by John Cusick
In order to be the champion, you must defeat the reigning champion. That is exactly what Colorado Mesa University did this Saturday, Oct. 1.
The opposing CSU-Pueblo Thunderwolves came into Grand Junction with a 2-2 record, but the CMU Mavericks knew they could not take this game lightly. The Thunderwolves are the five-time reigning champions of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) and were the National champions in 2012.
The Mavericks knew that the game was going to be a dogfight.
CMU Quarterback Sean Rubalcaba came into Saturday’s game ranked in the top 15 of three passing categories, including not throwing an interception for the first four games in the season. That changed however on the second drive of the afternoon as Rubalcaba’s pass was tipped at the line and floated short of his intended receiver and was intercepted by CSU-Pueblo’s Ryan Merrill.
That led to Pueblo’s first field goal of the afternoon, giving them the early 3-0 lead. The ensuing drive for the Mavericks took just under three and a half minutes as they drove 61 yards in six plays and kicker Ryan Sheehan connected for his 11th field goal of the year to tie the game at 3-3.
After a quick stop by the Maverick defense, it looked as if the Rubalcaba and the offense were going to take control of the game. After Jonathon Beverly lead a 14-yard rush the quarter came to an end and the teams switched sides. The next play altered the momentum of play for the Mavericks. Rubalcaba was pushed out of the pocket and looked to have found an open David Tann in the back of the end zone.
CSU-Pueblo’s Joseph Jones had other ideas and as Rubalcaba looked to float the ball over the defense, Jones reached up and intercepted the pass and gave his team momentum.
The interception led to a five and half minute drive led by quarterback Rex Dausin and running back Bernard McDondle. On a crucial third and 10, Dausin was able to find receiver Daniel Wise behind the secondary for a 38-yard pass that put them into Maverick territory.
Pueblo eventually ran out of gas and settled for their second field goal of the afternoon putting them on top 6-3.
For the second week in a row the Maverick offense was slow to start and it showed as the offense came back out and stalled just after three plays.
CSU’s Dausin and the offense came back on the field and looked to capitalize. After a 5-yard McDondle rush, Dausin looked to find his receiver Daniel Wise on a deep ball and came up empty. On the same play, defensive lineman Sam Mabany was flagged for a roughing the passer that allowed the Thunderwolves to move the ball to the 34-yard line.
After three quick completions, McDondle was finally able to find some freedom and ran his way into the end zone. The Thunderwolves were up 13-3 with only a couple of minutes left before halftime.
“We dug ourselves some major holes in the first half with some penalties,” head Coach Russ Martin said. “Honestly, there were some stupid penalties and some plays that hurt,”
After a failed drive from both sides, the teams went into the locker room with a score of 13-3.
“Going into the second half the coaches told us that we just need to work the game plan and not try and do too much,” quarterback Sean Rubalcaba said.
As the third quarter began the Maverick defense had a feeling of “bend, but do not break” for the afternoon. CSU-Pueblo found themselves once again kicking a field goal as they failed to find a way into the end zone after an eight play drive stalled in the redzone. They led 16-3 and seemed to be in total control of the game.
CMU needed points to stay in striking distance on the ensuing drive. After a personal foul moved the ball to the 41-yard line, Rubalcaba was able to find Marcus Hines on the sideline for a gain of 21 and it seemed as if the offense was finding it’s groove.
The 66-yard,10 play drive ended with Sheehan’s 12 field goal of the year and brought the score to 16-6.
The Mavericks caught a break on the ensuing drive as the Thunderwolves were able to push the ball down to the 19-yard line and eat up the rest of the third quarter. After an incomplete pass by Dausin, kicker Nathan Taylor came onto the field to attempt his fourth field goal of the afternoon from 37 yards out. He pushed it wide and CMU fans found some hope.
After a failed drive and an Austin Pitchford punt, the Maverick defense came up with a huge three and out and forced CSU-Pueblo to punt.
After three straight completions from Rubalcaba, redshirt freshman Peter Anderson found himself on the field and Rubalcaba was able to find him across the middle for the first big play on the afternoon. Anderson was just short of the end zone as he was taken down at the 1-yard line. That led to a Tann touchdown run and put CMU within three points, 16-13.
Wise returned the kickoff 41 yards to the Mavericks 48 and gave the Thunderwolves a short field, but the defense stuck to their brand of hard-nosed football and were able to hold them to their fourth field goal of the afternoon and keep the Mavericks in the game.
Being down 19-13, Rubalcaba and the offense knew that they needed a touchdown in order to potentially win the game. They wasted no time as Rubalcaba found Anderson on two occasions for 26 yards and 12 yards respectively. Another 20-yard pass to Josh Brown set up the 11-yard touchdown pass from Rubalcaba to Tann out of the backfield.
“The tougher the game gets, the tougher [Rubalcaba] becomes,” Martin said. “And he was nails in that second half and fourth quarter. I’m just telling you he wasn’t going to be denied. I love him, he’s just a great competitor, he is a winner.”
With three minutes to drive the ball 75 yards, Dausin found Cole Forsgren for six yards but threw back to back incompletions that forced the Thunderwolves into a fourth and 4.
Dausin’s next pass was errant and tipped. Instead of finding his receiver’s hands, Dausin found defensive back Dustin Rivas who intercepted his fourth pass of the year.
After two timeouts and three plays to try and run the clock out, the Mavericks were forced to punt. The punt, however, was blocked by the Thunderwolves who took over on the Mavericks 40 yard line and had a chance to win the game.
After a couple of completions and a game-saving tackle by Rivas on the 2 yard line, the Thunderwolves were faced with a decision: go for the touchdown, or kick the field goal. They elected to try and punch it in and were stopped short at the 1 yard line.
The end of the game was to be decided with 11 seconds to go and a play from the 1 yard line. The Thunderwolves chose to try and sneak it in once more instead of sending Taylor onto the field for his sixth field goal try and it cost them dearly.
The ball was snapped and the Maverick defensive line stood strong and stopped Dausin at the goal line and time expired.
“We’re not going to let nobody bully us like that on the goal line,” Anderson said on his team’s defense. “Not ever. That’s not going to happen to us.” Anderson finished with three catches for 72 yards.
“It’s a huge win for the program. […] They are the five time defending conference champions,” Martin said. “We told our guys today, if you want to be a champion you’ve got to play like a champion.”
The Mavericks will travel to Black Hills S.D. next weekend for a matchup against Black Hills State 4-1 (4-1 RMAC).
