Sports Reporter
mfreter@mavs.coloradomesa.edu
It was Senior Day for the Mavericks on Saturday as they took on their in-state rivals Western State at Stocker Stadium. After an inconsistent three quarters, the Mavs (4-6, 4-4 RMAC) put together a late touchdown drive to grab the lead and held on to win 22-19.
The Mountaineers had the opportunity to tie the game with a 34-yard field goal late in the fourth, but their attempt was unsuccessful.
“I think it will be a great memory for our seniors, going out with that win at home,” Martin said. “It was a great tribute to the young men that kept battling and kept pushing forward in such a close game.”
The CMU defense built the momentum early when defensive back Trevor DeBraga intercepted a deflected pass at the line of scrimmage on Western State’s second possession. From there, quarterback Deke Cisco connected with running back Jake Cimolino on a 34-yard screen pass that set up a 13-yard touchdown run by Cisco.
The Mountaineers responded in the second quarter with a 12-yard touchdown run to equalize the score, 7-7. After a stalled offensive drive, defensive back Turmur Battle caused another Mountaineer turnover when he intercepted a pass that was intended to go out of bounds.
The Mavs capitalized again on the turnover with a 5-yard touchdown scamper by D.J. Hubbard. The defense would give up their biggest play of the game on the ensuing Mountaineer drive, a 77-yard touchdown rush to tie the score at 14. The Mavericks’ offense also surrendered a safety late in the second quarter as Cimolino was tackled in the end zone to give the Mountaineers a 16-14 advantage going into the half.
The third quarter began with the Maverick offense coming to a complete halt. They were not able to cross midfield and a costly interception by Cisco set up a Mountaineer field goal late in the quarter that gave them a 19-14 lead.
According to wide receiver Connor Charlesworth, the offense knew that they had to change something in order to turn things around and just when it looked to be another failed offensive possession, a pass interference call on Western State gave the Mavs a fresh set of downs on their own 42-yard line. Cisco orchestrated a 58-yard drive that was capped off by a 5-yard touchdown run by Hubbard. Hubbard would also rush on the next play for a successful two-point conversion to put the Mavs ahead by three, 22-19.
“We just came together as a team,“ Charlesworth said. “We decided that if we were going to win this, we’ve got to pull it together and do it.”
The Mountaineers looked to be driving for the tying score on their next possession, but defensive lineman Cees Doxsey would end the drive by recovering a bobbled snap by the quarterback. A slew of offensive penalties forced the Mavs to punt and put the pressure on the defense to make one more stop.
Western State drove down into field goal range with just over a minute left to play when coach Martin called a timeout in an attempt to put more pressure on the field goal kicker. The ensuing kick went wide to the right of the goalpost to seal the victory for the Mavs.
“It’s good to get a win, we needed it,” Charlesworth said. “It was a little closer than we would have liked, but when it came down to it, the offense pulled through and the defense shut them down like we knew they were going to.”
The win marks the third consecutive victory for CMU over the Mountaineers. The Mavs will conclude their season on the road against Adams State (7-3, 5-3 RMAC) Saturday.
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