The Mavericks appear to have their rushing swagger back.
After escaping week one with a tight 36-33 victory over South Dakota Mines, CMU traveled down to Portales, NM to do battle with Eastern New Mexico. A dominating first half and an outstanding rushing attack helped the Mavericks defeat the Greyhounds 34-21.
Lake Makanona was, once again, the leading rusher for the Mavericks. The true freshman is making his case to be the team’s number one running back after another week of impressive running. The Utah native rushed for two touchdowns and 98 yards off of 24 attempts.
The week prior, Makanona was the one to elevate the Mavericks over the Hardrockers and make a name for himself with two fourth-quarter touchdown runs.
On Saturday, Makanona scored both of his touchdowns in the first half.
On the ground, the Mavericks were able to put up 271 yards and three touchdowns with four different runners accumulating at least 30 yards each.
Quarterback Eystin Salum showed off the legs that were restricted in week one as the senior rushed for 93 yards on Saturday. The other rushing TD came in the form of a Jonathan Beverly 21-yard rush in the first quarter which gave the Mavericks the 7-0 lead.
After a pair of Beverly and Makakona touchdown runs in the first quarter, Salum got his first and only touchdown of the game with a 37-yard strike to Peter Anderson who burned the Greyhound defense with his speed.
Salum would finish the game going 11-21 for 184 yards, a TD and an interception.
Makakona would increase the lead to 28-0 with his second touchdown run of the night. On the next drive by Eastern New Mexico, safety Damar’ren Mitchell would get his first interception of the season which would set up a 24-yard field goal by Lucas Ruiz-Diaz.
The Mavericks would go into halftime with a 31-0 lead.
CMU would put up 437 yards of total offense. Six different ball carriers had their numbers called. Defense, in the first half, was flawless. Every Eastern New Mexico drive ended in either a punt or a turnover and CMU was able to hold the offense to a goose egg. Team captain and senior linebacker, Tommy Saager, has seven tackles. Defensive end Mason Newton lead the team with eight tackles.
In the second half, the Greyhounds would score 21 points in an attempt to cut down into the Mavericks lead. CMU would have a tough time getting much going in the second half in terms of scoring. The only points came via a 43-yard Ruiz-Diaz field goal.
Despite the attempted comeback by the Greyhounds, the Mavericks were able to hold onto the lead due to the explosive first half.
Eastern New Mexico’s quarterback Wyatt Strand threw for only 18 yards off on three completions. The rest of the offense was made upon the ground as the Greyhounds rushed for 327 yards on the ground.
It is safe to say the last two weeks have been rather unusual for CMU due to the inconsistent play in both games, however, CMU still is winning football games.
The Mavericks improved to 2-0 and will return to conference play when they travel down to Western State to play the Mountaineers on Sept. 15.
