The Colorado Mesa football team will head out on their first road trip following an odd week two bye. The Mavericks (1-0) will open conference play at New Mexico Highlands on Saturday in Las Vegas, N.M.
 
DUAL THREAT
Redshirt freshman Karst Hunter was deadly through the air and on the ground in the season opening win over William Jewell. He accounted for 367 yards of total offense that came from 302 yards through the air and 65 yards rushing.
 
Hunter was 22-of-44 for 302 yards and had touchdown strikes of 65 yards and nine yards in his first collegiate start.
 
The last time a single quarterback threw for over 300 yards was Eystin Salum on October 27, 2018 against Dixie State in a 45-25 win at Stocker Stadium.
 
RUNNING BACK BY COMMITTEE
The Colorado Mesa backfield has a plethora of running backs that should continue to share a bulk of the carries on the season. Eight different players received at least one carry in the game with William Jewell with no one having more than seven carries.
 
Freshman Avian Thomas earned the start and had seven carries for 58 yards and the season's first touchdown, 2-yard plunge to make the score 13-3. The Missouri native averaged 8.3 yards per carry. Jesse Rodriquez finished with seven carries for 27 yards while Morian Walker had four carries for 26 yards.
 
The two quarterbacks that played in the game led the team in rushing. Starter Karst Hunter had seven carries for 65 yards for a 9.3 yards per carry average while Gavin Herberg had two carries for 87 yards and a touchdown. The COVID freshman broke off a long 82-yard run late in the win in the opener.
 
SPREAD THE WEALTH
Karst Hunter didn't just rely on and target one or two receivers in the game against William Jewell. Hunter completed passes to 12 different receivers with five of those making more than one catch.
 
Elijah Lilly led all pass catchers with four catches for 89 yards and a touchdown. His touchdown catch and run came from 65-yards out and was the second touchdown of the game.
 
Lionell McConnell, KJ Sapp, and Dwight Blakey each had three catches in the win.
 
DEFENSE
The Mavericks 212 defense was stout in the win over William Jewell. They allowed just 208 yards of total offense with only 73 of that coming through the air. The Cardinals only gained 2.8 yards per play with their longest play from scrimmage going for just 18 yards.
 
212
You may hear or have heard the defense chanting "212" during the game or in practices last season and this season. This refers to the motto of the defense and we will try to give you a brief explanation where that comes from.
 
Water boils at 212 degrees and creates steam. Steam is extremely powerful and can power a locomotive which doesn't stop for anything in its path.
 
STOPPER
Linebacker Remington Green was recognized as the RMAC Defensive Player of the Week for his play in the win over William Jewell in the opener. Green finished with 15 total tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, a sack and two pass break-ups in the win. The 15 total tackles ranked No. 3 in NCAA Division II for the week and despite the bye week is still among the nation's leaders in tackles.
 
Green wasn't the only Maverick to have double-digit tackles as safety Damar'ren Mitchell also finished with 10 tackles.
 
KICKING GAME
The Maverick kicking game was a big factor in the win over William Jewell. Punter Blake Moore had just one punt in the game but that went for 50 yards and a touchback. Moore also handled the kickoff duties and averaged over 64 yards a kickoff and included six touchbacks.
 
Kicker Lucas Ruiz Diaz missed his opening field goal attempt then went on to make four straight with a long coming from 41-yads out. He made a pair of 36 yarders and a 31-yarder and was a perfect 4-for-4 in his PAT attempts.
 
SERIES HISTORY WITH NEW MEXICO HIGHLANDS
Colorado Mesa is 32-11 against New Mexico Highlands dating back to the 1976 season. The Mavericks have been winners of the past nine matchups including an 87-14 win in the middle of the streak for the most lopsided victory in the series.
 
SCOUTING THE COWBOYS
Highlands enters this weekend's contest with a 1-1 record with both coming as Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference games. They drubbed Fort Lewis to open the season with a 44-7 win in Durango before they dropped a highly competitive contest to nationally-ranked Colorado School of Mines 31-21 in Golden.
 
Ramon Atkins is the key factor in the Cowboy offense as the quarterback. In the two games they have played, he is 45-of-73 for 583 yards with seven touchdowns against two interceptions. Atkins threw for 230 yards and three scores against a strong Mines defense and before that had 353 yards and four touchdowns against the Skyhawks.
 
The defense is led by Terrance Jackson who leads the team in tackles with 14 while five different players have recorded a sack. Willie Morris has two interceptions on the season to lead the Cowboy secondary.
 
THE COACH
Head coach Tremaine Jackson enters his second season at the helm of the Maverick football team. He guided Colorado Mesa to a 2-1 mark during the COVID shortened 2020 season.
 
He was hired in December 2019 just prior to the COVID pandemic and thus has had to wait almost 19 months to compete in his first game that could go towards a championship.
 
Coach Jackson has made several stops along his coaching path that ranges from all levels. Most recently he made stops at Texas State as the defensive line coach and at Abilene Christian as the defensive coordinator.
 
RMAC PRESEASON POLL
Colorado Mesa was picked to finish in fourth place in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference as voted on by the coaches. The Mavericks finished last season's abbreviated schedule with a 2-1 mark with wins over both Chadron State and Black Hills State. Their lone setback came to South Dakota Mines at home in what turned out to be the final game of the season.
 
Colorado School of Mines was selected to win the conference with seven first place votes and 76 points. Mines finished the 2019 season with a 12-1 mark and a perfect 10-0 mark in the RMAC.
 
CSU Pueblo was second in the poll followed by Chadron State to round out the top four.
 
ON THE HORIZON
The Mavericks will return home for a matchup with Chadron State on Saturday September 25 at Stocker Stadium. The Chadron State game will also be Faculty and Staff Day where Colorado Mesa Faculty and Staff are encouraged to come to the game.