jdredmon@mavs.coloradomesa.edu

Coach Russ Martin’s first season at CMU is in the books as the football team played its final game Saturday in a 19-0 loss to Adams State in Alamosa. The team’s 4-7 record marks its third straight year with a seven-loss total (3-7 in 2010 and 4-7 in 2011).

“I think we made a lot of improvement in some areas,” Martin said. “It was hard for us to maintain consistency with the injuries and makes it very difficult when you can’t have continuity, especially at quarterback.”

The defense was able to hold its own and once again showed signs of improvement, allowing only one touchdown in six red zone trips to the Grizzlies’ offense, holding them to 19 points Saturday. Adams State averaged 46.7 points per game in the three games prior.

“I was very pleased with our defensive performance,” Martin said. “Our guys buckled down and kept battling to hold them out of the endzone.”

The shutout on Saturday was the first for the Mavericks since the 2009, 10-0 season opener against Central Washington University. The offense failed to score on its only red zone possession when quarterback Jason Haferman threw an interception in the endzone on first-and-goal toward the end of the first quarter.

“Adams had a pretty good defense, but we had a couple of chances to score that we couldn’t capitalize on,” senior wide receiver Robert Felberg said. He had two catches for 67 yards in his final game for CMU. “Obviously, we could have done better.”

Haferman threw for 98 yards and four interceptions while completing 23% of his passes in his first game starting since his injury against Mines on Oct. 20. Running back Jake Cimolino capped off his impressive sophomore campaign with 125 all-purpose yards.

While finishing the season 4-7 overall and 4-5 in RMAC play wasn’t what Martin had hoped for, Felberg shared that it was still a good year for the first-year coach and that the Mavs should have a lot to look forward to next season.

“It was a big change from the last coaching staff,” Felberg said. “It took a while for everybody to adjust, but they set a foundation for the program and they have a lot of young guys for how they want to run things.”

Next year, Martin’s second season will no doubt be compared to former coach Joe Ramunno’s second season in 1999. Ramunno’s team improved off of its 5-6, 2-6 RMAC record in his first and finished 6-5, 4-4 RMAC. Ramunno’s third season in 2000 saw the first RMAC Championship for Mesa since 1990.

“We’re not worried about how we compare to anyone else. That’s not something we focus on,” Martin said. “It’s a different team made up of different players and coaches. We’re just focused on building for long-term success.”