FIRST AND TEN
Colorado Mesa will host New Mexico Highlands this weekend at Stocker Stadium for the annual Homecoming Game. This year's theme for homecoming is Spirit of the Maverick.

The Cowboys got head coach Kurt Taufa'asau his first collegiate win of his career by knocking off Chadron State 33-30 last weekend in Las Vegas. Highlands connected on a 28-yard jump ball touchdown with 1:08 to play for the win.

The Mavericks are coming off a road win at Adams State 52-10. The 52 points is a season high and the game saw a majority of the Maverick travel roster get game action including a handful that made their CMU debut. 

The Mavericks are riding a three-game winning streak into the game with New Mexico Highlands this week. It is the first three-game winning streak for the Mavericks since 2021.

ROUNDUP
Colorado Mesa moved their winning streak to three games after an all around solid effort in a 52-10 win over Adams State in Alamosa. With the win, the Mavericks have won nine of the past 10 meetings with the Grizzlies and have their first three game winning streak since 2021.

The Mavericks racked up 585 yards of total offense in the win which included 396 yards on the ground. Brandon Belgrave had a breakout game with 163 yards on 16 carries which gave him 10.2 yards per carry. Alex Cardona had 81 yards on the ground while Noah Greer had 60 yards on two carries.

The Maverick defense was stout once again allowing just 225 yards of total offense and only 81 yards on the ground. Charlie Smith and Levi Krebs finished with a team-high seven tackles. Lane Branstetter had the lone interception for the defense.

Special Teams had a breakout game as Noah Greer returned a kickoff 88-yards for a touchdown and Kash Bradley averaged over 10 yards a punt return on the day. Coby May stepped into the kicking duties and made all seven of his PATs and connected on his first field goal attempt of the season. 

THE MATCHUP
The Mavericks and Cowboys are matching up for the 47th time in the two program's rich history. Colorado Mesa holds a 35-11 all-time edge on Highlands and is riding a 10-game winning streak that dates back to the 2012 season. During the streak, the Mavericks had back-to-back lopsided victories of 87-14 and 77-14 in 2016 and 2017.

Colorado Mesa has enjoyed great success at Stocker Stadium inside the series as the hold a 16-4 advantage. The three losses came in 1978, 1997, 1999 and again in 2012 which was the last time the Mavericks lost to New Mexico Highlands in the series. The Mavericks have also averaged 37.6 points per game in the series.

The Mavericks won last season's matchup with the Cowboys with a 38-24 win in Stocker Stadium. Colorado Mesa led 38-11 heading to the fourth quarter before the Cowboys scored a pair of touchdowns late to cut into the margin of victory.

Last Five Matchups with Highlands 
Nov. 11, 2023: W, 38-24 in Las Vegas
Nov. 12, 2022: W, 56-36 in Grand Jct.
Sept. 18, 2021: W, 56-37 in Las Vegas
Nov. 16, 2019: W, 51-13 in Grand Jct.
Nov. 10, 2018: W, 52-24 in Las Vegas

KNOW YOUR FOE
New Mexico Highlands had a tough first part of the schedule with losses in their first two games to in-state, Lone Star Conference foes Western New Mexico and Eastern New Mexico. They then fell in their first three conference games before stunning Chadron State 33-30 in their homecoming game last weekend in Las Vegas. 

The Cowboys are coached by Kurt Taufa'asau in his first season as the head coach at New Mexico Highlands. He previously coached at New Mexico Military Institute where he led the team to the NJCAA Division I Football National Championship. Taufa'asau played at NMMI for two years before transferring to the University of Wyoming for the 2011 and 2012 seasons. 

It's no secret that New Mexico Highlands wants to run the ball when they are on offense. The are No. 1 in the conference in rushing yards at 219.2 yards per game. Tevita Valeti leads the way with 485 yards while quarterback Joey Cave is the second leading rusher at 249 yards. Fabiano Valdez leads the Cowboy defense with 38 total tackles while Ben Watson has one of the Cowboys two sacks this season and has two pass break-ups.

THE STAMPEDE
The Mavericks will have another tall task this weekend as they attempt to slow down the Highlands rushing attack and it will start up front. The Maverick defensive line is young but proven they can handle the load. Kade Street, Omarius Dimry-Lockhart and Hunter Hamilton have combined for 44 tackles and four sacks.

Charlie Smith and Colin Stuhr continue to anchor the linebacking corps for the mavericks. Smith is second in the RMAC in total tackles with 60 while Stuhr is tied for second in the conference with three and a half sacks.

Jason Thome continues to lead the conference in interceptions with four and is one of four interceptors that has returned one for a touchdown. The No Fly Zone secondary moved up to No. 4 nationally in passing yards allowed at 131.5 yards per game.

EXPLOSION
The Colorado Mesa offense had an offensive explosion in the win over Adams State. They gained 585 yards of offense including 396 yards on the ground and 189 yards through the air. They were 7-of-11 (64%) on third down and gained 27 first downs in the win.

Everyone was quick to point to the offensive line when the time came as they allowed zero sacks for the first time this season and the first time since last season's matchup with the Grizzlies. Cooper Mumford, Calem Grimble, Zach Dibella, Corbin Throgmorton and center Gus Campbell led the charge.

