Chapman, Washington Return to Lead Aztecs to Win

Upper classmen have big nights in comeback against New Mexico

Heading into Saturday night’s game in New Mexico the San Diego State Aztecs had not scored 30 points in a game all season. Not having their starting quarterback or starting running back for most of the year certainly contributed to that.

Senior quarterback Christian Chapman and junior running back Juwan Washington, two guys who were expected to be major parts of the SDSU offense, returned from injuries just in time to lead the Aztecs to a 31-23 comeback win over the Lobos.

Ryan Agnew, the junior QB who filled in admirably for Chapman, got the start but made a big mistake on SDSU’s opening drive. Agnew held the ball too long on a scramble, got hit, fumbled, and watched as New Mexico defensive lineman Adeb Soremekun ran it back 44 yards for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead.

San Diego State lost three fumbles, all of them on their side of the field, and all of them led directly to points as New Mexico built a 23-14 lead in the 4th quarter.

Then things flipped on a dime.

With 7:29 to play Chapman hit tight end Kahale Warring for a 19-yard touchdown that cut the lead to 23-21. Chapman finished with 182 yards passing with no turnovers. After John Barron II nailed another field goal to give SDSU a 24-23 lead Washington got loose for a 50-yard touchdown that put it to bed. Juwan carried 11 times for 98 yards and a pair of scores.

The Aztecs improve to 7-2 and still have a chance to reach the Mountain West Conference title game. They host UNLV next Saturday at 7:30 at SDCCU Stadium.

Contact Us