FIRST AND TEN
Colorado Mesa will head back out on the road for a matchup with upstart Black Hills State who enters the week with a 3-0 record. The Mavericks and Yellowjackets have met up on 10 previous occasions with Colorado Mesa owning an 8-2 advantage in the all-time series including last year's 52-9 win in Grand Junction. Colorado Mesa is now 1-1 after two games for the first time since the 2019 season where they defeated South Dakota Mines and fell to Eastern New Mexico. After making this week's roadtrip, the Mavericks will have traveled 2,922 miles in their two trips. That distance is more than their three remaining road trips combined (2,028 miles). Their shortest remaining trip is a 468 road trip trek to Golden with Colorado School of Mines.
WEEKLY REWIND
In their first Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference matchup of the season, the Colorado Mesa Mavericks fell 31-17 to the South Dakota Mines Hardrockers. It was the second straight loss to the Hardrockers in Grand Junction combined with the loss in 2020 during the COVID season.
The Mavericks churned up 347 yards of offense with 282 coming through the air and just 65 yards on the ground. They were just 3-of-15 on third down and 0-for-2 on the fourth down conversion opportunities. The defense allowed 460 yards of total offense by the Hardrockers that included 349 yards through the air and 111 yards on the ground. Keenan Brown led the offense with three catches for 116 yards and a touchdown while Noah Sarria led the team in receptions with four catches.
Siaosi Finau led the defense with 10 tackles and a pass break up.
All-Time Results vs. S.D. Mines
Nov. 5, 2016: in Grand Junction, 48-38
Nov. 4, 2017: in Rapid City, 69-7
Sept. 1, 2018: in Grand Junction, 36-33
Sept. 7, 2019: in Rapid City, 37-33
Oct. 24, 2020: in Grand Junction, 9-24
Nov. 13, 2021: in Rapid City, 13-10
Sept. 17, 2022: in Grand Junction, 17-31
PLAYING THE SPOILER
The Mavericks will play the first of two opponents homecoming games this weekend against Black Hills State.For the Yellowjackets, It will be the 2022 Beef Battle presented by the South Dakota Beef Council. Colorado Mesa will also travel to Golden for Colorado School of Mines' homecoming game on October 8 in what is sure to be a big matchup after the Mavericks upset the Orediggers last season in the Mavericks homecoming game.
The Mavericks will host their own homecoming game on October 29 when they host CSU Pueblo at Stocker Stadium.
BIG PLAY MAVERICKS
While the Mavericks had just five big plays (gains of 20-plus yards) in their season-opening matchup with William Jewell, they produced seven such plays against South Dakota Mines last weekend. All 12 big plays have been pass receptions off the arm of Karst Hunter. Keenan Brown leads all receivers in big plays with three while Jacob Whitmer has two big plays, both going for touchdowns. The Mavericks look for those big plays and it shows in one telling stat. They are tops in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and eighth nationally in passing yards per completion at 18.26 yards per completion. Run heavy Harding leads the country in the stat at 26.25 yards per completion.
HIT THE GROUND RUNNING
Expect the Mavericks to make a conscience effort to get the ground game going in the next couple weeks. Thus far they are averaging just 90 yards a game on the ground, seventh best in the conference and outside the top-100 nationally. Jullen 'Budda' Ison leads the team in rushing with 110 yards in the two matchups. The Northern Colorado transfer averages 3.8 yards per carry and 55 yards per game so far. Ison, Hunter, and Isaac Maestas have carried the ball in both games with Maestas the lone running back that has recorded a rushing touchdown.
SPECIAL TEAMS ARE SPECIAL
Kicker Lucas Ruiz Diaz leads the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference with two made field goals per game. He has been perfect on the season going 4-for-4 with a long of 46-yards. He joins Black Hills State's Coleman Chapman and New Mexico Highlands' Will McDaniel as the only kickers in the conference that have been perfect on the season.
Punter Ben Sargent ranks fifth in the conference at 42.1 yards per punt. Adams State's Zach Survillas leads the conference in average at 43.8 yards per punt.
ALONG THE LINE
Redshirt junior Zach Elefante recorded a career-high five tackles with a half a tackle for a loss. Elefante has been a veteran amongst a group of inexperienced players along the Mavericks defensive front. Both Micah Smith and Nathan Deitrick are also having career years along the front. Smith is among the team leaders in tackles with 13 while Deitrick has six tackles and a quarterback hurry.
Freshman Ben Bogan, Ryan Randall and Abrian Humphrey have all been in the rotation in the early season.
THE YOUNG CALF
Redshirt freshman Hudson Metcalf had his best game as a Maverick this weekend. The Soldotna, Alaska native made his presence felt in many different ways in the matchup with South Dakota Mines. He finished with three tackles, a sack, a pass break-up, a quarterback hurry and an interception. For the season, Metcalf has four tackles, a sack, an interception, a pass break-up and two quarterback hurries.
It was the first turnover forced by the Maverick defense this season. They had three fumble recoveries against William Jewell with two coming on muffed punts and the third on an interception that Dagan Rienks forced a fumble on.
KNOW YOUR FOE
The Yellowjackets are coached by third-year head man Josh Breske. An alum of Black Hills State, Breske spent time on fellow RMAC foe Chadron State's coaching staff as well as Robert Morris, Sioux Falls and Lindenwood working with the offensive line primarily at each stop. Breske has the Yellowjackets out to an impressive 3-0 start with wins against Dickinson State, William Jewell and Chadron State. It is the first time since 2016 that Black Hills State has started 3-0 and that season they finished 7-4. With a win, they would improve to 4-0 for the first time since 1970.
On offense, the Yellowjackets have two big weapons in running back Nolan Susel and receiver Hassan Williams. Susel leads the league in rushing yards with 264 and is fifth in total touchdowns with five while Williams is tied for the conference lead in receptions with 23 and is fourth in yards at 276.
Defensively, Black Hills State's Lovenski Simon is second in the RMAC in passes defended with four while Aaron Thiele leads the Yellowjackets with 25 total tackles.
NOT A FRIENDLY STATE
With two Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference schools in South Dakota, the Mavericks typically make one trip a season to the Mount Rushmore State. The Mavericks are an all-time 6-2 in the state.
In Rapid City, home of South Dakota Mines, the Mavericks are 3-0 with two of their wins coming by an average of three and a half points. Their first-ever trip resulted in a 69-7 win over the Hardrockers in 2017.
In Spearfish, home of Black Hills State, Colorado Mesa is 3-2 all-time in five total meetings at Lyle Hare Stadium. Several mixed results have occurred including a 48-7 and 56-7 win mixed with a 31-29 win along with the two setbacks.
ON THE HORIZON
The Mavericks will return home for a matchup with rival Western Colorado on October 1 at 6pm. The Maverick volleyball team will also host Western Colorado earlier in the day at 3pm in Brownson Arena for an all day Western Colorado showdown.
Colorado Mesa's next roadtrip will be their shortest remaining trip as they head to Golden on October 8 for a matchup with nationally-ranked Colorado School of Mines.
