FIRST AND TEN
Colorado Mesa will host the Eastern New Mexico Greyhounds on Saturday at Stocker Stadium for the home debut at 6pm. This will be one of two night games this season for the Mavericks with the other coming on October 11 against Adams State.

The Mavericks are looking to end a three-game skid in home openers as they fell in last season's home opener to Central Washington 28-12. The last time they won their home opener was September 2, 2011 when they defeated William Jewell 40-3 at Stocker Stadium.

The Greyhounds are coming off a loss to in-state foe New Mexico Highlands 34-28 in their Week Zero home opener. 

The Mavericks will return the trip to Portales next season during week one on September 5. Once again, it will be the second of two non-conference matchups for the year.

THE ROUNDUP
Colorado Mesa dropped the first game of the 2025 season last week with a 41-14 setback to #21 Central Washington in Ellensburg, Wash. The Mavericks and Wildcats played to a 7-0 first half before the Wildcats scored 34 second half points to the Colorado Mesa 14 second half points.

Liu Aumavae got the start behind center and finished 18-for-27 (66.7%) for 192 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He found nine different receivers with Trek Keyworth being his favorite with four catches, 147 yards and a touchdown. Keyworth caught a 66-yard touchdown from Cole Hansen in the fourth quarter.

Freshman AJ Adams and sophomore George Soppe split the team's leading tackler role as each finished with seven tackles. Hunter Hamilton and Kade Street split the only sack by the Mavericks. 

Senior Sullivan Moon landed Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Special Teams Player of the Week for Week Zero after having the third-best punting average of everyone in Division II. The Colorado Springs native averaged 48.7 yards per punt including three that went for more than 50 yards. 

THE MATCHUP
For the second straight week, Colorado Mesa will be meeting up with a non-conference opponent from the Lone Star Conference for the fourth time in program history. This time it will be against the Eastern New Mexico Greyhounds and for the third time the matchup will be in Grand Junction. 

Both teams are coming off a loss in their season opener which means someone will be getting their first win of the season. The Mavericks fell 41-14 to Lone Star Conference foe #21 Central Washington while the Greyhounds fell to Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference foe New Mexico Highlands 34-28.

The two teams met last on September 14, 2019 in Grand Junction with Eastern New Mexico taking the high scoring affair 44-37. The Greyhounds rushed for 440 yards including a net of minus-1 from current CMU Events Coordinator Currie Thomason. CMU quarterback Aaron Howard three for 188 yards and three touchdowns in the loss.

Matchups with Eastern New Mexico
Sept. 14, 2019 in Grand Jct. (L 44-37)
Sept. 8, 2018 in Portales (W 34-21)
Nov. 19, 1983 in Grand Jct. (W 35-9)

KNOW YOUR FOE
Eastern New Mexico is led by Kelley Lee in his seventh season as the head coach of the Greyhound football program. Lee is in his second stint with the program and enters this week's contest with a 29-27 record during his entire tenure. In his first season with the program in 2017, he led Eastern New Mexico to an 8-2 record with losses coming to Texas A&M-Commerce and Midwestern State. 

The Greyhounds feature a vaunted rushing attack that gained 228 yards on the ground against New Mexico Highlands in a loss. Xavier Johnson led the way with 54 yards on 11 carries while quarterback Chad Ragle had 15 attempts for 39 yards and the lone rushing touchdown. Adams State transfer Elias Santana gained 43 yards on seven carries.

Linebacker JJ Silver led the Eastern New Mexico defense with eight tackles, a tackle for loss and an interception. Defensive back Aaron Warren had six tackles and a forced fumble. As a team the Greyhounds struggled to stop the run as NMHU gained 332 yards on 44 carries but only allowed the Cowboys to be 3-of-9 on third downs and stuffed NMHU on a red zone chance.

GET THE GROUND GAME GOING
One of the big keys for the Colorado Mesa offense is being able to run the ball effectively. The Mavericks gained just 46 yards on 29 attempts from six different ball carriers in the season opener. Aidan Taylor led the way with 14 carries for 26 yards.

The Mavericks were without the services of Brandon Belgrave, last season's starter at running back due to an injury. It has yet to be determined if the senior from Panama will suit up and see action on Saturday.

Myles Newble and Marvin Jones each saw action and combined for six carries and 25 yards in the game. 

RECEIVERS ON TRACK
One of the bright spots in the opener was the ability for the receivers to get open for the quarterbacks to get them the ball. The Mavericks finished Week Zero as the top passing offense in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.

The crew finished with 21 catches for 257 yards and scored both touchdowns. Trek Keyworth caught the long 66-yard catch and run touchdown while tight end Alex Turpin caught a touchdown pass from six yards out.

Keyworth led the group in targets with eight while Jackson Hansen and Alex Turpin each had five targets. Jet sweep and speed specialist Noah Greer had four targets. 

SECONDARY SPOTLIGHT
The Colorado Mesa secondary will play a big role in this week's matchup with Eastern New Mexico. Not necessarily defending the pass but giving help in run support. The Mavericks struggled on a couple of coverage schemes in Week Zero and will need to shore those up despite the heavy run expected from the Greyhounds.

Senior defensive back Lane Branstetter had the lone takeaway for the Mavericks with an interception late in the second quarter of action.

ELITE TEAMS
Senior Sullivan Moon landed Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Special Teams Player of the Week for Week Zero after having the third-best punting average of everyone in Division II. The Colorado Springs native averaged 48.7 yards per punt including three that went for more than 50 yards.  

Moon also did something that a Maverick hadn't accomplished since 2011. He unleashed a punt of 70 yards in the third quarter which hadn't been done since September 24, 2011 when Michael Brady punted a ball 78 yards against New Mexico Highlands.

MAVS ON THE NETWORK
10 of the 11 Maverick Football games will be on the RMAC Network this season. In previous years, all Maverick athletic events were free to view but new this year those matchups will be behind a paywall with several different options available. Single games are $10, monthly subscription is $25 or a yearlong pass for $130. You can access all games through CMUMavericks.com/TV or RMACNetwork.com.

The monthly and yearlong subscriptions include access to all games on the RMAC Network including RMAC Championship events and games on-demand. 

ON THE HORIZON
After a bye week, the Mavericks will host the CSU Pueblo ThunderWolves for the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference opener at Stocker Stadium. This will be the first time since 2022 the Mavericks will be hosting CSU Pueblo in Grand Junction.

Colorado Mesa will head out on the road for their first Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference road trip when they travel to Chadron, Neb. for a battle with the Chadron State Eagles on Saturday September 27.