LAS VEGAS, N.M – The Yellow Jackets forced four turnovers and scored two defensive touchdowns to help them on their way to their first victory of the season after taking down the New Mexico Highlands University Cowboys (2-7, 1-6 RMAC) on Saturday, 48-45. 

With the win the Jackets snap their seven-game losing streak and move to 1-7 overall and 1-5 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference as they push NMHU's losing streak to six. 

With only 3:46 left to play in the fourth quarter, the Jackets found themselves with the ball on the Cowboy's 12 yard-line looking at a fourth-and-eleven with the game tied 45-45.  Without hesitation, BHSU head coach John Reiners, turned to true freshman kicker, Christian Parr, to make his tenth field goal of the year. 

Parr hit the 29-yard and eventual game-winning field goal to give the Jackets a three-point lead, allowing the defense to close out the win with an Austin Haynes interception for a touchback two-minutes later to seal the deal. 

"I had no issue calling on him as a freshman to win the game for us with that field goal," Reiners said. "I can't say enough about how high of a level he's been playing for us." 

Parr now leads the conference in field goals after making 10-of-11 on the year thus far. 

Reiners' squad has continued to play with a "no quit" attitude throughout the winless season before Saturday, which continued to show itself after NMHU battled back to close the gap. 

"At times we put ourselves behind the eight ball, but we never quit and our defense stepped up with turnovers and touchdowns.  Our kids continued to fight and were the aggressors at the end – I'm very excited for them after the first win," Reiners said. 

The Jackets got off to a fast start and a 17-0 lead as they began the game with a Bradley Adamson five-yard touchdown catch from Ward Anderson, thank to a LB Steven Soderstrom forced fumble to set the offense up with just 41 yards to go for the score.  Adamson finished the day with four catches for 49 yards (14.8 avg). 

In the following possession, the Yellow Jacket defense continued its aggressive style of play early-on after cornerback, Brian Baldwin, returned an interception for a 70-yards for a touchdown to give his team a 14-0 lead. 

Less than 30 seconds later, for the third consecutive drive, the Jacket defense came up with another turnover.  This time it was senior captain, Austin Haynes, who intercepted a pass and returned it 25 yards to the NMHU 29 yard-line. 

Three plays later, freshman kicker Christian Parr hit a season-long 44-yard field goal to put BHSU up by three possessions. 

As coach Reiners alluded to after the contest, with an offensive passing attack as explosive as NMHU's with quarterback Emmaul Lewis (averaging 315 yards passing per game), it would be tough for any team to hold them out of the end zone.  

Luckily for the Yellow Jackets, they managed to put together a season-high 48 points after quarterback Ward Anderson finished 21-of-35 for 273 yards and two touchdowns with just one interception.  Anderson also had 14 rushes for 44 yards (3.1 avg) and another score. 

Running back Trent Butler came back after missing last week's contest with an injury, to lead the Jackets with 15 carries for 64 yards (4.3 avg) and a two-yard touchdown run in the first quarter to give BHSU a 24-7 lead. 

Yellow Jacket sophomore linebacker, Trent Boner, who is ranked third-overall in the RMAC in tackles, picked up a NMHU fumble towards the end of the second quarter for a 26-yard scoop-and-score touchdown.  Boner now has 88 tackles on the season after grabbing 13 more today versus the Cowboys. 

Senior captain, Neil Novak, finished second on the team in the game with nine tackles (1.5 TFL) as Baldwin, LB Jeremy Tuten, and DB Travis Groves all finished with eight tackles. 

NMHU's Lewis managed to turn in a productive day statistically after going 23-of-42 for 294 yards and four touchdowns and one interception.  The Cowboy's back-up quarterback, Lance Orender, also played in the game and threw two more interceptions on the day. 

NMHU's leading wide receiver, Darius Davis, had a game-high 99 yards after six grabs and two touchdowns as Yellow Jacket WR/TE Luke Whalen matched Davis with six catches for 84 yards (14.0 avg). 

One of the biggest plays of the day came by WR Jake Frauenholtz, who hauled in a 66-yard touchdown grab after a quick pass by Anderson in a crucial touchdown at the top of the fourth quarter with 13:31 left to play to give BHSU a 45-35 lead. 

The Jacket offense ended the day with 400 yards of total offense, 22 first downs and went 5-of-13 on third down (38%) after almost 28 minutes with the ball.  NMHU ran 104 plays and finished with 360 passing yards and 165 rushing yards with four total turnovers.

The Yellow Jackets next game will come at home versus Western New Mexico (2-6, 2-5 RMAC) on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2013 at 1 p.m. MT from Lyle Hare Stadium.