Homecoming arrived on the Mesa State campus this week, highlighted by a football match-up against Fort Lewis on Saturday night. It couldn’t have been a more perfect set up Saturday.
The Skyhawks came into Stoker Stadium to take on a packed house and a fired up Mesa State squad who was looking to even their conference record and gain some momentum heading down the conference stretch. When it was all said and done, Mesa State came out with a 31-14 victory.
Nerves were evident for both teams as the first quarter was marred by costly penalties and costly turnovers. Mesa State seem to have things rolling early when junior Tanner Whaley returned a punt 52 yards deep into Fort Lewis’ territory. That was quickly negated by a Mesa fumble. Fort Lewis recovered, but gave the ball right back to the Mavs. The exchange of turnovers didn’t result in points, however, as Mesa failed to convert a 37 yard field goal midway through the first quarter. The first quarter came to a 0-0 close, with both teams struggling to find any offensive rhythm.
The second quarter was much like the first for Mesa State as they continued to turn the ball over. An interception and a fumble proved costly for the Mavs as the Skyhawks capitalized on the mistakes leading to a three yard touchdown pass giving Fort Lewis a 7-0 lead heading into halftime.
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yed confident in the locker room, everyone in there knew that we were beating ourselves a bit, our offense was going to kick down the goal line eventually.” said junior defensive end Domonique Lewis, who lead the Mavericks with two of Mesa’s five sacks.
Mesa State finally put some points on the board when sophomore Caleb Pavy put in a 37-yard field goal early in the 3rd quarter. Much of the 3rd quarter remained a defensive struggle until Fort Lewis connected on a 52 yard pass play down the sideline resulting in a touchdown and 14-3 lead at the end of the quarter. The 4th quarter however was all Mesa State’s.
Seven seconds into the fourth quarter, sophomore running back James Hamm broke a run for 20 yards crossing the goal line narrowing the lead to 14-10. This trip to the end zone wouldn’t be his last. Hamm led the way for the Mavs offense racking up 162 yards on 32 carries.
“We knew the holes would open up, we were beating them off the line, it was a matter of time.” Hamm said.
Mesa State turned the momentum for good two minutes later on a spectacular special teams play. Pinned deep in their own territory Fort Lewis had a punt blocked by sophomore Trevor Debraga, the ball hung in the air and was snatched up by junior Tanner Ridgeway, who ran into the end zone giving the Mavs their first lead of the game, 17-14. Quarterback Michael Mankoff knew just how big that blocked punt was for the Mavs.
“90% of the time in football when you block a punt, you’re gonna win,” Mankoff said. “That was huge for us and it turned the whole game our way.”
Mesa never looked back. Hamm punched the ball in from the two on their next possession, giving them a ten point lead with six minutes left in regulation. Mesa’s defense forced a turnover on downs the next series. A personal foul called against the Skyhawks gave the ball to the Mavericks on the Fort Lewis 12 yard line. The Mavs capped off 28 unanswered points in the fourth quarter when Mankoff found his fullback Zach Belloni in the back of the end zone two plays later, putting the game to rest with a final score of 31 -14. The Maverick faithful went home a happy group of fans and the Mesa players credited the crowd for their effort.
“Our fans are awesome, they give us so much energy, it was nice to come home,” Mankoff said. “You know practice doesn’t make perfect but perfect practice makes perfect and that’s what we’ve been keying on all week heading into this game, I think we’ll continue to hit our stride and keep getting better.”
Hamm also sees this win as an important one for Mesa State.
“We’ve had our best week of practice this last week, the key is to keep that momentum, this win was a big one for our confidence,” Hamm said. “We’ll use practice and this win to build on.”
Mesa State evened their conference record to 2-2 heading into a pivotal conference match up with league leader Colorado School of Mines (5-1, 4-0) Saturday in Golden.

chughes@mesastate.edu