ST. GEORGE, Utah – The No. 20 Colorado Mesa Mavericks used a vaunted rushing attack and a stout defense in upending the Dixie State Trailblazers 35-22 on Saturday (Oct. 14) evening at Legend Solar Stadium in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action.
 
The Mavericks rushed for a season-high 436 yards on 58 attempts. They averaged 7.5 yards per carry and gained 20 first downs on the ground.
 
Senior David Tann led the attack with a season-high 206 yards on 23 carries and added five touchdown runs. Tann scored on runs of 2, 2, 4, 15 and 67 yard runs to move his season total to 12 total touchdowns and his career mark 43 total scores.
 
Quarterback Eystin Salum rushed for 181 yards on 19 attempts including an 82-yard run that setup one of Tann's two-yard scores.
 
Josh Brown led the Mavericks receivers with three catches for 54 yards.
 
Colorado Mesa finished with 542 yards of total offense and averaged 6.9 yards per play.
 
The Maverick defense stood tall in the second half allowing just a single Trailblazer touchdown. The defense allowed just 133 yards of Dixie State offense in the second half.
 
Senior Blake Nelson continues to pester offenses. Tonight, the defensive end finished with seven tackles, two sacks, two pass breakups, and a quarterback hurry.
 
Darian Turner led the Mavericks in tackles with 10 while hauling in his first interception of the season.
 
Colorado Mesa moves to 6-1 on the season and in the RMAC. The Mavericks received good news prior to the kickoff this evening as CSU-Pueblo was knocked off by Fort Lewis. The CSU-Pueblo loss forces a tie on top of the standings with the two teams deadlocked with one-loss on the board.
 
The Mavericks will head back out on the road next week to take on the upstart Adams State Grizzlies in Alamosa on Oct. 21.