Colorado Mesa will head to Chadron, Neb. to take on the Chadron State Eagles in their final road game of the season. Kickoff is scheduled for Noon on Saturday at Don Beebe Stadium. It will be the final home game of the season for the Eagles and they will honor their seniors prior to kickoff. It will also serve as Military Appreciation Day at Elliott Field. Two of the more storied programs in the RMAC will meet up on Saturday but this may be the first time in the history of the two teams that they are meeting up with both teams' overall record below .500.
Chadron State boasts three high profile NFL alums from their school in Don Beebe (WR, Buffalo Bills), Danny Woodhead (RB, Chargers, Patriots, Jets), and Garrett Gilkey (OL, Ravens)
WEEKLY REWIND
Colorado Mesa had leads and opportunities to take the lead late but let another win slip through their fingers in a 33-28 loss to CSU Pueblo last Saturday in the homecoming game at Stocker Stadium. The Mavericks led 21-10 with less than five minutes to play in the first half but CSU Pueblo scored two touchdowns in the final 1:45 of the first half to take the 24-21 lead into the break. Turnovers haunted the Mavericks again this week as they had three turnovers that led to 10 ThunderWolf points in what ended up being the deciding factor.
Senior defensive back Scrappy Norman led the defense with eight tackles and two passes defended in the matchup. The defense finished the game with three sacks that came from Jaxson Fullwood, Ryan Randall, and a combined sack from Kaden Stewart and Troy McDonald.
On offense, 11 different receivers caught passes off the hand of Karst Hunter who finished with 30 completions for 300 yards and a touchdown. Trevin Edwards led the way with a career-high six receptions for 41 yards. Keyshawn Ashford led the rushing attack on Saturday before suffering an injury. Ashford had just two carries for 64 yards. He broke off a 56-yard run that nearly went all the way for a touchdown. The play did eventually setup a Maverick touchdown in the third quarter.
THE MATCHUP
Colorado Mesa will look to continue their winning ways against Chadron State this weekend when they travel to Nebraska to do battle with the Eagles. The Mavericks are 4-1 in their last five games against Chadron State and have won five of the past six meetings with the Eagles. This will be the 32nd meeting between the two storied programs with Chadron State owning the all-time series 20-11. Neither home nor the road has been kind to the Mavericks in their matchups with the Eagles but they have won six games in Nebraska as opposed to five in Grand Junction. The two teams first met in 1991 when Colorado Mesa first started making the transition from NAIA to NCAA Division II. The Mavericks were victorious 33-28 in Chadron, Neb.
Chadron State won 11 straight matchups from 2004 to 2014 with four of those matchups with two of the greatest running backs in RMAC history participating in those games in Colorado Mesa's Bobby Coy and Chadron State's Danny Woodhead.
In last season's matchup, Chadron State was driving down the field for a potential game-tying touchdown before an interception by Demar'ren Mitchell derailed the drive and preserved a 24-17 win in Grand Junction.
Last Five Matchups
Sept. 25, 2021: in Grand Jct., W 24-17
Oct. 10, 2020: in Grand Jct., W 10-7 OT
Sept. 28, 2019: in Chadron, W 42-30
Sept. 22, 2018: in Grand Jct., L 34-38
Sept. 9, 2017: in Chadron, W 24-10
KNOW YOUR FOE
Chadron State opened the season with arguably one of the most difficult schedules in the region. They fell to now No. 2 Angelo State 35-0 in San Angelo followed by a bout with FCS foe Utah Tech (formerly Dixie State) where they fell 56-10. They then opened RMAC play with upstart Black Hills State, Western Colorado and then No. 22 Colorado School of Mines, all of which resulted in losses. They turned things around with back-to-back wins over Fort Lewis and Adams State.
The Eagles have always had a stout running attack and this year is no different. The only difference is they are doing it with a three-headed monster in the backfield. UCLA transfer Jalen Starks leads the way with 536 yards and eight touchdowns while Dorian Collier has churned up 258 yards with teammate Jeydon Cox rushing for 244 yards. Chadron State hasnt settled on a quarterback and appear to be trying to find their quarterback to move on with for the future. Last week, Heath Beemiller took all the snaps behind center and threw for 278 yards and two touchdowns. For the season, Beemiller has 735 yards passing with three touchdowns and nine interceptions.
Bobby Peele is the top defensive player for the Eagles and has been for the past few seasons. Peele is second on the team in tackles with 54 and has 12 pass break-ups on the season. He had a season-high nine tackles and two pass break-ups against Adams State on October 15.
THE OFFENSE
The receving group continues to amaze most as this past weekend 11 different receivers caught passes for the Mavericks. This season 19 different receivers have caught passes and 20 receivers have been targeted. Dagan Rienks, Jacob Whitmer, and Keenan Brown all have north of 300 yards receiving this season with Rienks leading the way with a team-high 24 catches for 357 yards. Eight different receivers have caught at least 10 passes this season.
Rienks, Whitmer and David O'Connell lead the way in big plays for the Mavericks this season. Rienks has eight catches of 20 yards or more while Whitmer has seven such plays. O'Connell also has seven big plays, five off of receptions and another two from kick returns. Keenan Brown has three big play touchdowns to lead Colorado Mesa.
THE DEFENSE
The Maverick run defense has been one of the bright spots of the season as they have continued the Maverick way of shutting down opponents run game. They are allowing a little over 107 yards per game which ranks 36th best in all of NCAA Division II. They have allowed just two 100-yard rushers during the season which came against two of the top running backs in the country in Western Colorado's Josh Cummings and Colorado School of Mines' Michael Zeman.
Defensive back Scrappy Norman leads the pass defense with six pass break-ups this season and has led the group that has continued to improve all season long. He led the team in tackles against CSU Pueblo with eight.
Typically at this point of the season teams will have one or two players that have a bulk of the tackles. But, for the Mavericks they have Siaosi Finau leading the way with 48 total tackles on the season with Liban Shongolo second with 42 then the gap is fairly short between the next handful of defenders. In fact, 15 players on the team have 20 or more tackles on the season.
ON THE HORIZON
The Mavericks will play their final game of the season next weekend as they host New Mexico Highlands at 1:00 PM at Stocker Stadium on Saturday November 12. The Mavericks will honor their seniors prior to the game and the game will serve as First Responders and Military Appreciation Day at the stadium.
