The Mavericks dominate as they won 56-7, beating the Yellow Jackets for the first time in Spearfish, S.D. since 2014.
Freshman running back D’aris McMillan scored three touchdowns and rushed for 84 yards against Yellow Jackets. He had an average of 10.5 yards per carrying on the day.
Colorado Mesa University (CMU) Football Team’s rushing attack couldn’t be stopped as they rushed for 392 yards on 59 attempts as a team. Redshirt sophomore running back Jesse Rodriquez led the team in rushing yards with 158 yards, and he scored his lone touchdown of the game on a 72-yard run in the first quarter.
Freshman quarterback Gavin Herberg got the start for CMU and he finished with 143 passing yards and a touchdown.
Black Hills State University (BHSU) got on the board first with Chance Eben completing a 27-yard completion to Hassan Williams for the score. The Mavericks responded immediately by scoring two rushing touchdowns within four minutes of the Yellow Jackets score.
Herberg scored the lone touchdown of the second quarter. He rushed for no gain before fumbling the ball on the one-yard line and recovering his own fumble for a touchdown.
In the second quarter, CMU held BHSU to negative three rushing yards on nine rushing attempts. The Yellow Jackets ran 16 plays for 33 yards in the second. In comparison, the Mavericks ran 21 plays for 110 yards.
The CMU defense got the Mavericks on the board first in the second half. Redshirt senior defensive back Damar’ren Mitchell intercepting Eben’s pass and taking it 41-yards for the pick-six.
Mitchell finished the game with two interceptions and three tackles in the game.
The Mavericks got back to the ground game, rushing for 86 yards in the third quarter with McMillan picking up his second touchdown of the game.
CMU didn’t take their foot off the pedal, adding to their lead with McMillan scoring with 13:52 left in the game. They didn’t stop the scoring right there either as they ended up scoring two more touchdowns in the fourth.
Herberg picked up the first passing touchdown of his career with an 11-yard strike to his redshirt freshman tight end Josh Bist for the score.
Redshirt junior quarterback Aaron Howard scored the final touchdown with a 14-yard touchdown pass on his only attempt of the day.
Redshirt junior tight end Jacob Whitmer led the Mavericks in receptions and receiving yards with five receptions for 89-yards. His longest reception of the day was 32-yards, and he had an average of 17.8 yards per reception.
The Mavericks held the Yellow Jackets to 54 rushing yards on 38 attempts. BHSU did lead CMU in passing yards, as the Yellow Jackets racked up 185 passing yards with three different quarterbacks.
Two Mavericks finished the game with 10 total tackles in the game helping the defense hold BHSU scoreless for the final 57 minutes of the game.
CMU’s next game is Saturday, Oct. 24 at noon as they host South Dakota Mines at Stocker Stadium.
