Football Opens Season with 17-9 Home Victory

Rachel Heaton
The Paw Print

The Adams State football team opened their regular season on Saturday with a 17-9 victory over Dixie State College. This is the third straight season that the Grizzlies have opened with a win.
The Grizzlies struck first in the contest with a 34 yard field goal from senior David Van Voris (Elizabeth, Colo.) in beginning of the second quarter. This was followed by a Dixie State touchdown, giving the Red Storm a 6-3 lead.
ASU answered back when Eddie Aiono (Compton, Calif.) forced a Red Storm fumble that was recovered by Cedric Stewart (Los Angeles, Calif.) to set the Grizzlies up in scoring range. Sophomore Michael Carl (Rush, Colo.) would give Adams State their first touchdown of the game to put the team up 10-6 going into the half.
In the opening of the second half, the Red Storm put up a field goal, after being stopped short by the Adams State defense.
The Grizzlies followed with another touchdown, this time from junior quarterback Cody Davies (Bozeman, Mont.) to sophomore Drew Edwards (Longmont, Colo.). After a successful extra point attempt from Van Voris, the score was 17-9 still in favor of the Grizzlies.
Nearing the end of the game, the Red Storm made a final drive for the end zone. However, their attempts were stopped with an interception by freshman Devin Simmons (El Paso, Texas). This gave the Grizzlies the victory.
On the night, ASU was led by Davies, who racked up 203 passing yards. Davies was 17-33 with no turnovers in his debut as a Grizzly. He also rushed for 26 yards.
On the defensive side of the ball, Vince Coach (Indianapolis, Ind.) recorded 16 tackles, 1 sack, and 1 interception. Brent Lush (Tucson, Ariz.) and James Ackel (Riverside, Calif.) had 15 and 14 tackles respectively.
Overall, turnovers were the difference maker in the game, as the Grizzly defense recorded four interceptions and two forced fumbles, while the Red Storm only came away with one fumble recovery.
The win puts Adams State at 1-0 overall along with conference opponents Colorado School of Mines, Western New Mexico University, New Mexico Highlands University, and Colorado State University-Pueblo.
Next week, the Grizzlies travel to Plainview, Texas to play Wayland Baptist University.
For Wayland Baptist, this is the school’s first season of football since 1940.  The Pioneers lost their first game of the season on Saturday to Monterrey Tech University (Mexico) with a final score of 59-21.
The contest between Adams State and Wayland Baptist will begin at 2p.m. CDT. Fans not making the drive to Texas can listen on KSPK FM or stream live at kspk.com.
The Grizzlies will begin Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) play on Saturday, Sept. 15 when they take on Western State Colorado University on the road.