KINGSVILLE, Texas — A huge defensive stop led to Colorado Mesa's best drive of the night Thursday (Aug. 29) as the Mavericks rallied for a 16-13 season-opening victory over Texas A&M-Kingsville.
Kade Street's sack of Kingsville quarterback Kannon Williams forced TAMUK to try a field goal. It missed, keeping the Mavericks within five points down the stretch.
With less than eight minutes to play, Liu Aumavae directed an eight-play, 75-yard drive to put CMU ahead for good. Aumavae took over at quarterback in the fourth quarter after Leslie Richardson was shaken up on a scramble at the end of the third.
Several young Mavs came up big on the crucial drive. Quezon Villa, a freshman receiver, caught a quick slant for a 27-yard gain on first down, and redshirt freshman tight end Alex Turpin snagged a critical catch over the middle for another first down.
On third and 5 from the Kingsville 30, freshman wide receiver Jack Burke caught a 5-yard pass from Aumavae, broke a tackle at the 25 and broke down the sideline, dragging a couple of Javelinas into the end zone.
As they did after their first touchdown, the Mavericks went for a 2-point conversion, with Aiden Taylor blasting off the left side for a three-point lead, 16-13, with 4:43 to play.
Taylor, one of seven Mavs to carry the ball, led CMU with 52 yards on 14 carries. Richardson ran for 35 and CMU's first touchdown of the game. His 7-yard quarterback draw, followed by his 2-point conversion run on a student-body left formation, put CMU up 8-7 in the first quarter, capping a six-play, 69-yard drive.
After Burke's touchdown, Kingsville had two chances to pick up one yard to keep its drive going. Santana Scott was stopped for no gain on third down by Colin Stuhr, and on fourth down at the 46, the Mavericks put nine men in the tackle box. Charlie Smith and Street smothered Scott at the line of scrimmage, giving CMU the ball back with less than two minutes to play.
Three carries by Taylor netted 15 yards, including a 7-yard run on third and two, allowing CMU go to into victory formation. The Mavericks won their season opener for the second time in three seasons under head coach Miles Kochevar, and avenged last season's 30-10 loss to the Javelinas.
After spotting Kingsville a 7-0 lead after the Mavericks' opening onside kick went out of bounds, the defense allowed only a pair of field goals the rest of the way and only three second-half points.
Two second-quarter interceptions halted CMU drives, one of which glanced off Burke's hands in the end zone and into a defender's hands.
Jason Thome got one of those turnovers back when he came up with an interception in the second quarter.
Safety Liban Shongolo led the defense with 13 tackles, nine solo, and Smith was all over the field, finishing with nine tackles, seven solo. Kingsville rushed for 129 yards and threw for 104, but missed three of five field goal attempts.
After hurting themselves with penalties last season, the Mavericks were flagged only three times for 40 yards — Kingsville was penalized six times for 60 yards.
CMU, which has a week off before the home opener on Sept. 14 against Central Washington at Stocker Stadium, rushed for 80 yards, with Richardson and Aumavae combining to complete 9 of 19 passes for 157 yards.
