(STATS ARE UNOFFICIAL AND ARE WHAT WAS PROVIDED FOR THE GAME)

PORTALES N.M. – A two-plus hour rain delay posed no threat to the Colorado Mesa offense, as they earned a 42-23 victory over the Eastern New Mexico Greyhounds here at Steve Loy Family Foundation Stadium. The Saturday win that took over six hours to complete was the first of the year for the Mavericks, improving their record to 1-1.
 
The Greyhounds got started early, as their revamped air raid offense scored with a 46-yard touchdown pass in less than a minute, but a missed PAT would only put them up by six.

CMU responded before the opening quarter came to a close, with senior receiver Trek Keyworth hauling in a Liu Aumavae touchdown pass with 3:39 to go. Keyworth would go on to finish the game hauling in five catches for 93 yards. Aumavae would go 4-9 with 85 yards on top of his 48 yard touchdown toss in the first quarter. Eastern New Mexico would go on to make a 23 yard field goal, but that would be their last lead of the night.
 
CMU would go on to score 35 unanswered between the second and fourth quarters. Senior running back Exander Carroll kickstarted the offensive onslaught with a 28-yard carry, which would be the longest touch of the night for any player. Before the halftime break, 5th year QB Cole Hansen would capitalize on a short field to complete an 11-play, 55-yard drive, finding 5th year wide-out Ky Oday Jr. for a 13-yard snag.  Mesa would take a 21-9 lead into the halftime break.
 
The Mavericks would waste no time out of the half, as Oday Jr. would grab Aumavae's second touchdown pass, going 54 yards to the end zone. Hansen would also have a passing touchdown of his own.
 
Junior running back Bronco Hartson would score a pair of rushing touchdowns, including one out of the wildcat, to put the finishing touches on ENMU. The Greyhounds would score a couple of touchdowns late, but the game was already well in hand.
 
Hartson and senior running back Jaken Hankins would each tote the rock 11 times, with Hartson churning out 56 yards and Hankins grabbing 38 yards, his new season high.
 
CMU finished with 430 total yards, with 227 of those coming through the air. This marks the second consecutive game where Mesa's passing offense outpaced its rushing attack.
 
Junior kicker Kale Purvis was perfect in PATs, going 6/6. He would be called upon to punt five times, averaging 39.2 yards per boot, and pinning the Greyhounds inside the 20 four times.
 
This rights the road-opener ship for CMU, following their loss to Central Washington to open their road campaign a year ago. It also marks the most points in a road opening contest since 2021, when 56 points were put up against RMAC foe New Mexico Highlands. This also makes the Mavericks 9-1 in road openers since 2017.
 
Colorado Mesa now gears up for their longest road trip of the season, taking on conference foe South Dakota Mines. The Hardrockers are 2-0 on the early season, including a win over DI Drake University.  Kickoff is Saturday, September 12 at 2:00 p.m.