Former Wildcats make mark on college gridiron

Even though the Clovis High football season ended more than a month ago, it was quite a weekend for Wildcat alumni as one claimed a bowl game MVP award and another will head to a national title game.

In Arkansas, 2016 Clovis grad Daulton Hatley earned MVP honors as Southeastern Oklahoma State University defeated Emporia State 37-34 in the Farmers Bank and Trust United Bowl. A little closer to Clovis, sophomore Malik Phillips and the New Mexico Military Institute Broncos punched their ticket to the NJCAA Division I title game by topping Northwest Mississippi Community College Rangers 49-30 at the Wool Bowl.

In Texarkana, Hatley completed 23 of 38 passes for 336 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. He also led the game-winning drive, going 3-for-6 for 57 yards to help set up Trey Keatts’ 29-yard field goal with :06 to play.

“It was a great feeling,” Hatley told The News. “We’ve worked so hard for the last two years. To end up in a bowl victory, it was something special.”

The win lived the Savage Storm to a 9-3 season, with the nine wins matching its highest total since joining Division II. The win also capped off quite a turnaround for Southeastern, which went 1-10 in the 2019 season.

"The way we did it," head coach Tyler Fenwick said, "It feels pretty darn good. … Going from 1-10 and these seniors sticking it out and fighting through it and trusting the coaching staff that's new and the process that we're going through. It's so easy to leave these days, and they stuck it out and they worked and they battled and they win because of it. It's a great example of don't leave and just stay the course."

As a junior, Hatley broke the school’s single-season passing touchdown record with 27 (against just five interceptions), and become just the second quarterback in school history with more than 3,000 yards passing in a season (3,186 on 264-of-409 passing). His season earned him an honorable mention on the All-Great American Conference team.

During his sophomore year in 2019, Hatley started five games and completed 127 of 252 passes for 1,651 yards, 12 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He was also named to the GAC’s all-academic team.

Hatley still has a semester of eligibility left, but is graduating this weekend with a master’s degree in business administration and plans to get married in the summer. He’s looking for a career in occupational safety, which he studied for his bachelor’s degree, but he’s not completely ruling out one last season on the gridiron.

“We’ll have some decisions to make,” Hatley said.

In Roswell, Phillips — a 2020 Clovis High grad — had three catches for 74 yards, including a 36-yard pass that helped set up a touchdown on the Broncos’ second offensive series. Phillips also returned two kickoffs for 64 yards.NMMI compiled 655 yards of total offense, compared to 625 for the Northwest Mississippi.

The Broncos (11-1), ranked second in the NJCAA, will face top seed Iowa Western (10-0) in the inaugural NJCAA title game. The game will air 6 p.m. Dec. 17 on CBS Sports Network.