GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — The defense set up an early score, but after that, Colorado Mesa's football team struggled to get into any kind of offensive rhythm Saturday (Sept. 14) in a 28-12 loss to Central Washington.
In their home opener at Stocker Stadium, the Mavericks struck first after Colin Stuhr intercepted the Wildcats on their first play from scrimmage.
That turnover came only seconds after the Mavericks' Aiden Taylor was thrown for a 4-yard loss on 4th-and-1 inside the Central Washington 30 on the opening drive of the game.
Taylor's 10-yard touchdown run capped a 5-play, 31-yard scoring drive after Stuhr's interception. As they've done after every touchdown this season, the Mavericks went for the 2-point conversion, but Trevin Edwards was ruled down just shy of the goal line before reaching the ball over the end line.
The Mavs' theme for the offense the rest of the day was coming up short on third down or seeing a penalty wipe out big play after big play.
"You've got to create some drives, you've got to be able to stay on the field," CMU head coach Miles Kochevar said. "We just had too many times that we shot ourselves in the foot. You get a big run, you have a penalty and it's coming back.When you kill that momentum and you're beating yourself, that's not a good recipe for success."
Central Washington's ground game pounded away at the Mavericks' defensive line, setting up play-action passes from Kennedy McGill, who also ran for 53 yards and two touchdowns, including the Wildcats' first TD midway through the second quarter.
Defensive penalties also hurt, with a roughing the passer flag setting up the Wildcats' go-ahead touchdown with only 1:20 remaining in the first half. An end-around pass from receiver Darius Morrison connected with Darrien Gaines for a 35-yard score and a 14-9 lead.
The Mavericks lost starting quarterback Leslie Richardson in the third quarter when he was hit after an 8-yard run. The Mavs' quarterback slid and was hit by Tanner Volk, with Kochevar challenging the lack of either a targeting or late hit call. After review, the officials did not penalize Central Washington.
Liu Aumavae, who led the Mavericks on their winning drive in the season opener, hit Quezon Villa with a 7-yard pass on his first play, but Villa fumbled the ball, which was recovered by Central Washington.
Nine plays later, McGill ran it in from 3 yards out for a 21-9 lead. Another short run early in the fourth put the 'Cats up 28-9 before Moon kicked a 35-yard field goal midway through the fourth.
Central Washington ran the ball 49 times for 221 yards — the Mavs had 30 rushes for 89 yards, not nearly enough to sustain drives and keep the defense off the field.
"That was the message going in at halftime," Kochevar said. "The only thing that was really stopping us early in the game was us. We were putting together some drives, picking up some third downs. We were finding a way to continue to move the chains and put some points on the board. You've got to build off of that.
"But it's a complete game. We struggled to get off the field in the second quarter and those two drives of the second half, we didn't win first and second down (defensively) and they got themselves a manageable third down and now they have a really open playbook."
The Wildcats had the ball for 10 minutes more than CMU, which averaged 4.1 yards per play. Mesa's best quarter offensively was the first, hanging onto the ball for more than 10 minutes. After that, though, CMU didn't possess the ball for more than 5:54, and had it for just more than three minutes the entire fourth quarter.
The Mavericks (1-1), who open RMAC play next weekend at CSU Pueblo, were only 3 of 12 on third down, with a touchdown and two field goals in their only three trips to the red zone.
Kochevar said the Mavericks must eliminate the major penalties on both sides of the ball, especially on offense, so they can get into a rhythm.
"We got caught too many times with guys outside our frame (for holding penalties)," Kochevar said. "A couple of those big ones were on special teams with big returns. We've got to do a better job of making sure that we focus in on the fundamentals. We stress it, the guys understand it, but we can't beat ourselves. Any time you have double digit penalties like we did today, you're gonna be in for a long day."
Kash Bradley's 35-yard punt return early in the third quarter was wiped out by a holding penalty, pushing the Mavs from near midfield back to the 20. A pass interference call in the end zone and the roughing the passer call set up Central Washington's first two touchdowns. CMU was flagged 10 times for 83 yards, Central Washington nine times for 99 yards.
Special teams gave the Mavericks the ball in prime position to add to their early 6-0 lead when Jack Kimbrough blocked a Central Washington punt.
The Mavs took over at the Central Washington 19 late in the first quarter, but had to settle for a 20-yard field goal by Sullivan Moon after Richardson lost two yards on 3rd-and-1 from the 1-yard line.
Aumavae completed 6 of 10 passes for 60 yards, Richardson 5 of 10 for 56. Brandon Belgrave led the ground game, which generated a net of only 89 yards, with 39 yards on seven carries. Villa caught four passes for 57 yards.
Charlie Smith was everywhere on defense, recording 14 total tackles. Liban Shongolo had 11 tackles and broke up one pass, and Levi Krebs had 10 tackles.
Kochevar is eager to start conference play, believing that the Mavs' nonconference schedule will have them prepared to face two nationally ranked teams in the first three weeks of RMAC play.
"We weren't looking to go out and get each W's. We want to go and compete with teams that are top in the country week-in and week-out," he said. "That's where we want to go, so we've got to be able to face that competition. I think it's the perfect time (to open RMAC play), I'm excited for that opportunity to be able to go to their place and put our best football forward."
