The Colorado Mesa University (CMU) Mavericks put an end to their four game losing streak with a 70-10 blowout win over Fort Lewis College (FLC) Skyhawks. The Mavericks improve to 2-4 on the season, and 1-4 in conference play.
While the Mavericks entered the game with a four game losing skid, the Skyhawks entered the game winless in their last 25 contests.
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Karst Hunter racked up over 300 total yards in the first half, throwing for 285 yards and running for another 16. Hunter essentially had the perfect first half, throwing three touchdowns, rushing for a touchdown and even catching a touchdown for the game’s first score.
Going into halftime, the Mavericks were up 56-0 and were able to play backups as well as their younger players. Redshirt freshman Kia’I Keone started the second half at quarterback for CMU. After missing on his first two throws, Keone settled in nicely. He finished the game with just over 50 passing yards, and scored his first collegiate touchdown on a three yard scramble.
“Everyone knew if we were able to put in Kia’I in there he was going to be able to get it done. It’s fun watching him play, he’s a little spark plug out there,” Head Coach Miles Kochevar said.
Big plays were the story of the night for the Mavericks. The team scored nine touchdowns on ten drives. Hunter averaged 30 yards per completion, with his longest pass going to junior running back Keyshawn Ashford. Ashford caught the quick screen pass, and outran the Skyhawks defenders for the 80 yard touchdown, the first of his Maverick career.
“It’s magical when we finally put everything together. We knew that we had a lot of close games this year where we should have come out with the victory, but now it’s starting to come along and we’re trying to finish it out,” Ashford said.
The Mavericks offense put up over 600 yards of total offense in the game and got contributions from a plethora of players. Hunter and Keone completed passes to ten different receivers, and eight different Mavs recorded a rushing attempt.
Defensively, Coach Kochevar was able to sub defenders in and out the whole game. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Gavin Herberg played defense most of the game and led the team in tackles with seven.
Freshman defensive back Kash Bradley continued the trend of first career touchdowns. The freshman has impressed on special teams this season, averaging over 24 yards per kick return, but scored his first touchdown on the defensive side returning a fumble for a score.
The Mavericks have a great chance to stack another win on the season when they travel to Alamosa Saturday, Oct. 22 to take on the 1-6 Adams State University Grizzlies.
