LAS CRUCES, N.M. – A bounce back game was of necessity for the Aggies and a bounce back game is what the Aggies got as it trounced the visiting Leathernecks, 58-21.
 
NM State (1-1) played host for the second straight week as it welcomed Western Illinois (0-1) to Aggie Memorial Stadium on Saturday evening. Following a first half that left much to be desired, the Aggies dominated all facets of the game in final two quarters.
 
A second half in which the Aggie offense scored 38 points and combined to out-gain the Leathernecks 438-85 in total yardage helped Head Coach Jerry Kill and the Aggies sprint to their first win of the 2023 season.
 
Offensively, the Aggies totaled 650 yards of offense and were led by Diego Pavia who completed 16 of his 20 pass attempts while finishing the contest just six yards shy of his career high in passing yardage. Pavia threw two touchdowns on the night while his teammate Eli Stowers finished the night with one completion and one touchdown pass.
 
Sophomore wideout Jonathan Brady accounted for 102 yards of offense by himself to pick up the first game of his career with over 100 yards receiving. Brady also amassed 48 yards in the return game to finish the night with 150 all-purpose yards.
 
In total, seven different Aggies reached the end zone with Star Thomas being the lone Aggie to score multiple touchdowns – recording his first career multi-score game. Thomas powered the Aggie backfield by tallying a team-high 96 rushing yards on just 12 carries.
 
NM State's defense gave up 14 points in the first half, however, it put the clamps on the Leatherneck offense in the second half. WIU finished the second half with negative 13 yards on the ground in the final two quarters while scoring just seven points.
 
Star Thomas' first carry of the night opened the scoring for both sides and he ran through a gaping hole to score his first touchdown of the season while capping off the Aggies' first possession with six points.
 
While Thomas' touchdown was the lone score of the first quarter, the Aggie offense ran 10 plays in the first quarter to set itself up for a Eli Stowers rushing touchdown on the opening play of the second period.
 
Western Illinois later responded the next time they touched the ball by going on a 12 play drive that consisted of three third-down conversions and finished with a five-yard receiving touchdown to cut the Aggie lead to six points with eight minutes remaining in the first half.
 
Monte Watkins put the finishing touches on a second 11-play Aggie drive as he scampered five yards to tally his second touchdown in as many weeks and set the Aggies up to enter the half with a two-score advantage. This appeared to be the case until Western Illinois rattled off a 10 play, 75-yard drive that concluded with a touchdown run with five seconds remaining in the half.
 
As it did in the first half, the NM State offense placed points on the board with its first drive of the third quarter as Ethan Albertson kicked a 37-yard field goal through the uprights.
 
The two ensuing NM State touchdowns would begin to reflect the gap in talent level that Aggies held over the Leathernecks in the skill-player department as Bryce Childress took a wide receiver screen 75 yards for a touchdown before Jonathan Brady snagged a 15-yard pass and sprinted another 65 yards for a score. This put the Aggies ahead 37-14 with 4:38 remaining in the second half.
 
Western Illinois would find a way to score once more in the game, however, the Aggies offset the seven Leatherneck points with 21 of their own as Star Thomas, Jordin Parker and Makhilyn Young each scored to help the Aggies walk away with a 37-point victory.