After going 4-6 in Head Coach Miles Kochevar’s first year at Colorado Mesa University (CMU) the team won their last two games to finish this season with a winning record. Going 6-5, and 5-4 in the RMAC, they also improved from sixth to fifth place in the RMAC standings.
In the team’s last home game and senior day, they hosted a scrappy Chadron State College team who went on to finish one spot below the Mavericks in the RMAC at sixth. Despite the two teams being evenly matched on paper, CMU controlled the game when it mattered and made big plays, leading 38-0 midway through the 3rd quarter and going on to win 38-22.
After each team traded punts through their first drives, the Mavericks got on the board via a rushing touchdown from Keyshawn Ashford at the end of the first quarter. The defense continued to stop a rush heavy offense from Chadron State, and Ashford added another rushing touchdown at the end of the first half to give the Mavs a 17-0 lead at halftime.
In the third quarter, cornerback JaCarri Williams took the game into his hands from his defensive back spot. On Chadron State’s first drive out of the half, Williams intercepted their quarterback and had a solid 27 yard return giving the Mavericks a short field.
CMU quarterback Gavin Herberg then lofted a ball into the endzone and wide receiver Keenan Brown made an incredible play, as he tipped the underthrown ball to himself for the touchdown.
The next drive for Chadron State, Williams played perfect defense and intercepted their quarterback again, this time staying on his feet cutting back up the middle for a pick-six, giving the Mavericks a 31-0 lead.
Herberg then ran in for a score to push the lead to 38-0. The Mavericks then took their foot off the gas, and Chadron State scored 22 straight to pull within 16 points going into the fourth quarter, making the final score close.
“I think we got a little conceited with where we were. We just kind of let that get to our heads and we fell asleep, it should have been 45-0, put the game away,” Herberg said.
For the last game of the season, Kochevar and his squad traveled for a 33-24 win against New Mexico Highlands University, who finished second to last in the RMAC.
Herberg and the offense, who have been up and down all season, played to that exact theme in the final game as well. Herberg, who had to play safety last season, was amazing on his feet, avoiding the Highlands pass rush nearly every time. While avoiding the pass rush, he scored two touchdowns, one on his feet and one through the air, in addition to two more passing touchdowns, giving him four on the day.
However, on a 52% completion percentage he threw his 11th and 12th interceptions, on the season making his passing touchdown and interception total on the season the same.
On the ground, Kochevar continued the committee backfield, and had another good day rushing. Earlier in the season, CMU had one of the worst rushing attacks in the country but they now rank higher, led by an improved offensive line and running backs Marvin Jones, Myles Newble and Keyshawn Ashford, who combined for 113 yards on 24 attempts.
Defensively, CMU could never make the big play last season, and after another interception against Highlands, they finished with an absurd 14 interceptions on the season, flipping that narrative. With the offense putting them in tough situations all season, they fared well, stastically finishing in the middle of the conference.
At 6-5 on the season, and only having a non-region win and wins against the bottom half of the RMAC, the playoffs are out of the picture for the Mavs, setting up a very interesting offseason after a mediocre 2023 season.
