By Jordan Long
The Colorado Mesa University Mavericks football team opens the 2016 season tomorrow at Western State Colorado University. Kickoff is at 1:00 PM from Gunnison, Colorado. The Mavericks are hoping to do better than they did last season.
Last year, the Mavs were 1-1 entering their game against Adams State. They won 55-16, the start of a 7 game winning streak. Mesa had a chance at winning the RMAC (Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) for the first time since 2003. They headed out on the road to face CSU Pueblo, who won the RMAC the last five years including a shared title with Colorado Mines in 2014. The Mavs came out determined to win. At halftime Mesa was only trailing by two points. In the second half, CSU Pueblo outscored them 32-3, winning the game 51-20. That dashed any hopes of winning the RMAC and possibly getting into the Division II playoffs. They ended the year by beating Western State Colorado University 31-28 and finished with a record of 9-2.
Flip the switch to this year. Russ Martin enters his fifth season with the Mavs. Martin has a record at Mesa of 24-20. Every year Mesa’s record has improved. It would not shock me if the Mavs went 10-1 or 9-2 this season because of Martin and his success at Mesa.
Most of the RMAC games are tough. The one game they must have circled on the schedule is October 1st against CSU-Pueblo. This game might be the difference for them winning the RMAC. CSU Pueblo is ranked #5 in the Division II poll. They also face #18 Colorado School of Mines on September 17th.
Mesa has an experienced team. They return 21 players from last years’ team including quarterback senior Sean Rubalcaba. Rubalcaba tossed for 1,479 yards and 15 touchdowns last year. He was careful with the football with only 3 interceptions, which was key for the Mavs last season. Rubalcaba must do it again. He can’t throw into double coverage because that may get intercepted. Those turnovers could be points on the scoreboard for the opposing team.
On the ground the Mavs have Jonathon Beverly who enters his junior year Beverly suited up in ten games his sophomore season. He rushed for 707 yards and 5 touchdowns. His average per rush was an impressive 6.1 yards. Beverly must take pressure off the passing game by running as well as he did last year. The running game will open up the passing game.
On defense linebacker Tom Saager is back at the linebacker spot. He was the leading tackler for Mesa with 114. He could get into the backfield with 4.0 tackles for a loss. It will be key for him to stop the opponents run. If Saager can, Mesa will have a great chance to win football games.
These are a few of the positions to watch for when the Mavs take the field. Hopefully this season will be successful. Go support the Mavs and watch games this season at Stocker Stadium. Their first home game will be on September 10th against Chadron State.
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