GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – For the first time since 2017, the Colorado Mesa football finishes the season with an undefeated home record after a 52-9 win over Black Hills State on Saturday (Nov. 6) at Stocker Stadium in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action.
The Mavericks started off hot jumping out to a 21-0 lead after the first quarter finished.
Karst Hunter threw a pair of touchdown passes, one on an 11-yard touch pass to
Elijah Lilly and another on a 9-yard hook up with
KJ Sapp.
After that, it was the
Darick Holmes show.
Holmes scored the first of his four touchdowns in the 21-point first quarter. This one on a 72-yard run that capped a quick two-play drive in 27 seconds. The junior scored twice in the second quarter to help build a 38-0 halftime lead. Holmes scored on runs of 19-yards and 46-yards before a
Lucas Ruiz Diaz 43-yards field goal ended the half.
The Pasadena, Calif. native ended his effort in the fourth quarter on a 15-yard rush that also capped a short two-play drive.
Holmes finished the game with 190 yards on 14 attempts (13.6 yards/rush) with the four touchdowns. It was the most rushing yards and touchdowns by a Mavericks since 2017 when David Tann rushed for 206 yards and five touchdowns against Dixie State at Stocker Stadium on October 14, 2017.
Hunter finished the day 14-of-19 for 246 yards and the two first quarter touchdowns. Backup quarterback also went 2-for-2 for 52 yards and a touchdown pass to
Morian Walker in the fourth quarter.
Elijah Lilly led the receiving group with five catches for 63 yards and the first quarter score.
He offense finished with 572 yards and averaged 10.6 yards per play. It was the fourth time this season has gone over 500 yards of total offense.
The Colorado Mesa was stout all day as well, only allowing 189 yards of Yellowjacket offense. They limited Black Hills State to 5-of-19 on third down and had three sacks.
Deeandra Ervin led all tacklers with 10 total tackles while fellow safety
Damar'ren Mitchell finished with nine tackles.
Creighton Sanders and
Andrew Farley each had a full sack while
Logan Bayus and
Torren Calhoun split the third.
Colorado Mesa moves to 7-2 on the season and 6-2 in the RMAC while Black Hills State falls to 4-6, 2-6 inside the conference.
The Mavericks will close out the regular season on the road next weekend as they travel to South Dakota for a matchup with South Dakota Mines in Rapid City. The Hardrockers had a big win over New Mexico Highlands 40-17 on Saturday in New Mexico.
Other Games:
Bemidji State 36, Northern State 34
Minnesota Duluth 41, Augustana 15
