GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – Colorado Mesa football overcame offensive struggles to come away with a 24-14 win over Black Hills State here at Stocker Stadium Saturday afternoon (Nov. 14). The win sends the Mavericks to 7-4 (6-3 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference). The loss drops the Yellowjackets to 5-6 (3-6 RMAC).
CMU started with the ball, and the ground-and-pound style of offense showed success early. Sophomore running back
Amari Brown ripped off a seven-yard carry on the first play from scrimmage. Junior running back
Jaden Thermidor followed it up with a nine-yard tote of his own set the Mavericks up at their own 40-yard line. The drive, however, sputtered out shortly thereafter, forcing a punt from junior
Kale Purvis. BHSU didn't find any success on offense, not gaining a single yard in their first three plays, trotting out their punt team. With the Yellowjacket punter's feet on his goal line, the snap went over his head, and sophomore defensive back
Kalvin Floyd fell on top of it in the end zone to put the Mavericks up 7-0 following the point after try. BHSU looked like they were in business offensively on their second drive, gobbling up 48 yards with a well-balanced attack. The Yellowjacket drive was short-lived, however, when senior linebacker
La'Markus Reed was the benefactor of a tipped ball over the middle, securing his second pick of the season. CMU's ground attack continued to be their specialty, having 56 straight yards come on the ground, highlighted by a 25-yard carry by Brown that brought CMU down to the BHSU 29-yard line. Brown finished the day with 90 yards on 17 tries. The drive was stalled by a holding call, which led to a missed field goal down the stretch of the first quarter.
The Maverick defense continued to shine early in the second quarter, forcing the Yellowjackets to punt it away yet again. On their following defensive possession, CMU forced their second takeaway. Junior corner
Kendrick Jones won a 50-50 ball, taking it away from the Yellowjackets on a throw that would've landed inside the CMU 10-yard line. Despite the offensive struggles, the Mavericks continued to score. Inside of the 2-minute timeout, junior linebacker
George Soppe gave the Mavericks a two-score cushion, returning an interception 61 yards for the score. BHSU answered before the break, executing a seven-play, 53-yard drive to reach pay dirt with just 18 seconds left in the half, but CMU held a 14-7 lead going into the locker room.
In the first half, Reed hit the single-season 100 tackle milestone, becoming the first Maverick to hit such a mark since Blake Nelson had 107 in 2016. He finished the year with 103 stops.
Out of halftime, the Mavericks continued to hold the lead throughout the defensive slugfest, with both teams trading the occasional blow, but neither able to find the end zone. CMU was nearly successful on a fake punt, but a holding call halted that momentum-shifting play. Neither team advanced further than the opposing 28-yard line during the period.
BHSU started the fourth attempting to convert on a fourth-and-short, but Reed once again became the hero, punching out the ball on a would-be conversion, which was recovered by senior safety
Gibson Leafgreen. Fifth-year quarterback
Cole Hansen got some momentum going for the Mavs, notching a 10-yard carry along with a 14-yard completion to senior receiver
Noah Greer to put the Mavericks inside the red zone for the first time. CMU got as close as the three-yard line but couldn't punch it in to the end zone. Purvis finished the job, booting a 20-yard try through the uprights, giving CMU a 17-7 lead with 8:04 left in the game. The Yellowjackets continued to keep it interesting, engineering a seven-play drive to the end zone to narrow the Maverick lead to just three.
The Yellowjackets attempted an onside kick, recovered by junior wideout
Kael McCoy at the Mavs' own 40-yard line. CMU found themselves going for a fourth-and-3 from the Yellowjacket 37. On the conversion play, Hansen got the call for a QB keeper up the middle. Hansen slipped through a tackle near the line of scrimmage and was off to the races. CMU went up 24-14. That was Hansen's lone touchdown of the day, gaining 74 yards on the ground while going 6-for-12 with 57 yards passing. With the game still in reach for BHSU, fifth-year corner
Atiba Fitz pitched in one more interception, which iced the game.
Over the course of the senior day contest, the Mavericks were the beneficiaries of six turnovers. The last time the defense was that takeaway-minded was Oct. 11, 2014, when CMU had five interceptions and a fumble recovered against New Mexico Highlands.
CMU was outgained by BHSU, with the Yellowjackets churning up 299 yards and the Mavericks gaining just 275. Despite that, the win puts the Maverick record at 4-3 when they gain fewer total yards than their opposition.
The 7-4 record marks the fourth consecutive winning season for CMU. The win also marks the 30th win for head coach
Miles Kochevar, who has completed his fifth season as the Mavericks' head man, and runs his record to 30-24. The four-game winning streak CMU finished on is the longest winning streak they've had since the 2024 season.
With the conclusion of the season, the All-RMAC teams will be announced later this week.
