Friday, March 6, 2026
The CSC Eagle Newspaper – Chadron, NE
Latest:
The CSC Eagle Newspaper – Chadron, NE
FootballSports

Mesa jumps Chadron, climbs in national poll

Preston Goehring

Colorado Mesa University, Grand Junction, on the back of quarterback Sean Rubalcaba, senior of Grand Junction, Colorado, racked up 513 total yards, Saturday, enough to hand the Eagles their first loss of the season, 47-33.

Cody Paul (5), senior from Seal Beach, California, runs the ball Saturday at Ralph Stocker Stadium in Grand Junction, Colorado.— Photo by Caleb Wiederhold
Cody Paul (5), senior from Seal Beach, California, runs the ball Saturday at Ralph Stocker Stadium in Grand Junction, Colorado.— Photo by Caleb Wiederhold

Rubalcaba threw for nearly 400 yards, good for two touchdowns against the Eagles’ secondary. Both scores went to Virnel Moon, junior of El Cajon, California, who caught five passes for 161 yards.

Before battling CSC, Mesa was ranked No. 25 in the American Football Coaches Association poll. The Mavericks have since jumped up to the No. 23 spot.

Two Mavs were selected as RMAC Players of the Week. Dustin Rivas, junior of Thornton, Colorado, earned Defensive Player of the Week, grabbing three interceptions, returning one for a score. Rivas was a preseason All-RMAC selection.

Mesa’s kicker Ryan Sheehan, junior of Chandler, Arizona, earned the Special Teams Player of the Week. He hit four field goals in as many attempts, 37 yards being the longest.

Courtland Joshua, senior of Donaldsonville, Louisiana, led the Eagles in tackles with nine, while safeties Ryan Wood, senior of Stockton, California, and Kirk Durtsche, redshirt sophomore of Casper, Wyoming, combined for 15.

The special teams unit came up with another blocked punt that resulted in a touchdown. Jack  Dobyns, junior of Tucson, Arizona, blocked the punt, and Zecharie James, junior of Hampton, Virginia, grabbed it, and returned it 25 yards for the score.   

Offensively, CSC gained 446 yards through the air but struggled on the ground, only gaining 99 yards. Kevin Coy, redshirt sophomore of Davenport, Florida, led all Eagles with 49 rushing yards.

Quarterback TD Stein, redshirt sophomore of Chadron, completed 13 passes for 175 yards, a touchdown and one of the interceptions. Stein’s touchdown pass went to Marcus Brown, senior of Colorado Springs, Colorado, for 76 yards, early in the second quarter.

After Stein exited the game early in the second half, junior Matt Vinson, of Box Elder, South Dakota, threw for 172 yards on 12 completions, one score, and two interceptions.

Vinson’s scoring pass went 69 yards to redshirt freshman Brandon Fullerton, of Riverton, Wyoming. Max Gray, redshirt sophomore of Arlington, Washington, led the receivers in total yards, with 104, on 12 grabs.

According to Head Coach Jay Long, the starting quarterback for Saturday’s game against Western State Colorado University, Gunnison, will be a game time decision.

The Mountaineers are currently 1-1 overall and in the RMAC. Leading Western’s offensive attack is runningback Austin Ekeler, senior of Eaton, Colorado, who ran for 123 yards and three touchdowns last week.

Kickoff is set for noon Saturday at Elliott Field.