The Colorado Mesa University (CMU) Mavericks lose an overtime thriller to their conference rival Western Colorado University (WCU) Mountaineers 42-34.
The Mavericks drop to 1-3 on the season and the Mountaineers move to 3-2.
Stocker Stadium was rocking Saturday as fans and supporters from both schools piled into the stands. WCU was the first team to get the action started as they opened the game up with a 14-0 lead. The Maverick offense looked sluggish in the early stages of the game. Quarterback and redshirt sophomore Karst Hunter threw his first interception on the second drive that gave WCU great field position to take the two touchdown lead.
In the second quarter Hunter and the rest of the offense came alive. The Maverick offense went on a precise 75 yard scoring drive that concluded with redshirt senior running back Isaac Maestas scoring a three yard rushing touchdown.
It looked like CMU and their fans finally grabbed the momentum after the Maestas touchdown, but WCU responded immediately. Redshirt sophomore Victory David returned the kick over 100 yards to give the Mountaineers the 21-7 lead on the kickoff following the Maverick touchdown,
“We can’t have the blender on special teams and give up a return touchdown. It’s almost like they went to sleep. They kind of paused for a second then he took off from inside the endzone and we didn’t have guys squeezing,” head football coach Miles Kochever said.
Following the stunning kick return, the Mountaineers scored once again, giving them a 28-7 lead. Just before halftime, the CMU offense scored their second touchdown on a 35-yard touchdown pass to redshirt junior Keenan Brown. Brown has made a knack of spectacular catches in the endzone this season, scoring his third touchdown this season.
Going into halftime down 14-28, the CMU offense needed to come to life and they did. Senior running back Jullen Ison pioneered the Mavs first scoring drive in the second half. After Isson ran for 26 yards on the drive, Hunter capped the drive off with a one-yard rushing touchdown, making the game 21-28.
Defensively the Mavericks shutdown WCU in the second half, only allowing three points in regulation. Haydn Steffens led the unit with 11 tackles and a forced fumble. After forcing the Mountaineers to settle for a field goal, the Mavericks offense once again roared back. This time it was Hunter connecting with redshirt junior Noah Sarria on a 37 yard passing touchdown down the middle of the field.
“We made it very clear on the sideline that the defense did their job, and now it’s our turn to do ours. Whether we score a touchdown or kick a field goal, we had to do something,” Hunter said.
The Maverick defense then came through with a huge stop. CMU had the ball back down three with just under four minutes to go. The Maverick offense drove the ball 89 yards, and had the ball on the Mountaineer one yard line with 15 seconds left. After getting stuffed on the run and throwing incomplete passes, the Mavericks settled with the field goal to tie the game and brought it to overtime.
In the first overtime, the offense stalled out again on the goal line and had to kick another field goal. WCU then responded with a field goal of their own sending the game to double overtime.
In double overtime, the Mountaineers scored a touchdown and scored the two point conversion to give them the lead. With the Mavericks needing the same result, the game ended on a failed fourth and nine conversion.
“We can take from this that we can play with anyone when we play our ball. Western is considered one of the best teams in the conference, and we took them to double overtime, and had our chance to win the game twice,” Hunter said.
The star quarterback didn’t disappoint in the rivalry game. Hunter threw for over 300 yards, and set a career high with 111 rushing yards. Isson also set his season-high for rushing yards with an even 100 yards.
The Mavericks look to upset nationally ranked Colorado School of Mines for the second straight year, as they travel to the Golden to take on the Orediggers on Saturday, Oct. 8.
