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Aggies, Oh Aggies!
PJ Johnson III
Mike Martinez
3
Bryant BRY 0-1 , 0-0
19
Winner New Mexico St. NMS 1-0 , 0-0
Bryant BRY
0-1 , 0-0
3
Final
19
New Mexico St. NMS
1-0 , 0-0
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
BRY Bryant 3 0 0 0 3
NMS New Mexico St. 6 3 0 10 19

Game Recap: Football | | Michael Navarrette

Aggies Pull Away from Bulldogs Late in Season Opener

NM State defensive line shines in victory.

LAS CRUCES, N.M. – With one game under its belt, NM State is officially in the win column in 2025. NM State's defensive front maintained pressure throughout the game to help the Crimson and White battle their way to a 19-3 win on Saturday night at Aggie Memorial Stadium.
 
Defensively, the Aggies were led by first-year Aggie Jamall Thompson Jr., who concluded the game with a team-high nine tackles and two of the Aggies' three sacks. Senior leader Tyler Martinez also chipped in eight tackles, including one tackle for loss.
 
Meanwhile, quarterback Logan Fife ended his first game as an Aggie with 14 completions on 31 attempts for 227 yards and one touchdown. Fife connected with Donovan Faupel five times for 99 yards as he finished the night as the Aggies' leading receiver. In total, Fife found seven different receivers, including PJ Johnson III, who hauled in the Aggies' first touchdown of the season.
 
Following a pair of three-and-outs by both offenses, NM State fans got a glimpse of newcomer Logan Fife, who connected with wideout Donovan Faupel for a 55-yard completion. This would set up Fife's first touchdown pass as an Aggie when he slipped the ball through a narrow window to find a leaping PJ Johnson III in the end zone. The Aggies' lead would remain at six after they had the extra point attempt blocked.
 
Bryant would cut into the Aggie lead on the ensuing drive - using a 13-play, 49-yard drive to tally its first points of the game via a 43-yard field goal. 
 
Later, the Aggie offense would match Bryant with a field goal of its own as Ryan Hawk split the uprights with his first field goal attempt as an Aggie to extend the lead to six points with 13:33 remaining in the second quarter.
 
The standout for the Aggies during the remainder of the second quarter would be punter Max Dean, who pinned the Bryant offense inside their own 5-yard line on its next two possessions. The Aggie offense would benefit from this as it would start two drives inside Bryant territory; however, it would be unable to turn this into any points and would enter the locker room with a 9-3 lead.
 
After a combined seven empty possessions, NM State finally broke through after a drive that stalled at the Bryant 9-yard line resulted in a second field goal to push the Aggie lead to nine points with just over 12 minutes to play in the fourth quarter.
 
The NM State defense would then force its second turnover on downs of the half, propelling the Aggies to march 61 yards down the field, where Kadarius Calloway found the edge and recorded the first touchdown of his brief Aggie career. This would push the Aggie advantage to 16 points with a little over six minutes to play. This is where it would ultimately stay after Jakobe Campbell came away with an interception on the next Bulldog possession and then the Aggies forced a punt on the final Bryant possession of the game. 
 
NUMBERS OF NOTE

  • Senior wide receiver Donovan Faupel notched a career day in the win over Bryant, hauling in a career best in catches (5), receiving yards (99) while also recording the longest reception (55 yards) of his career in Las Cruces.
  • Samford transfer Jamall Thompson had an impressive debut in the Crimson and White - finishing with a career high nine tackles while also matching his career best in sacks with two.
  • Logan Fife finished his debut with the Aggies with 14 completions on 30 attempts, compiling 227 yards and one touchdown. In total, Aggie passers threw for more than 225 yards just one time during the entirety of the 2024 season.
  • Kadarius Calloway paced the Aggies in rushing yards with 50 yards and one touchdown on 12 carries. The fourth-quarter score marked Calloway's first rushing touchdown since Sept. 14, 2024, as a member of Cal.
  • With the victory, the Aggies move to 1-0 for the second consecutive season. This marks the first time since the 2006 and 2007 seasons that the Aggies begin the year with a win in back-to-back seasons.
  • NM State finished the night with six tackles for loss to mark the most since Oct. 15, 2024, when the Aggies finished with seven tackles behind the line of scrimmage.
  • After having his opening extra point blocked, new Aggie kicker Ryan Hawk made both of his field goal attempts to begin his Aggie career a perfect 2-for-2, with kicks coming from 41 yards and 27 yards, respectively.
  • Punter Max Dean tallied seven total punts for 323 yards to turn in an average of 46.1 yards per punt, including a long of 54. He also placed four of his punts inside the Bryant 20-yard line.
  • Dijon Stanley's kick return of 52 yards in the first quarter marked the Aggies' longest kick return since Sept. 18, 2021, when Juwaun Price returned a kick 58 yards against South Carolina State.

 
UP NEXT
 
NM State will remain at home next Saturday when it is scheduled to host Tulsa in what will be the Aggies first matchup against an FBS opponent this season. This will also mark the first time the Aggies and Golden Hurricane meet since 2001 after once spending 10 seasons (1973-82) in the same conference.
 
For complete coverage of the NM State football program, visit NMStateSports.com - the official home of Aggie athletics - and follow the Aggies on Facebook (NM State Football), Twitter (@NMStateFootball) and Instagram (@NMStateFB).  

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