Mesa State football (2-2, 2-0) scored 22-fourth quarter points beat visiting Western New Mexico (1-2, 0-2) 43-37 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action Saturday afternoon in Grand Junction. The Mavericks scored 36-second half points to remain undefeated in league play.
WNMU jumped out to a 20-0 lead and were 13-seconds from a first half shutout before the Mavericks drove 61 yards in 51 seconds on a touchdown pass from Robert Felberg to Griffin Chernoff. The Mustangs held a 20-7 halftime lead racking up 282 total first half yards.
MSC opened the second half with a defensive stop and the Mavs offense went to work with Felberg and Chernoff hooking up for a 40-yard touchdown pass to pull to within six points (14-20). The two teams exchanged scores; the Mustangs scoring a touchdown and a two-point conversion after intercepting Felberg on the MSC 44-yard line. MSC answered back driving 61 yards (8 plays), scoring on a Joey Applehans 4-yard touchdown run (21-28).
WNMU extended the lead to 31-21 on a 42-yard field goal with 1:31 remaining in the third quarter.
The fourth quarter MSC exploded for a season high 22 points. The Mavericks scored on each of their first four possessions, including a 49-yard fumble return for a touchdown by Bennett Newton. MSC opened the 4th quarter on a 29-yard field goal by Michael Sweeney. Following a fumble recovery forced by Newton and recovered by Tony Kelly, the Mavericks again closed the gap to four points (27-31) on a 31-yard field goal by Sweeney.
A defensive stop by the Mavs resulted in the offense driving 56 yards (6 plays) and Applehans' second rushing touchdown on the day. The Mavs took their first lead 34-31 with 6:58 remaining in regulation. MSC extended that lead to 10 points (41-31) on the Newton fumble return for a touchdown.
MSC punter C.J. Smith was forced to punt for just the second time in the game with 2:58 remaining. The Mustangs drove 49-yards in 1:13 and now trailed by just four points (37-41) when the PAT was blocked by Tony Kelly and returned for two points by junior Sean Matheson (43-37). The Mustangs last chance resulted in four plays; two incomplete passes and two quarterback sacks (Chad Benkelman and Nainoa Campbell).
The two teams combined for 962 total yards with the Mavericks recording 308 yards of offense in the second half. Felberg was 18 of 29 for 327 yards and two touchdown passes. He was sacked once and threw one interception. Ryan Polosky had a team high seven receptions for 108 yards. Chernoff finished with five catches for a game high 122 yards and two touchdowns. Runningback Joey Applehans led all rushers with 103 yards on 25 carries and two touchdowns.
Defensively the Mavericks recovered two fumbles, had one interception and six sacks on the day. Benkelman recorded three sacks for 16 yards and seven tackles. Newton led all players with 11 tackles, one forced fumble and the fumble recovery for a touchdown.
MSC will travel to Fort Lewis College next Saturday for a matchup with the Skyhawks at 1 p.m.
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