SPEARFISH, S.D. – The Colorado Mesa football team made the long trip to South Dakota and got an extra present when they woke up this morning. The forecast called for a chance of snow but what they got was almost a blizzard with the field completely covered and flurries from the opening whistle to the final horn.
 
The snow didn't stop the Mavericks as they churned out 392 yards on the ground in a 56-7 romp of Black Hills State on Saturday afternoon, pushing their record to 2-0 on the season. The win was the first for Colorado Mesa in Spearfish since 2014.
 
After a bad snap gave the Yellow Jackets a short field on the opening possession, Colorado Mesa fell behind 7-0 with 12:32 remaining in the first quarter. That would be the last time the Yellow Jackets found the scoreboard as the Mavericks limited Black Hills State to just 239 total yards and just 54 yards on the ground.
 
After the ensuing kickoff, on the first play from scrimmage Jesse Rodriquez diced through the line and scampered 72 yards for the score, knotting the game at seven aside. It would be the lone score of the game for the Bennett, Colo. native but he rushed for over 100 yards for the second straight week, finishing with 158 yards on 24 carries.
 
Freshman D'Aris McMillan saw his first collegiate football action and scored his first collegiate touchdown on his first snap. McMillan bulldozed his way into the endzone from 4-yards out to make it 14-7 with 8:46 to play in the first quarter.
 
The Diboll, Texas native would make his first college game a memorable one as he didn't stop at his first touchdown. McMillan would score two more times, once more in the third quarter from 3-yards out and once in the fourth from 5-yards out. He finished with 84 yards on eight carries and three touchdowns.
 
Freshman Gavin Herberg got the nod as the starting quarterback in week two and scored on a 1-yard plunge from the goal line for a score to make it 21-7 with 11 seconds left in the half. Herberg actually fumbled the ball as he reached out for the goal line but recovered his own fumble for the score.
 
The Pine Creek High School product finished the game 10-of-20 passing for 143 yards and a touchdown and added 87 yards and a score on the ground. Herberg found Josh Bist in the corner of the endzone from 11-yards out with 9:17 to play in the game for his first collegiate passing touchdown.
 
The defense got in on the action for the first score in the second half. Damar'ren Mitchell intercepted his second pass of the game and took it 41-yards for the pick-six giving Colorado Mesa a 28-7 lead with 14:17 to play in the third quarter. In his career, Mitchell has five interceptions in Spearfish in his two games.
 
Colorado Mesa's final touchdown of the game came off the hand of redshirt junior quarterback Aaron Howard who stepped in for Herberg on the final drive of the game. Howard found BJ Brown in the back of the endzone from 14-yards out with 1:26 to go making it 56-7.
 
The Mavericks rushed for 392 yards on the ground and finished with 549 yards of total offense, averaging 6.9 yards per play. Six players rushed the ball with four of the six rushing for over 50 yards in the game.
 
The Maverick defense remained stout for the second straight week, limiting their opponents to less than 275 yards in both games.
 
Linebacker Remington Green led the way with 11 tackles with 3.5 of those going for a loss. Pierre Hayes applied pressure on the quarterback, picking up a pair of sacks for 14 yards worth of losses.
 
The Mavericks will return home next weekend for a bout with the South Dakota Mines Hardrockers on Saturday at Stocker Stadium. Last season, the Mavericks opened the season in Rapid City against the Hardrockers and came away with a 37-33 win.