The musket is back in the Fort Lewis College trophy case, and now the Skyhawks to focus on loftier goals.
No. 18 Colorado Mesa rolls into Durango for a noon Saturday kickoff against the FLC football team. The Mavericks enter the game 3-0 after an impressive double overtime win against No. 10 Colorado Mines last week.
“They’re a very good team,” FLC head coach Ed Rifilato said of the Mavericks. “Colorado Mines just blasted CSU-Pueblo, and of course Pueblo is a good team. Mesa last year was a very good team, and they’ve gotten even better.”
After dropping their first two games of the season, but Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference games, the Skyhawks got back on track last week in Alamosa with a victory against rival Adams State to retain the musket traveling trophy.
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Bo Coleman played the entire game and made highlight reel plays with his feet while also managing the passing game well. He finished with 11-of-14 passing for 155 yards and a deep touchdown to Arealous Hughes and ran for 79 yards and two touchdowns.
This week, FLC has been able to prepare its offense around Coleman in practice after he was named the starter. He entered the season competing with Larry Cutbirth III, who struggled in a home-opening loss to Black Hills State.
“Going into the fourth gram, we have more information than our first game, and we will find out even more about Bo this week,” Rifilato said. “We’re going against a good defense. By the end of (Saturday’s) game, we will know how he handles that next step.”
The FLC rushing attack got going last week with PJ Hall and Drake Griffin both rushing more than 100 yards and Hall clearing 150. FLC’s 253 rushing yards per game ranks second in the conference.
Colorado Mesa (3-0, 3-0 RMAC) has the No. 2 scoring offense in the RMAC at 40.7 points per game. FLC has the second best scoring defense, allowing an average of 24 points per contest, so something has to give.
The Mavericks are led by quarterback Sean Rubalcaba, who ranks in the top-25 in the nation in six statistical categories. His top receivers are Josh Brown, Marcus Hines and Virnel Moon.
“He’s a leader,” Rifilato said of Rubalcaba. “We was knocked out of the game last week for a bit in the fourth and then turned around with a few minutes left and came back with a couple of touchdowns in overtime. Tough guy.”
The kicking game will be an area to watch Saturday. The Skyhawks (1-2, 1-2 RMAC) have struggled mightily with Joseph Cavale making only 2-of-5 field goals with a long of 26 yards. His other three attempts have been blocked, including both from 40-plus yards out. Even extra points have been adventurous.
Colorado Mesa kicker Ryan Sheehan leads all of NCAA Division II in field goals per game with 2.67. He is 8-of-9 this year and has made eight in a row.
“Mesa has proved to be real good with wins against Western State, Chadron State and Colorado Mines,” Rifilato said. “We will find out right where we fit in the whole scheme on the league.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
If you go
Who:
No. 18 Colorado Mesa at Fort Lewis
What:
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference football
When:
Noon Saturday
Where:
Ray Dennison Memorial Field, Fort Lewis College
Listen Live:
KIUP 930 AM, 97.3, 106.3 FM
Twitter:
@jlivi2
