GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – The Mesa State Mavericks made a statement to the NCAA Division II football world by going blow-for-blow with the high powered West Texas A&M offense Thursday night until a field goal with 3:59 left in the fourth quarter broke open a tied game before a full-house at Stocker Stadium. The 24-yard field goal by James Chandler enabled the visiting Buffaloes to escape with a 23-20 win in the season opener for both teams before a crowd of 3,822.
Mesa State was winless in their previous two match-ups with football powerhouses from the Lone Star Conference.
Mesa had a chance to answer the three pointer, but after picking up a couple of first downs the drive stalled at midfield on three straight quarterback sacks, two of them by defensive end Dexter Manley II, son of former Washington Redskin star Dexter Manley. The three sacks took the Mavs from the West Texas 49-yard-line to 4th and 23, forcing the Mavericks to punt.
MSC looked like it might get another opportunity in the final minute of play, as the defense forced the Buffs into a fourth down and four yards to go at their own 48-yard line. Instead of punting, West Texas A&M coach Don Carthel made a surprising call, sending his offense back onto the field, but they never had to snap the ball as the Mesa State defense jumped off-side, causing an encroachment penalty and sealing the deal for the Buffaloes, enabling them to run out final 55 seconds.
Mesa looked sharp the taking the opening possession 80 yards, riding the legs of Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference running back Bobby Coy. The junior picked up 63 of his 201 yards on the drive, capping it off with a two-yard touchdown run, putting the Mavs up 7-0 following the extra point kick.
On the ensuing West Texas drive, All America Quarterback Keith Null found fellow All American Charley Martin wide open and streaking down the seem, but Martin couldn't real it in. The Buffs weren't phased by the wasted opportunity, scoring on their next possession to even things up at seven a piece. As Mesa's offense sputtered into the second quarter, A&M took advantage of the constant blitzing by the Maverick defense. Null found the hot receiver time after time capping the drive with a 16-yard touchdown pass to Martin. The PAT kick failed, leaving the Buffs with a 13-7 edge.
Mesa answered right back with another Coy TD run, this time from four yards out. The point after gave the Mavs a 14-13 lead heading to the locker room for halftime.
Wayne McKnight showed the crowd at Stocker Stadium why he lead Division II last year in punt and kick return yards, as he took the 2nd half kick off back 78 yards to the MSC three-yard line, due to a late block in the back penalty, the Buffs were forced back to the 13. Wasting no time, Null again found Martin on the fade for a touchdown pass, taking a 20-14 lead.
Quarterback Phil Vigil lead the Mavs right back down the field for the answering touchdown, finding senior tight end Maurice Manley who made a incredible catch in the back corner of the end zone to tie things up at 20-20.
The Mavericks couldn't take the lead as All America kicker Jared Keating had his PAT blocked. The teams turned the first half shoot out into a second half defensive struggle. With just over nine minutes left Mesa pinned A&M in at the one yard line after a great pooch punt by C.J. Smith. Using their seldom used running game the Buffs picked up a quick first down and then it was back to the aerial attack as Null hooked up with Anthony Clark on a great 43 yard catch and run, setting up West Texas for what would end up being the game winning field goal.
Coy got his 201 yards rushing on 34 attempts, and scored two touchdowns. Vigil was impressive by completing 14 for 24 passes with 168 yards and one touchdown. Manley had five receptions for 41 yards and the one TD.
The Mavs will again get a chance to play elite competition as they travel to Ellensburg on Sept 6 to face Central Washington University, which came into play this weekend ranked 11th in the nation. They possess preseason first team All Americans. They have Harlon Hill Trophy candidate Mike Reilly at quarterback.
