jdredmon@mavs.coloradomesa.edu

After winning two games in a row and three of its last four, the Mavericks’ football team failed to win Saturday in Golden against Colorado School of Mines. The Orediggers won 34-7 by capitalizing on CMU’s mistakes, with 17 of their 34 points coming off Maverick turnovers.

“The mistakes were the difference in the game,” coach Russ Martin said. “We held them down defensively, but our defense couldn’t get off the field. We were not as consistent as we needed to be.”

The Mavs’ offense was shut out for most of the afternoon until quarterback Deke Cisco found wide receiver Turmour Battle for a 62-yard touchdown pass. Cisco, the early season starter, was in for Jason Haferman who left the game late in the third quarter.

The scoring started early in the first quarter after a 12-play, 72-yard drive by the Orediggers was capped off by quarterback Matt Brown’s conference-leading 26th touchdown of the season. The score would be the only one thrown by the standout player as the Maverick defense seemed to keep him in check for the rest of the game limiting him to 304 yards (his second lowest total of the season) and forcing two interceptions.

Despite the defense’s best efforts, the short field of play the Orediggers’ were given continuously off of turnovers led to a 24-0 halftime deficit for the Mavericks.

Running back Jake Cimolino, who went into Saturday leading the RMAC in rushing in conference games, was limited to a season-low 24 yards on 14 carries. The entire Mavs’ rushing attack (ranked second in the conference) struggled as a result, tallying only 35 yards as a whole Saturday.

“They did a very good job, defensively, up front,” Martin said. “They controlled the line of scrimmage. We didn’t play with the focus and tenacity that we have to have going forward.”

Haferman threw for 156 yards and an interception before Cisco replaced him. Cisco threw for a touchdown and an interception on 89 yards passing. Battle’s 62-yard touchdown reception was his fourth catch of the season and longest of his career. Wide receiver/kicker Alex Zemezonak added 76 yards receiving on 5 receptions of his own, both career-highs for him as well.

According to Martin, the injury sustained by Haferman makes him doubtful for Saturday’s game, leaving Cisco once again as the starter at quarterback.

The 27-point loss dropped the Mavs to 3-3 in RMAC play and 3-5 overall on the season. The Mavericks face a tough challenge this week at Stocker Stadium against undefeated CSU – Pueblo, who is averaging a winning score of 20 points in RMAC play this season.

“[CSU – Pueblo] is an outstanding football team,” Martin said. “Overall we are evaluating what we’re capable of being and we know we aren’t there yet.”