The Maverick’s offense exploded for 42 points in the first half as they rolled to a 49-14 win over the Grizzles.
Colorado Mesa University’s (CMU) offense recorded 482 total yards of offense, and redshirt junior wide receiver Darick Holmes contributed 198 yards on his own. Holmes finished with three total touchdowns in the game.
Holmes recorded 112 yards on the ground and 86 receiving yards in the Maverick’s win. Redshirt freshman quarterback Karst Hunter scored four total touchdowns and he scored two from both the ground and passing game. He finished with 184 passing yards and 67 rushing yards in the game.
“Everybody on my team believed in me. In the running backs room, we have a lot of guys down and it was just time that the next man stepped up. The standard didn’t change, we all just had to play,” Holmes said. “Everybody believed in me, and I love seeing that before the game, everyone was saying, ‘it’s your night tonight.’ I was getting that from everybody and that built my confidence, and the rest is history.”
CMU received the opening kickoff, and their offense went to work. Redshirt junior Isaac Maestas opened the game with a 14-yard rush. Hunter then flipped the field as he broke free for a 30-yard rush two plays later to move CMU to the Grizzlies 28-yard line.
Holmes then scored his first touchdown of the game as he got loose and scored a 28-yard touchdown less than two minutes into the game.
The Maverick’s defense was able to get the Grizzlies offense off the field in three plays. CMU blocked ASU’s punt and senior defensive back Eugene Bowman recovered it taking it down to the one-yard line.
Junior linebacker Siaosi Finau then came in on offense for CMU in a jumbo package. He accepted the handoff and plowed into the endzone for a one-yard touchdown to put the Mavericks up 14-0.
The Grizzlies took over with 11:55 left in the first quarter, and put together a six-play, 75-yard drive. John Buska found Elijah Harper for a 19-yard pitch and catch that moved the Grizzlies out to the 47-yard line.
Buska found Jordan Simon for a 30-yard gain that moved them into the red zone to CMU’s nine-yard line. Ian Fryday caught a nine-yard touchdown pass on the next play to bring the Grizzlies within one score.
The Maverick’s put together a 10-play, 63-yard drive and a six-play, 50-yard drive for two more first-quarter touchdowns to go up 28-7.
CMU stuffed the Grizzlies fourth-down conversion attempt with 11:16 left in the second quarter and took over on the ASU 30-yard line. On third and four, Hunter found redshirt junior Dagan Rienks for a 24-yard touchdown.
The Maverick’s defense got the ASU offense off the field in three plays. CMU flipped the field in three plays that all were 10-yards or longer. Hunter opened the drive up with a 10-yard rush which was followed by a 29-yard completion to redshirt sophomore Isaac Salazar.
Holmes moved the Mavericks down to the Grizzlies 10-yard line with a 33-yard rush. Hunter finished the drive off with a rushing touchdown to give CMU a commanding 42-7 lead.
Both defenses tightened up and didn’t allow another score in the first half.
“The negative that I saw was that we didn’t finish well. I want to finish better, we talk about playing 60 minutes of disciplined, obedient, gritty football. We didn’t finish well, but when I think about it, we haven’t been together long enough to have a win where we jump out and score 40 points in the first half,” Jackson said.
The Maverick’s final scoring drive started with 11:08 left in the third quarter. CMU started the drive on the ASU 45-yard line, but they went backward on their opening play. Hunter connected with graduate student wide receiver Dwight Blakey on a four-yard reception to put them into a third and manageable situation.
Hunter then found Holmes on a 42-yard touchdown pass to go up 49-7.
In the fourth quarter, the Mavericks took over with 13:23 left in the game. The drive featured three penalties that went against CMU and two of them were accepted. The ASU defense was able to keep the Mavericks from moving much on the field as they allowed four yards through seven plays.
ASU forced the Mavericks to punt, and John Vawar III broke through the line and blocked the punt. Harper picked it up for ASU and returned it 12 yards to score the Grizzlies’ last touchdown of the game.
The Mavericks finished the game with 13 penalties for 133 yards in the game.
Freshman linebacker Kaden Stewart was all over the field in the game for CMU as he finished with four tackles for loss. He recorded seven total tackles along with one quarterback hit in the contest.
Redshirt junior Cross Poyer recorded the Maverick’s lone turnover of the day as he intercepted Marckell Grayson’s pass in the third quarter.
The Maverick’s next game is Oct. 16 at noon against Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colo.
