The Fort Lewis College defense was truly beat, and the early-season struggles for the offense continued Saturday night in Grand Junction.
No. 11 Colorado Mesa cruised to a 40-14 victory against the Skyhawks. The Mavericks (4-0, 4-0 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) led 40-0 before surrendering two late scores to the Skyhawks with several reserve players getting time on the field.
FLC (1-3, 1-3 RMAC) turned over the ball twice in Colorado Mesa territory in the first half and trailed 19-0 going into the locker room. The Mavericks outscored the Skyhawks 21-0 in the third quarter to put the game away.
Eystin Salum and Virnel Moon torched the Skyhawks. Salum passed for 212 yards and two TDs, both to Moon, who finished with 134 yards on six receptions. Moon’s second TD catch was a jump ball in the end zone, and FLC’s Donell Pleasant III nearly had his third interception in as many games, but Moon came down with the ball for the score.
Salum also led the game in rushing with 164 yards and one touchdown. Jeremy Hawkins and Brett Ojiyi each had one rushing TD for the Mavericks. David Tann, the reigning RMAC Offensive Player of the Week, rushed for 58 yards on 12 attempts.
Ryan Sheehan opened the scoring for the Mavericks. He made a 27-yard field goal with 4:16 to play in the first quarter. He gave the Mavericks a 6-0 lead with 12:36 to play in the second quarter with an impressive 51-yard field goal.
Bo Coleman finished with 132 yards passing for the Skyhawks before backup Jake Lowry saw time in the second half. Tyler Telphy rushed for 137 yards and 1 TD for the Skyhawks on 23 carries. Lowry also rushed for a score and had 34 rushing yards on two attempts.
Arealous Hughes hauled in three passes for 54 yards for FLC, while Mason Hatton had 52 receiving yards on eight receptions.
Saturday night’s game was the first of a tough three-game road trip for the Skyhawks, who will visit Colorado School of Mines (2-2, 2-2 RMAC) at noon Saturday in Golden.
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
RMAC
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference
College Football Standings
Note: AFCA Coaches national rank in parentheses.
Team RMAC Overall
Colo. Mesa (11) 4-0 4-0
CSU-Pueblo (19) 3-0 3-1
Chadron State 3-1 3-1
Adams State 2-2 2-2
Black Hills State 2-2 2-2
Colo. Mines (RV) 2-2 2-2
N.M. Highlands 1-2 2-2
S.D. Mines 1-2 2-2
Dixie State 1-2 1-3
Fort Lewis 1-3 1-3
Western State 0-4 0-4
Saturday, Sept. 23
Colorado Mines 45, Western State 7
CSU-Pueblo 56, N.M. Highlands 13
Black Hills 25, S.D. Mines 24
Chadron State 73, Adams State 26
Central Washington 58, Dixie State 40
Colorado Mesa 40, Fort Lewis 14
Saturday, Sept. 30
Fort Lewis at Colorado Mines, noon
Black Hills at N.M. Highlands, noon
S.D. Mines at Adams State, 1 p.m.
Dixie State at Western State, 1 p.m.
Colorado Mesa at CSU-Pueblo, 2 p.m.
Chadron State at Humboldt State, 7 p.m.
