davis Jr. to put up UTEP’s third touchdown in the first 15 minutes.
Now 21 points behind, NMSU was faced with no choice but to keep trying to get a drive going. Luckily, Isaiah Rudison was able to kickstart Aggie offense and get a few good runs in with the teamwork of Damante before starting the second quarter.
Only three seconds into the second quarter, a throw from Damante to NMSU wide receiver Donovan Faupel earned NMSU their first touchdown, now catching up at 21-7.
“You talk about it all the time as a coach, ‘Don’t worry about the scoreboard, don’t look at the scoreboard,’ they lived it today,” Head Coach Tony Sanchez said. “They did a great job of not worrying about it and just playing the next play.”
Despite Damante coming in as a redshirt sophomore this year, his skill has been proven by his 400 total rushing yards in just two games, and 68.3 completion percentage, complemented by 253 passing yards.
Another Aggie touchdown, thrown again by Damante to Faupel, landed NMSU only one score away from UTEP’s lead to respond with 14 unanswered points at 21-14.
With only two minutes prior to the last score, another touchdown, ran 57 yards by Aggie running back Dijon Stanley, propelled the Aggies to tie the game up at 21-21, all before halftime.
After a short period of review in the beginning half of the third quarter, NMSU attained an interception from a pass thrown by Locklear, giving them another chance to get ahead of the tie while forcing a turnover, and reaching their 15th interception this season.
Sinking in a 46-yard field goal, Aggie kicker David Barker put NMSU at a 24-21 lead after a UTEP sack on Damante. With continued efforts from both sides, and Miner offense closing in on the Aggie end zone, NMSU was once again tied up with a field goal landed by UTEP kicker Tanner Cragun.
“Being down 21 [points] really fast and then coming in and taking that lead [and] scoring 24 unanswered points is pretty impressive for these guys,” Sanchez said.
Kicking off the final quarter, Isaiah Rudison made another quick 37-yard run to bring the Aggies all the way down to UTEP’s red zone, but didn’t result in any touchdown points. Forced to kick a field goal, the Aggies furthered their lead to 27-24.
With under five minutes remaining, the sheer weight and meaning of this game buzzed throughout the stadium, and both Aggie and Miner fans rowdily cheered for their respective teams to have a game-deciding scoring drive. As the ball continued to progress back and forth, efforts to run and pass through the mob of players were swallowed up by defenseman.
Until a pass thrown by NMSU with a little over a minute left was intercepted right in UTEP’s field-goal territory, opening up a chance for them to steal the game. UTEP wide receiver Kenny Odom caught a 28-yard pass from Locklear, giving the Miners a lead once again at 31-27.
With a last-ditch effort to score and less than a minute left on the clock, NMSU offense derived a historic drive. Engineering an ideal situation of Dijon Stanley running 25 yards to get NMSU into the red zone, and a catch from Damante to Wyoming transfer and wide receiver TK King, working together to score a game-shifting touchdown with 21 seconds left.
As the clock hit zero, the board was sealed off with an Aggie victory at 34-31.
“Overall, [I’m] just really proud of the guys’ effort, it was a needed win,” Sanchez said. “They have not thrown the towel in one time this year, and it just speaks with who they are as people.”
![Group leaders [left to right] Jacarthie Brazil, Kira Baum, Carter-Elise Keating, and Abby Watkins pose for a picture after a successful interview. April 21, 2026.](https://nmsuroundup.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/01_AnnaB_Health-Club_LowRes.jpg)
