GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — Most people won't remember that Dixie State's lone win as an NCAA Division II football team came last year against Mesa State College (Colo.).
But you can bet the Mavericks remember.
Fueled by that memory, a fired-up Mesa State scored 17 points in the first quarter and cruised on for a 41-14 win over Dixie State.
The Mavericks racked up 174 yards in the first quarter and scored on a 23-yard TD run by Bobby Coy, a 58-yard TD pass from Phil Vigil to Drew Bohannon and a field goal of 32 yards by Jared Keating.
"They certainly remember last year," Dixie State head coach Ron Haun said. "They were fired up, that's for sure."
The Rebels pulled to within 20-8 after a TD pass from Skyler Ence to Alex Richards and a two-point conversion pass from Josh Sine to Geoff Cox. That was the halftime score and Dixie State had high hopes with first possession of the second half. But the Rebels committed three turnovers in the third quarter and the rout was on.
Mesa State, a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, was anchored by Coy, who missed most of last season after breaking his leg. The sophomore tailback rushed for 127 yards and two touchdowns. Keating was also a star, booting four field goals, including a 49-yarder in the fourth quarter that hit the crossbar and bounced over.
Sophomore quarterback Ence showed promise, passing for 123 yards and a pair of TDs. But he was also intercepted three times, all in the second half.
Dixie State managed just nine first downs and 30 yards rushing in the game.
The brightest spot for the Rebels was probably Teddy Owens. He had 16 tackles in the game and was all over the field.
"Teddy is a tough kid," Haun said. "He was flying all over the field. A lot of our guys on defense were flying all over the field. But the defense was put in a tough situation, being out there all day."
Dixie State opens its home schedule next week against another RMAC team, Adams State (Colo.).