Box Score
Chalk this one up to growing pains.
After falling behind early Thursday night in its season opener at Humboldt State, the Colorado Mesa University football team did everything it could do to hang close before ultimately falling 38-19 to the 21st ranked Lumberjacks from California in non-conference action.
The loss was the first for new head coach Russ Martin and marked the second-straight season-opening loss for CMU to Humboldt State. The Mavericks fell 29-3 in Grand Junction a year ago.
Despite falling behind 14-0 early, the Mavericks (0-1) stayed close throughout the first half and had their chances to pull even. Take away a few miscues, and the outcome could have been quite different.
But it was the miscues that cost the Mavericks in this one.
Four turnovers, a pair of fumbles and two interceptions, along with two missed field goals and a botched extra point didn't make things any easier for the Mavs. And a couple of penalties in crucial situations didn't help either.
The Lumberjacks wasted little time in jumping out front as Victor Spencer hauled in a 36-yard touchdown pass from Alex Rump just 3-minutes, 5-seconds into the contest. Spencer's score capped a seven-play, 76-yard drive that saw tailback Nick Ricciardulli account for 28 yards on the 7-play drive.
A fumble on the ensuing kickoff put HSU in business at the Mavericks' 18-yard line and five Ricciardulli rushes later, the Lumberjacks were up 14-0. And things were looking pretty bleak since the Mavs had yet to take a single offensive snap.
But down two scores, the Mavericks responded by taking advantage of a muffed punt by HSU and then quickly moved 38 yards in eight plays to pull with seven as red-shirt quarterback Deke Cisco scored from three yards out.
After the teams traded punts, Spencer made it 21-7 when he returned a CMU punt 52 yards down the left sideline. The Mavs, behind the running of sophomore Jake Cimolino, moved into Lumberjack territory but Cisco was picked off inside the 10-yard line to end the scoring threat.
Down 21-7, CMU drove into scoring range yet again but a missed field goal which led to a Ricciardulli 64-yard scoring run and a 28-7 lead for the Jacks. A few possessions later, Cimolino would score on a 41-yard run to make it 28-13 but the Mavs could not get any closer.
CMU would once again drive deep inside Lumberjack territory but would come away with a second missed field goal. Humboldt would add a fourth-quarter field and an interception return for a touchdown to put the game out of reach.
Cisco hit Cimolino for a 30-yard scoring strike to close out the scoring.
In all, Cisco, in his CMU debut, completed 10 of 21 passes for 96 yards with a touchdown and an interception while rushing for 157 yards and a score on 24 carries. Cimolino picked up 123 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries while leading the Mavs with 64 receiving yards on five catches.
The Mavericks accounted for just 287 yards of total offense to 342 by the Jacks, neither numbers considered stellar by offensive standards. Defensively, Travis McRae led the Mavs with 6.5 tackles while Mike Brady recorded 4.5
The Mavericks return to action Sept. 8 at Northern Colorado.
