Colorado Mesa will set out on the road for the first-time in 2020 and the first-time in the Tremaine Jackson era. The Mavericks will play at Black Hills State this Saturday at noon from Lyle Hare Stadium and they will be looking for their first win in Spearfish since 2014.
 
WIN 472
Head football coach Tremaine Jackson earned his first victory as a head coach in last Saturday's 10-7 overtime thriller with Chadron State. Following the game, Jackson was quick to note that this was win 472 and he was eager to get to work on win 473.
 
The 472 refers to the total number of wins the Colorado Mesa football program has in its 92^nd season of playing. The Mavericks are now 472-353-28.
 
RMAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Redshirt junior linebacker Greyson Matalus was named the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week following his performance against Chadron State. The award is the first of his career and comes off a career day.
 
The Palmer Ridge High School product had a career-high 15 tackles, a half a sack, a quarterback hurry and a pass break-up in the overtime win over the Eagles. Matalus also helped the defense hold Chadron State to just 266 total yards and less than 3.5 yards per play.
 
THE 212
Fans may have heard the sideline chanting, "2-12……2-12…..2-12", while the Maverick defense was on the field. This is in reference to coach Tremaine Jackson and defensive coordinator Brandon Andersen's 212 defense.
 
The basis of the 212 defense is that at 211 degrees water is hot, at 212 degrees water boils and produces steam which can power an engine or locomotive. In football terms, the 212 defense can power the team.
 
The 212 pitched a shutout for 59 minutes and 35 seconds in its Maverick debut.
 
SPECIAL TEAMS
You could say special teams saved the game for Colorado Mesa on Saturday. The field goal block team came up with a pair of blocks, one by Pierre Hayes and the other by Logan Bayus. Both would have given Chadron State a lead at the time and could have been the difference in the game.
 
In the low scoring, defensive battle, field position became extremely important. Jordan Ellis recovered a muffed punt by the Eagles giving Colorado Mesa a shorter field. Ellis would later go on to intercept an Eagle pass in overtime setting up the Mavericks for the winning score.
 
NEXT MAN UP
Redshirt junior running back Isaac Maestas went down with an injury on the first play of the game. In stepped redshirt sophomore Jesse Rodriquez and the run game never missed a beat, pounding out 228 yards on 44 attempts which ended giving the Mavericks 5.2 yards per rush. In all six Mavericks rushed the ball with Rodriquez leading the way with 176 yards that included a pair of 50-plus yard runs.
 
Justice Ogueri finished with 24 yards on nine carries and Justice Jackson toted it three times for four yards.
 
SHORT PASSES
Quarterback Aaron Howard completed passes to six different receivers with no completion going for more than 16 yards. Newcomer BJ Brown led the group with four catches for 27 yards while Trey Windham led the way in yards with three catches for 29 yards.
 
Brown and Dagan Rienks are both big targets and look for the Mavericks to get them more involved down the field soon.
 
MAVERICKS vs. YELLOW JACKETS HISTORY
Colorado Mesa and Black Hills State have a unique history with one and other. They have only met eight times in the two programs' history as the distance between the two schools spans 603 miles apart with Colorado Mesa owning a 6-2 all-time advantage. The Mavericks have won all four of the meetings in Grand Junction, while the two teams have split the four games in South Dakota.
 
Despite the record against the Yellow Jackets, the Mavericks have not won in Spearfish since 2014, a 48-31 triumph behind Andrew Cota throwing for 291 yards and three scores and rushed for 125 yards and two more scores.
 
Last Five Meetings
Oct. 26, 2019 – @ Colorado Mesa 58, Black Hills State 21
Oct. 20, 2018 – @ Black Hills State 31, Colorado Mesa 26
Oct. 7, 2017 – @ Colorado Mesa 49, Black Hills State 37
Oct. 8, 2016 – @ Black Hills State 48, Colorado Mesa 34
Oct. 3, 2015 – @ Colorado Mesa 48, Black Hills State 7
 
SCOUTING BLACK HILLS STATE
The Yellow Jackets are under new direction this year, just like Colorado Mesa. In fact, the two new head coaches are quite familiar with one and other. Black Hills State head coach Josh Breske and Maverick head coach Tremaine Jackson were both on staff at Sioux Falls together, Breske as the offensive line and tight ends coach and Jackson as the defensive coordinator.
 
Black Hills State kicker Jacob Parks was named the RMAC Special Teams Player of the Week as he was perfect on his field goal attempts and averaged 46.7 yards per punt in the loss to South Dakota Mines last weekend.
 
Yellow Jacket starting quarterback Chance Eben played in last season's matchup and was 17-for-30 for 134 yards and a touchdown. He also threw a pair of interceptions that were both ran back for Maverick touchdowns.
 
Free safety Bailey Rosenstrauch is the top returning defensive player for Black Hills State. He had seven tackles in last season's matchup while making just one stop on the opening weekend. Inside linebacker Ryder Blair made 13 tackles and picked up a fumble in the opener.
 
THE HEAD COACH
During the offseason, Colorado Mesa made a change at the head coach position…enter Tremaine Jackson. Coach Jackson will be making his head coaching debut on Saturday against Chadron State. He coached last season at Division I Texas State as the defensive line coach and made previous stops at Abilene Christian, Sioux Falls, Texas Southern, and Texas A&M-Kingsville.
 
He served in the defensive coordinator role at Texas Southern, Sioux Falls and Abilene Christian leading those programs to huge turnarounds on the defensive side of the ball with his 212 approach.
 
THIS WEEK IN THE RMAC
Chadron State, Colorado Mesa's opponent last week, will play host to South Dakota Mines at Don Beebe Stadium in the only other matchup for schools in the conference. Saturday will be homecoming for the Eagles
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Colorado Mesa will return home to the friendly confines of Stocker Stadium for a matchup with the South Dakota Mines Hardrockers on Saturday, Oct. 24. Last season, the Mavericks opened up the season in Rapid City and defeated the Hardrockers 37-33 on a last second interception in the end zone.