GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – Junior quarterback Eystin Salum passed for 212 yards and rushed for 164 yards to lead No. 11 Colorado Mesa to a 40-14 win over Fort Lewis on a cool night at Stocker Stadium in a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference matchup.
 
Salum finished his night 10-of-18 through the air for 212 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He also used his legs, rushing for another 164 yards and a score. The Denver product found Virnel Moon six times for 134 yards and caught both of Salum's touchdown passes.
 
Moon caught his first touchdown just before the halftime break. The senior hauled in a 19-yard pass capping a five play, 59-yard drive that took just a minute to complete. The catch was made with a Skyhawk defender draped over him in the corner of the endzone.
 
On the Mavericks first drive of the second half, Moon caught his second touchdown from 21 yards out.
 
Colorado Mesa started the game out slow scoring just six points in the first 23:49 of the game.
 
Ryan Sheehan kicked a pair of field goals to account for the first six points of the game. After he booted a 27-yarder to give the Mavericks their first lead of the game, the senior All-American hit on a career-long 51-yarder for the 6-0 lead.
 
Daryl Hawkins scored on a seven yard run in the first half while Brett Ojiyi scored from 16-yards out to account for the rest of the Maverick scoring plays.
 
The Maverick defense stepped up to play against the Skyhawks shutting them out for a majority of the game. Fort Lewis scored the final 14 points of the game in the final 5:35 but limited them to 343 yards of total offense and forced two fumbles.
 
Sophomore Brad Gillis led the team in tackles with nine. Gillis also had a sack, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in the game.
 
The biggest improvement for the Mavericks may have come from the officials. After being penalized an average of 12 times a game for over 100 yards, CMU was flagged just six times for 47 yards.
 
The win moves the Mavericks to 4-0 on the season for the second straight season and gives them a half-game lead in the conference standings.
 
The Colorado Mesa win also sets up a showdown with RMAC rival CSU-Pueblo next Saturday at 2pm in the ThunderBowl in Pueblo, Colo. The game will be broadcast to a nationwide audience on ESPN 3 as part of the NCAA Division II National Showcase.