Running back Brandon Belgrave had his best running game of his career with 163 yards on 16 carries. The Mavericks had four players finish with average yards per carry north of 10 in the win. 

Liu Aumavae has raised his completion percentage above the 61 percent threshold and found his favorite target Quezon Villa seven times in the win over Adams State. Villa finished with a season-high seven catches for 121 yards and a score.

HALL OF HONOR INDUCTEE
This weekend two members will be added to the Colorado Mesa Hall of Honor. This year's recipients are volleyball standout Jordyn Moody and football student-athlete BJ Russell. Russell will be the 14th Maverick Football Player to be enshrined in the Hall of Honor.

BJ Russell played linebacker for the Mavericks from 2001-04. He is the Colorado Mesa all-time leader in total tackles with 422 and also is the all-time leader in assisted tackles with 256. He is second in unassisted tackles with 166. 

The Fruita Monument graduate helped lead the Mavericks to the 2003 RMAC Championship and hosting duties for the first round of the NCAA National Tournament. They hosted and narrowly fell to Central Oklahoma 20-15 at a snowy and cold Stocker Stadium.

Russell will join fellow Colorado Mesa Football standouts Bill Monson, Deryl McKinnerny, Dick Winder, Michael Vaughn, Chris Allen, Tracey Bennett, Larry and Michael Brunson, Walter White, Kurt Kissner, Bobby Coy, Jeff Tootle, and former teammate Charles Dukes.

MAVS ON THE TUBE
Colorado Mesa and KREX/KGJT TV are continuing their partnership by allowing patrons to view all RMAC and home games this year through the RMAC Network. Viewers will be able to access the video broadcasts through CMUMavericks.com/TV along with WesternSlopeNow.com.

While those games will be broadcast on TV, fans may still also watch the game on the RMAC Network by visiting CMUMavericks.com/TV

RMAC PRESEASON POLL
Colorado Mesa was picked to finish fourth in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference this season after finishing with a 6-5 record a season ago. The Mavericks finished in a tie for fourth place with Black Hills State last season with a record of 5-4. CMU started the conference season with a 1-3 record but closed out the season by winning four of their final five games that included a season finale win over New Mexico Highlands. 

2023 National Runner-up Colorado School of Mines was the unanimous selection to win the RMAC again as they garnered seven first-place votes. They were followed by Western Colorado, who qualified for the 2023 NCAA Playoffs, and CSU Puebl0 to round out the top three teams.

COACHING STAFF QUICKIES
Offensive line coach and Offensive Coordinator Trevor Wikre is back where his college football career took place in Grand Junction. Wikre played both defensive and offensive line and holds a place in college football lore after an incident during his playing days. Wikre damaged his pinkie finger at the end of practice during his senior year and had to get it surgically repaired. His options were to get it repaired right and lose his final season of football or amputate and miss one game and play the remaining four. He chose the latter and his story reached People Magazine, Sports Illustrated, the New York Times and ESPN.

Assistant Defensive Line Coach Austin Berk is a former Colorado State Ram player who prepped at Grand Junction High School. His father, Mike Berk, was an All-American offensive lineman for the Mavericks in 1985.

Colorado Mesa added Darrell Funk to the coaching staff during the offseason and he is slated to assist Trevor WIkre with coaching the offensive line. Funk will be making his second appearance on the Maverick sidelines as he coached then Mesa State in the early to mid-90s. Funk has made stops at Colorado State, Ball State, San Diego State, Michigan, Akron, Purdue, Indiana State, Texas-San Antonio, and most recently at BYU.

SIGHTS ON THE SCHEDULE
This will be the second straight season the Mavericks will play a full 11-game schedule and are one of six schools taking advantage of the new zero week in Division II college football. After their season-opening game, Colorado Mesa will have a 'bye' week next week before their home opener with Central Washington. 

The Mavericks will play in five games that feature teams ranked or receiving votes in the preseason AFCA poll and the two Super Region IV finalists from a season ago. They will play three of those five teams at home beginning with the home opener on September 14 against No. 8 Central Washington. Texas A&M-Kingsville (RV), CSU Pueblo (RV), Colorado School of Mines (5), and Western Colorado (15) are all on this season's schedule. 

This season's homecoming game is set for Saturday October 19 as Colorado Mesa will play host to New Mexico Highlands at 1pm from Stocker Stadium. The Mavericks will look to make it 11 in a row against the Cowboys.

OUT ON THE RANGE
The NCAA membership passed a proposal to permit football games to be played a week prior to the Thursday precedeing September 6. The change allows schools the flexibility to schedule and play 11 contests over 12 weeks. It provides the ability to schedule a bye week during the season, benefitting student-athlete health and safety.

New this season all across college football, tablets will be allowed on the sideline to help with game planning and scheme adjustments. In the RMAC, coaching staffs are allowed five tablets to be used with two in the coaching box and three on the sidelines. 

ON THE HORIZON
Colorado Mesa will head back out on the road next week for bout with the Fort Lewis Skyhawks in Durango. The Skyhawks were able to snap a long losing streak earlier this season with a win over Arizona Christian. 

The Mavericks will return home the following week for a showdown with Black Hills State at Stocker Stadium.