The postseason has been out of reach for a few weeks now and, barring a few more victories and losses by the Ogden Knights, the New Mexico Wildcats are doomed for a fourth-place finish in their four-team West Division of the American Indoor Football Association.

The Wildcats (1-10) spotted visiting Ogden 21 unanswered points in the first quarter of their game at Santa Ana Star Center last Saturday and went on to lose, 62-42. It was the first time in four meetings with the Knights the game had been decided by more than five points.

It was the team’s 10th loss in a row after an opening-night win over Ogden, 42-27, on the Knights’ field on March 23. Still, it was better than losing 85-6, as the Wildcats had done in their previous game, May 29, at first-place Wyoming. The Cavalry (10-1), owning the best record in the 14-team league, beat Utah Valley (8-3) 52-32 last Saturday.

Coach Lance Brown looks at his list of plays with quatreback B.J. Hall.

Three games remain for the ’Cats (1-10), who are idle this week: home games June 21 and July 6, against, respectively, first-place Wyoming and Utah Valley, and another meeting in Ogden on June 29.

Played before a sparse — attendance figures haven’t been announced for any of the Wildcats’ five home games thus far — but enthusiastic crowd, the Wildcats outscored the Knights (3-8) over the final three periods.

First-half statistics showed the Wildcats seemed to be on their way to a pummeling. Ogden had the ball nearly twice as long, 19:59 to 10:01, and had 70 more yards of offense on seven more plays from scrimmage. Throw in two Wildcats fumbles and the numbers didn’t look too good.

Trailing 48-19 after three quarters, the Wildcats scored the next three touchdowns to make it interesting, 48-36, with 10:57 to go.

Ogden, though, came back to score two of the game’s final three TDs.

C.J. Davis led the Wildcats with two 11-yard TD catches and one covering 10 yards.

“Landrick Brody played a great game there at the end. (QB) B.J. Hall really stepped up,” he said. “He’s got some things going on in the works; he’ll probably be moving on here shortly to another league.”

“We struggled all season long with our DBs, as you can see, we give up a lot in the secondary,” said coach Lance Brown. “I credit that to youth and inexperience, which really hurt us.”

Injuries have hurt the team’s depth, Brown said, while just before game time, his deep snapper “has been battling the flu. It was a game time decision; he was throwing up before we walked out the doors. He’s been like that for a week-and-a-half.”

“This has actually been the first game this season, other than the Wyoming game last week, when we really struggled in the first half,” he said. “We played last week with, like, 15 guys — four or five guys (were) on the bench, really banged up.”

‘Some guys have a lot of heart and they keep going through that,” he said. “I’m here to do all I can with what little we have. I’ve been a one-man show all season long.”

The season has been stressful, Brown said, noting he’s put on a lot of weight since the season began.

“I’m waiting to die of a heart attack one day,” he said. “I’m an offensive lineman; I’m overweight. I’ve put on 68 pounds since I’ve been here in January. I weigh 377 right now. I came in here at 309.”

Despite the weight gain and the mounting losses, is it still fun to be out there, Brown was asked.

“The guys are having fun, to a degree,” Brown said. “It is a business.

“I enjoy what I do. It’s a choice I made 10 years ago,” he explained. “My family loves what I do and I have their support. These gentlemen, they’re out here doing what they love to do, right out of college. Some are married and have kids back at home. If you’ve got support from your family, obviously, you’ve got to love what you’re doing — and enjoy it.”

Ogden’s Leroy Kelly II, the son of NFL Hall of Famer Leroy Kelly, said his team is having fun despite its slow start.

“It’s a lot about the team coming together,” he said. “We had some rough edges. We worked hard, came together. Coaches make us practice hard and we started connecting, filling in the loose ends.

“It’s the same with (the Wildcats). They’re a different team than we’ve seen since the beginning,” Kelly, signed by the Knights in early April, said.

“You come in, the crowd gives you a hard time at first,” he said of playing in a “hostile” arena. “But that’s the beautiful part about it, earning them and trying to get them over.

“At the end of the game, they appreciate you for what you did,” Kelly added.

Indeed, Star Center fans seated close to the action could be seen high-fiving players on the field regardless of their uniform, and later seeking autographs from everyone.