GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – The Colorado Mesa football team racked up 482 yards of total offense and scored 42 first half points en route to a 49-14 win over the Adams State Grizzlies on Saturday (Oct. 9) night at Stocker Stadium in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action.
Offensively, the Maverick ground game had the game in control. The run game finished with 266 yards and averaged 5.1 yards per carry.
Karst Hunter led the team with 100 yards on 13 carries and two touchdowns while the
Darick Holmes show was on full display with 79 yards on 12 carries and two more touchdowns. Holmes scored the first touchdown of the game with a 28-yard run and followed that up with a 34-yard scoring run later in the first quarter.
Holmes not only was spectacular on the ground but also caught four passes for 86 yards and another score. His touchdown catch came in the third quarter on a 42-yard catch-and-run from Hunter.
Colorado Mesa blocked a punt in the first quarter and recovered the ball at the 1-yardline. The Mavericks came out in the Maryland I and Hunter handed the ball to the upback, linebacker
Siaosi Finau, who plowed in for the score.
A special moment came in the opening minutes of the second quarter as
Dagan Rienks caught a 24-yard touchdown pass from Hunter to make it 35-7. Earlier in the week, Rienks lost his father just after the CSU Pueblo game. Teammates and coaches came out to embrace Rienks after the PAT. The tight end finished the game with four catches for 81 yards and the score.
The Maverick's defense was stellar all night, limiting the Grizzlies to just 182 yards of offense and held them to just 4-of-17 on third down. The 212 forced Adams State to punt nine times and forced seven three-and-outs.
Creighton Sanders led the Maverick defense with eight tackles while
Kaden Stewart enjoyed his best night as a Maverick. Stewart had six tackles with four tackles going for loss including a sack and a quarterback hurry.
D'Angelo Lindsey intercepted his first pass of the season while
Eugene Bowman had two pass break ups, a fumble recovery and blocked a Grizzly field goal to end the first half.
Colorado Mesa improves to 4-1 on the season and 3-1 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference while Adams State falls to 0-6 on the season and 0-4 in the conference.
The Mavericks will head back out on the road next weekend to take on the Fort Lewis Skyhawks in Durango. The Skyhawks dropped a 42-7 decision to South Dakota Mines on the road on Saturday and are 0-6 on the season.
**NOTE: The game was the first in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference history to feature two black head coaches facing off against one and other. Colorado Mesa head coach
Tremaine Jackson, Adams State head coach Jarrell Harrison and Fort Lewis' Darrius Smith make up three of the approximately 10 black head coaches at Division II school outside of the HBCUs.**
