Colorado Mesa will head to Alamosa for another short road trip to take on the Adams State Grizzlies at 6:00pm at Rex Stadium. The Mavericks improved to 2-4 on the season after a 70-10 win over Fort Lewis last weekend at Stocker Stadium on Saturday evening. The win snapped a four-game losing skid and they will look to make it two wins in a row since late last season.
The Mavericks will look to move to 3-1 on night games this season as they are scheduled to play at 6:00pm this weekend. They defeated William Jewell in the season opener and Fort Lewis this past weekend while falling to Western at night.
They will be making their shortest remaining road trip of the year as they travel to Alamosa, a trip of 246 miles each way.
WEEKLY REWIND
Colorado Mesa snapped their four-game losing streak last weekend when they defeated Fort Lewis 70-10 on a brisk night at Stocker Stadium. The Mavericks avoided going 1-5 for the first time since the winless season of 2004.
The offense continued to click in the big win as they racked up 601 yards of offense that included 353 yards through the air and another 248 yards on the ground. Eight different players carried the ball with all of them recorded at least 12 yards rushing while 10 different receivers caught passes with all gaining at least seven yards. Eight different players scored touchdowns in the game with only Karst Hunter and Keyshawn Ashford having more than one touchdown.
On defense, the Mavericks were able to play several different players in the win over Fort Lewis. Gavin Herberg, Levi Krebs, Jayden Davis and Big Mike Thompson Jr. tied for the team lead in tackles with seven. Kaden Stewart, Lex Leany, Ryan Randall, and Nathan Deitrick all finished the game with a sack.
One of the biggest defensive plays of the game came early in the fourth quarter as Fort Lewis quarterback Braden Wingle dropped back and fired a pass out to the sideline. The pass went backwards and stayed in play. Kash Bradley scooped up the lateral and went 13-yards for the touchdown. Bradley joins teammate Hudson Metcalf as defensive touchdown scorers.
THE MATCHUP
Colorado Mesa will look to make it two in a row this season as they travel to Alamosa for a date with Adams State in Rex Stadium. The Mavericks will be looking for a two game winning streak for the first time since the final two games of last season when they defeated Black Hills State and South Dakota Mines.
Colorado Mesa has won seven in a row against the Grizzlies that dates back to the 2014 season. Prior to that season, Adams State won eight of the previous 10 matchups from 2004 to 2013. The only wins for the Mavericks in that stretch came in 2011 and the Mavericks playoff season of 2007.
Colorado Mesa and Adams State are meeting for the 47th time and is another one of the Mavericks longest standing, four-year matchups. Colorado Mesa leads the all-time series 29-17 including a 17-4 record in Grand Junction.
The Mavericks largest margin of victory over Adams State came on October 29, 1988 when they defeated the Grizzlies 71-21 in Alamosa.
In the very first matchup between the two schools back on Nov. 15, 1975, Adams State defeated Colorado Mesa (then Mesa College) 78-8. To this day, that is still one of the biggest margins of defeat in Maverick history.
Last Five Matchups
Oct. 9, 2021: in Grand Jct., W 49-14
Nov. 9, 2019: in Alamosa, W 35-13
Nov. 3, 2018: in Grand Jct., W 64-63 OT
Oct. 21, 2017: in Alamosa, W 70-21
Oct. 22, 2016: in Grand Jct., W 63-42
KNOW YOUR FOE
Adams State has had some struggles this year as they enter the weekend with a 1-6 record. Their lone win has come at the hands of Fort Lewis while two of their six losses have been by less than three points (New Mexico Highlands and Chadron State).
The Grizzlies is still in transition with second-year head coach Jarrell Harrison at the helm. The Grizzly pass offense ranks fifth in the RMAC as they average over 234 yards passing a game but just a little over 113 on the ground which ranks eighth in the conference.
Daylen Boddie leads their ground attack with 331 yards and seven touchdowns while Elijah Harper has caught 38 passes for 499 yards with four touchdowns. Harper ranks sixth in the RMAC in receiving yards per game at 71.3 yards per game and fifth in catches per game at 5.4.
Defensively, Daniel Mendoza leads the Grizzly defense with 66 total tackles and three pass break-ups. He had 15 total tackles last week against Chadron State and added 12 total tackles against West Texas A&M earlier in the season. Joseph Wallace has a team-high six pass break-ups this season.
THE TRIFECTA
Quarterback Karst Hunter completed the trifecta against Fort Lewis last Saturday. The Miller, S.D. native had three passing touchdowns, a rushing touchdown, and a receiving touchdown in the win. He accounted for five touchdowns on Saturday that equaled his career best.
He found Keyshawn Ashford for his first passing touchdown before a 29-yard touchdown strike to Jacob Whitmer. His third and final touchdown came on a 12-yard touchdown to Markell Quinney. For Ashford and Quinney, it was their first touchdown as a Maverick.
The dual threat quarterback also added a touchdown on the ground. A 7-yard scamper for his rushing touchdown.
Tight end Dagan Rienks completed his second career pass in the win over Fort Lewis. His completion was a 16-yard completion to Hunter for a touchdown in what is being dubbed, 'Maverick Special', Colorado Mesa's version of the Philly Special. His other completion came in 2019 on a double pass completion to Peter Anderson for 55 yards.
THE KEYS
The keys to victory have become clear for the Mavericks this season as the team is six games into their schedule with just four left to play.
Score First: The Mavericks have scored first in five of the six games they have played this season. Both of the Mavericks wins they scored first.
Lead after three quarters: The Mavericks are 2-0 when they have a lead heading into the fourth quarter of play.
Score 30 points: Colorado Mesa is 2-1 when they score 30 points in a game. They are just 2-3 when scoring 20 points.
Hold opponent to less than 20 points: The Mavericks are 2-0 when limiting their opponents to 20 points or less. The opponents have all scored more than 20 points in their four losses.
Keep Opponent under 300 total yards: Colorado Mesa is 2-0 when they limit their opponents to less than 300 yards of offense.
Keep Opponent under 33% on Third Down: The Mavericks are 2-1 when they hold their opponents under 33 percent on third down. The lone loss came to Black Hills State.
THE RED ZONE
One area Colorado Mesa has been excellent in this season has been red zone offense. They are scoring on 95.2 percent of their drives that reach the red zone as they are 20-for-21 on their trips inside-the-20. The Mavericks have scored 16 touchdowns with 11 of those touchdowns coming through the air and four field goals in the red zone this season.
They are the top team in the RMAC in red zone offense and rank third nationally behind Missouri Southern and New Haven.
ON THE HORIZON
The Mavericks will host CSU Pueblo for their homecoming game next weekend at Stocker Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00pm with several pregame homecoming activities scheduled. CSU Pueblo is set to take on Chadron State this weekend at the ThunderBowl.
Colorado Mesa's next road game will be their final one of the season when they travel to Chadron, Neb. for a battle with the Chadron State Eagles in Military Appreciation Day. The Eagles play host to New Mexico Highlands this weekend but are having an uncharacteristic down year as they are currently 2-5 on the season.
