The Colorado Mesa University (CMU) Mavericks lose to the South Dakota Mines (SDM) Hardrockers 17-31. The Mavericks fall to 1-1, while the Hardrockers pick up their second win of the season pushing them to 2-1.

The Mavericks opened the game up with a field goal kick on their second drive of the game. After battling for field position much of the first quarter, CMU made the first big play of the game. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Karst Hunter connected on a deep ball to redshirt junior receiver Keenan Brown. Brown caught the ball at around the 15 yard line, with a Hardrocker draped all over him. He then carried two SDM defenders to the endzone, bringing the Mavericks lead to 10-0.

With the Hardrocker defense playing tight man coverage, receivers were forced to go deep to make plays. Hunter and the rest of the offense were not able to complete passes to keep up with SDM.

“We have to be more consistent. We got guys up front that need to dominate the line of scrimmage, We have to find a way to figure out the run game, which will open up the pass game. We have to do a better job of dictating everything we do both on the offensive side and on the defensive side,” Football head coach Miles Kochevar said.

After the touchdown for the Mavericks, the passing game never found its flow. Hunter did throw for 282 yards, but did so on 15 completions on 33 attempts.

“We had our shots and took them, and completed some of them. We have to do a better job executing and playing our ball,” Hunter said.

Defensively, the Mavericks had to deal with the reigning Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) offensive player of the week, redshirt sophomore quarterback Jayden Johannsen. The quarterback threw for over 400 yards, and threw the ball 45 times to seven different receivers.

“I think that we were misreading our keys. It was cloudy upfront, so we stepped up to help stop the run, and they were just throwing slants behind us. We got to watch film and learn to be more patient, senior linebacker Siosi Finau said.

Later in the third quarter, the Mavericks defense came alive with some big plays to try to keep the team in it.

With CMU trailing 24-10, redshirt senior cornerback Scrappy Norman broke on a ball thrown and forced it to pop in the air. Sophomore linebacker Hudson Metcalf then intercepted the tipped pass for the game’s first turnover. The Mavericks offense then capitalized on the turnover by quickly hitting graduate student Jacob Whitmer in the corner of the endzone to bring the game to 24-17.

The Maverick comeback fell short after Johannsen threw a 60 yard touchdown pass halfway through the fourth quarter.

With the loss, the Mavericks open up conference play with a 0-1 record and fall to 1-1 on the season. The team looks to rebound as they take on Black Hills State on Saturday, September 24, at Lyle Hare Stadium.