Scott Kretzmann
ASC Sports
Information Director
The Grizzlies put up a season-high 49 points behind 117 yards rushing and two touchdowns from senior running back Terjean Saffold (Stockton, Calif.) as well as four total touchdowns, two rushing and two passing, from junior quarterback Marc Amos (Lakewood, Colo.), and ASC claimed its 10th straight over Western State in the Colorado Classic by a score of 49-10.
The win allows ASC to conclude the season with a record of 6-5 overall and 4-5 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) play. The record gives the Grizzlies their first winning season since 2006, when they also compiled a 6-5 mark. With a 4-5 RMAC record Adams State will end the season fifth in the league, a position they have finished in for four straight years.
Western State ends the season at the bottom of the league standings and 1-10 overall and 1-8 in RMAC play.
Saffold’s 117 yards gave him his third game of the season with at least 100 yards rushing, and the seventh such game of his 2-year career at ASC, and allows him to end the season with 1,023 yards gained rushing. He also rushed for his 11th TD of the season, an available history program record.
After the Mountaineers got on the board first just 70 seconds into the game, ASC traveled 80 yards on nine plays to tie the game up. Amos, making his first career start, was 0-for-1 passing on the drive, but ran the ball twice for 33 yards before junior Isam Pegues (Los Angeles, Calif.) made it into the end zone from two yards out.
WSC would retake the lead for a short time with 20 seconds left in the first quarter as kicker Lloyd Tucker hit a 61-yard field goal attempt with the heavy Alamosa wind at his back for a 10-7 lead.
Five plays later the lead would return to the Grizzlies hands for good on a 1-yard sneak from Amos with 14:08 left in the second quarter.
Amos, who ended the day 14-of-23 for 218 yards, and also ran the ball 13 times for 70 net yards. He would have a hand in the Grizzles other two second quarter scores as well, finding senior Dustin Bolt (Alamosa, Colo.) for a 30-yard strike and rushing in once again, this time from two yards out, with just 39 seconds remaining in the half. The 21 second quarter points put ASC up 28-10 at the break.
After allowing two WSC scores in the first quarter, the Grizzly defense allowed little else the rest of the day. The Mountaineers gained just 118 yards over the final three quarters, and found themselves in ASC territory just three times.
Senior linebacker Rocco DeLorenzo (Arvada, Colo.) led the effort with 12 tackles, including a team leading 2.0 for loss.
DeLorenzo ends the season with a career-high 105 tackles, ranking seventh on the ASC available history list for tackles in a season. The Grizzlies also benefitted from a pair of fumble recoveries, by junior Kirk Gainous (Tallahassee. Fla.) and freshman Mike Liebrock (Chandler, Ariz.), as well as a Jeremiah Van Valkenburg (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) interception.
The Grizzlies’ three takeaways are their most in a game since their Sept. 24 match-up at Chadron State.Saffold accounted for ASC’s lone score of the third period, finishing off a 4-play, 81 yard drive with his 10th touchdown of the season.
ASC’s final scores came on an Amos to Scott Kellogg (Littleton, Colo.) hook-up early in the fourth, and Saffold’s record-setting 11th scoring run of the season with 5:26 left in the contest.
Both teams fumbled the ball three times in the game, though ASC lost just one late in the fourth quarter.
Adams State was 6-of-8 on red zone chances in the game, missing a field goal and turning the ball over on down on the WSC 20-yard line in the first quarter.
Three Grizzlies ended the day near 70 yards in the game. After missing the previous two games, Bolt led the receiving corps with six catches for 69 yards, while Kellogg and Prescott each snagged four passes for 77 and 70 yards, respectively.
The Grizzlies 467 yards of offense were their third most in a game this season, and their sixth game of the season with more than 400 yards of offense. ASC’s 4,248 yards of offense this season ranks second in available history, just 40 yards shy of the record set during the 2005 season.
Eleven Adams State seniors were recognized on Saturday for their contributions to the football program and athletics department including Prescott, Saffold, Bolt, DeLorenzo, safety Will Naas (Tucson, Ariz.), cornerback Fabrice Nolen (Gilbert, Ariz.), defensive end Kenny Scally (Golden, Colo.), offensive lineman Joey Oliver (Wittman, Ariz.), defensive lineman Dereck Johns (Phoenix, Ariz.) and wide receiver Mohamad Hasoon (Golden, Colo.).
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