The Mavericks improved to 3-0 for the first time since 2018 with a 24-17 win over the Eagles.
Freshman running back Avian Thomas led the Mavericks in rushing with 111 yards on the ground with one touchdown. He carried the ball 14 times for an average of 7.9 yards per carry.
The first half was a defensive battle as the Mavericks held a 10-3 lead, but both teams were able to find the endzone twice in the second half.
Chadron State College (CSC) received the ball first in the game after the mavericks won the coin flip and deferred. The Eagles got right to work on their opening possession as they put together a nine-play, 53-yard drive.
Defensive back Damar’ren Mitchell brought Cole Thurness down at the 22-yard line to bring up fourth down. Gunnar Jones then hit a 39-yard field goal to get CSC on the board first.
The Mavericks took over in the second quarter with 8:04 and put together their first scoring drive. They were balanced offensively as they ran the football four times and went through the air five times.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Karst Hunter found redshirt senior wide receiver Lionell McConnell in the endzone on a seven-yard touchdown.
Redshirt junior kicker Lucas Ruiz-Diaz increased the Mavericks lead to 10-3 with a field goal from 42-yards out with 28 seconds left in the first half.
Neither team had success offensively on their first two drives of the second half, but Thomas got the scoring started on Colorado Mesa University’s (CMU) third possession. Thomas recorded a 12-yard rush followed by a 14-yard strike from Hunter that put the Mavericks at midfield.
Thomas then broke free at the line of scrimmage, broke a tackle, tip-toed the sideline and dove into the end zone to put CMU up 17-3.
The Eagles were able to answer on the next possession as it was set up by a 24-yard and 41-yard completions from Dalton Holst. Holst’s 41-yard connection came on 3rd and 7 to put the Eagles down on the CMU 1-yard line. Holst then found Thurness for the touchdown to bring them within one score.
The Maverick’s final score of the day came on a long drive to end the third quarter. The Mavericks used Hunter’s arm to get them down the field with under three minutes left in the quarter. Graduate student wide receiver Dwight Blakey found pay dirt on a two-yard rush as the clock expired to put CMU up 24-10 going into the fourth quarter.
CMU’s defense held strong as they forced the Eagles to turn the ball over twice in the quarter. Junior defensive lineman Torren Calhoun sacked Holst and forced a fumble all in one play, and the Mavericks were able to recover with 13:01 remaining in the game.
Off the turnover, the Mavericks were able to get the ball down the field, but the Eagles blocked Diaz’s 42-yard field goal attempt. The Eagles took back over with 7:24 left in the game, and they got to CMU’s 35-yard line off an 18-yard completion and a 15-yard pass interference penalty tacked onto the end of the play. Holst completed one more pass before Mitchell made an unbelievable interception along the sideline to try to stop the Eagles’ offense.
While Mitchell accomplished that temporarily, CSC came right back down the field on their next possession and scored a touchdown to bring themselves within a score.
CMU held on to win the game 24-17 as they held off the Eagle’s final attempt to tie the game up with 58 seconds left.
Hunter finished the game with 172 passing yards with one touchdown. He went 19 for 30 for a 63.3% completion percentage. Blakey led the Mavericks in receiving with 86 yards on eight receptions.
Senior linebacker Remington Green was the second-leading tackler for CMU with 12 total tackles. He registered one full tackle for loss and half a sack against the Eagles. Mitchell led the team in tackles with 13 while also registering the pivotal interception.
The Maverick’s next game is Oct. 2 at 2 p.m. against CSU Pueblo in the Derose Thunder bowl in Pueblo, Colo.
