The Mavericks of old showed up at Stocker Stadium on Saturday night.
The first night game for the Colorado Mesa University football team added an extra vibe to the already intense environment in the homecoming game against the Dixie State Trailblazers. It also made the 45-24 win feel all that more special.
“Our guys have had some ups and down,” Head Coach Russ Martin said. “We had a lot of guys contribute on things whether if it was a huge play or a first down play.”
The Trailblazers took the early 6-0 lead with a 62-yard touchdown run by DSU running back Sei-J Lauago on their very first offensive play from scrimmage.
However, leave it to Eystin Salum and the Maverick offense to score quickly in response. Salum, on the very next drive, found freshman wide receiver Davick Clark with a 69-yard bomb down the sideline to give CMU the 7-6 lead.
After both teams exchanged field goals to start the second quarter, it was obvious this game was going to present high animosity because, at this point in the game, the flags were flying.
Both CMU’s Peter Anderson and DSU’s Darren Jones would get into a couple of physical and verbal altercations throughout the night but it was Anderson who had the last laugh.
Salum, who had yet to find Anderson in the game, would hit his favorite wide receiver four times on the 97-yard drive capped by a beautiful 44-yard strike to increase the CMU lead to 17-9. Salum would end the day throwing 18-30 for 303 yards and three touchdowns.
“Peter’s just got phenomenal speed,” Russ Martin said. “That makes it difficult to defend him. He can get over the top of some things and he can make those home run plays.”
Anderson would go on to finish the day with eight receptions for 126 yards and the one touchdown. The 155-pound receiver extended his streak to seven consecutive games with 100 or more receiving yards. He is 92 yards away from surpassing Drew Bohanan’s record for most receiving yards in a single season at CMU–Bohanan also holds the record for most receptions but Anderson is seven catches away for breaking that record as well.
“Peter is the most electric player in the RMAC,” Eystin Salum said. “Teams are game planning for him but he is still going for 100 yards every game.”
CMU would go into the half with the 17-9 lead.
Both teams would then go on to trade touchdown passes as Michael Smith found Dejuan Dantzler in the end zone via a seven-yard strike over the middle. But, Salum would find his second freshman of the night in the shape of KJ Sapp with a beautiful 18-yard touchdown pass.
During the ensuing kickoff, multiple penalties were thrown in a row in what reflected an ongoing theme for the night…penalties. The Trailblazers had 15 flags called against them for 133 yards while the Mavericks only had nine for 79 yards.
A good portion of these whistles occurred on kickoffs and punt which portrayed Saturday’s game like a special team’s practice session.
“We tried to keep our guys focused,” Martin said. “There were a couple of them that were just not smart plays and you gotta be able to keep your head sometimes. If the other team’s doing something, it doesn’t matter. You have to focus and do the right thing and we had a couple of them that didn’t make smart decisions. But overall, I am proud with how our guys responded.”
Dixie State would go on to respond with a touchdown to tie the game 24 a piece but Jonathon Beverly was thinking otherwise. The senior running back gained some speed running downhill and walked into the end zone standing up after a powerful 28-yard touchdown run to give the Mavericks the lead back.
Both Beverly and Lake Makakona performed significantly well against a Trailblazers team who have the third-best defense in the RMAC. Beverly would run for 48 yards and the touchdown off of nine carries while Makakona owned the day with his 131 yards and a touchdown from 12 carries.
The Mavericks would go on to end the Trailblazer’s night with two defining daggers. The first came after Antonio Clark intercepted a Sanders tipped pass and returned it 62 yards for a touchdown to end the third. Then the fourth, Makakona exploded downfield for an 85-yard touchdown dash which was the longest run of his freshman year and the final blow on homecoming night.
CMU would go on to win 45-24 and end their two-game losing streak. They will face off against Adams State in the final home game of the season next Saturday on Nov. 3.
