by John Cusick
With a game coming up against CSU-Pueblo on Oct. 1, some said that the game beforehand against Fort Lewis College would be a trap game.
“We know it’s going to be a tough game and we’ll be ready,” said Coach Russ Martin.
After Fort Lewis came out with a strong seven minute drive, it didn’t feel as if the Mavericks were ready last Saturday afternoon. After a Bo Coleman 15-yard touchdown the Mavericks were down 7- 0. After a quick possession and negative four yards total, the Mavericks were forced to punt.
Blake Nelson came up with an interception and despite the stall of that next drive, Ryan Sheehan connected on a 35-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 7-3.
After Dustin Rivas blocked a field goal and another drive that stalled ended up with a Sheehan miss from 49-yards out, Fort Lewis began their next drive at their own 32-yard line.
This one would not last for seven minutes however. After a loss of yards, a four-yard rush and an incomplete pass, Fort Lewis head Coach Ed Rifilato decided he wanted to go for it on fourth down.
It certainly proved to be the correct decision as he found his team in their own zone. Quarterback Bo Coleman was able to find Arealous Hughes for a 65-yard strike and a touchdown. The Skyhawks went up 14-3 and looked to be in the driver’s seat.
Colorado Mesa would respond after marching the ball 65-yards down the field in under three minutes. Quarterback Sean Rubalcaba was able to find David Tann out of the backfield for 35 yards to convert on a critical third down. After that, it was a heavy dose of running back Jonathon Beverly as he received four carries on the drive and capped it off with a six-yard touchdown run to bring the score to 14-10.
Both the Skyhawks and the Mavericks were able to get one more drive in before the half ended. Those drives both ended in a turnover on downs and as halftime came, the Skyhawks were up 14-10.
With the hopes of coming out strong in the second half, those hopes were quickly lost as the Mavericks went three and out on the first drive only gaining four yards.
The same could not be said for the Skyhawks as they came out for their first drive and after two plays, Coleman was able to find DJ Robinson for a 66-yard touchdown pass. That touchdown pass put the Skyhawks up 21-10 with most of the second half to go.
The Mavericks came back out for their second drive of the half and this one was wasn’t more successful than the first one. The Mavericks took just over three minutes to go 18 yards and punt the ball back to the Skyhawks.
Things weren’t looking up for the Mavericks as Fort Lewis was marching down the field. Running back PJ Hall rushed for 156 yards and 23 of them came on the first play of the drive and it began the long drive down to Colorado Mesa’s three-yard line.
Then the game took a complete 180 and turned in the favor of the Mavericks.
After a conversion on third down, the Skyhawks had a first and goal from the three-yard line. What happened next was the biggest play the Mavericks had all afternoon. Lineman Marcus Cross came off the edge, Skyhawks quarterback Coleman lost control of the ball and Cross was able to intercept it. With the interception came a shot of energy for the Mavericks.
“That stop in itself was maybe the biggest part of the football game,” Coach Martin said of Marcus Cross’ interception in the third quarter.
The ensuing drive was started at the Colorado Mesa 21, and after four straight passes, Rubacalba was able to rush for thirty yards that that set up a 7-yard touchdown rush by Tann. The score brought the game to 21-17 in favor the Skyhawks.
The Skyhawks responded with a drive that tried to kill the Mavericks momentum. After a late hit penalty that moved the Skyhawks 15 yards forward, Coleman found receiver Jordan Gillen for a 17-yard touchdown that put them up 28-17 and seemed to take the air out of the Mavericks.
A Sheehan field goal cut the lead to 28-20 with seven and a half minutes to go in the game.
The defense had to step up once again, as Hall was beginning to add yardage to his total for the afternoon. On a second and 7, Coleman handed the ball off to Hall who was pushed back four yards, and fumbled the football. Sam Mabany was able to jump on top of the ball and give the Mavericks another chance in the game.
Rubalcaba found Hines for a quick 15 yard strike that brought the Mavericks to the 29-yard line of Fort Lewis. On a fourth and 10, Rubalcaba was able to find Virnel Moon for his first touchdown of the afternoon with a 29-yard pass across the middle. After an unsportsmanlike conduct, the Mavericks were unable to convert on the two-point conversion.
In what was one of the weirder plays of the game, on the ensuing kickoff Skyhawks return man DJ Robinson called for a fair catch at the seven yard line only increasing the chances of a Maverick comeback. The Mavericks were able to force a punt with over three minutes to go.
Fort Lewis sent their punt team out to send the ball back to the Mavericks. The ball was snapped over punter’s Joseph Cavale’s head and as he picked the ball up and was pushed back 26 yards, he also fumbled the ball and it was recovered by Mavericks Eystin Salum in the end zone for a touchdown. The Mavericks went up 34-28 after the recovery and were able to force a turnover on downs on the Skyhawks next drive to seal the victory.
“Each phase came up big at some point today, but each phase has things we can get much better at,” Coach Martin said.
The Mavericks will return home on Oct. 1 to Stocker Stadium for a matchup against CSU-Pueblo at 1:00.
