CHADRON, Neb. – The Colorado Mesa football team outscored Chadron State 35-13 in the second half and overtime to score a come-from-behind, 38-37 overtime win over the Eagles on Saturday (Nov. 5) afternoon at Don Beebe Stadium in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action.
The Mavericks trailed 24-3 at halftime after securing just a
Lucas Ruiz Diaz 40-yard field goal with 7:54 remaining in the first quarter.
Colorado Mesa began its comeback early in the third quarter as Kia'I Keone hooked up with
Keenan Brown on a 46-yard touchdown pass to make it 24-10 with 11:08 to play in the third quarter. The play was setup by the Maverick defense who stuffed the Eagles on fourth down just the play prior to the long TD.
The Mavericks cut deeper into the lead just under five minutes later.
Gavin Herberg hit
Jacob Whitmer on a 47-yard touchdown pass that spanned six plays and covered 70 yards in 2:50 to make the score 24-17.
Chadron State answered the 14-0 run by the Mavericks with a touchdown of their own with 2:16 to play in the third quarter to push their lead back to 31-17.
Colorado Mesa got within one score with 14:45 to play in the fourth quarter after Herberg threw a strike to
Keenan Brown from 36-yards out for a touchdown. The drive spanned 10 plays and 75 yards that chewed up 2:31 of clock to put the score at 31-24.
Gavin Herberg knotted the game up at 31-31 with just 22 second left in the game when he scampered in from two yards out. The drive went 98-yards in 12 plays and started with 2:36 on the clock.
The score sent the game to overtime where the Mavericks went on offense and scored a touchdown on their third play of overtime as Herberg threw his second touchdown pass to
Jacob Whitmer from 19 yards out. A very important point after touchdown was converted by
Lucas Ruiz Diaz.
Chadron State wound up converting on their opportunity in overtime as well but decided to go for two on their point after. The Eagles decided to run it with Jalen Starks but the attempt failed as he was hit in the backfield and stuffed short of the goal line.
The Mavericks played the game without quarterback
Karst Hunter but both Kia'I Keone and
Gavin Herberg filled in and did an outstanding job. The duo combined for 404 yards, four touchdown and two interceptions.
Both quarterbacks enjoyed hooking up with
Keenan Brown and
Jacob Whitmer. Brown finished the game with 10 catches for 195 yards and two touchdowns while Whitmer had six catches for 120 yards and two touchdowns.
Liban Shongolo finished with a team-high 12 tackles while
Siaosi Finau had 10 tackles.
Kaden Stewart ended the game with 2.5 sacks and three tackles for loss.
Colorado Mesa will host New Mexico Highlands in the final game of the season next Saturday at Stocker Stadium. The Mavericks will honor their seniors prior to the game and honor first responders and military personnel during the game.
Other RMAC Scores
Black Hills State 38, Adams State 7
Western Colorado 55, Fort Lewis 14
Colorado School of Mines 54, New Mexico Highlands 16
CSU Pueblo 45, South Dakota Mines 20
