Rachel Heaton
The Paw Print
Led by quarterbacks Trevor Eggleston (Tucson, Ariz.) and Justin Juda (Lancaster, N.Y.), the ASU Grizzlies took down the Western New Mexico Mustangs on Saturday in Silver City, N.M. The Grizzly offense put up 49 points to WNM’s 28 in order to advance to 5-3 overall and 3-3 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) play.
The Grizzlies put up the first points of the contest on their first drive. Eggleston rushed 84 yards to the WNM 2 yard line. Juda would then come in to rush the final two yards for a touchdown.
Western New Mexico struck back, scoring a touchdown on their next drive after stringing together 10 plays for 75 yards. Western New Mexico’s next drive was cut short on an interception by freshman Daniel Paponetti (Coral Springs, Fla.). He returned the ball 15 yards to set ASU up on the WNM 17 yard line. The Grizzly offense came out and got the job done, as Juda ran in for his second touchdown of the day, this time from three yards out.
Adams State scored again with 9:34 to play in the second quarter. The Grizzlies started on their own 33 yard line and only needed one play, a 67 yard rush by freshman Chaz Butler (Denver, Colo.), to find the end zone and give ASU a 21-7 lead.
ASU would score one final time before entering the half. The Grizzlies marched down to the WNM 13 before changing things up a little bit. This time, senior wide reciever JB Hall (Boulder, Colo.) would complete a pass to Eggleston in the end zone. A successful point after by senior David Van Voris (Elizabeth, Colo.) pushed the Grizzlies up 28-7 at the half.
The Mustangs didn’t go down easy, as they scored on their first drive of the second half. Western New Mexico went 77 yards on 11 plays to close the gap to a 28-14 lead for the Grizzlies.
Adams State answered back on their ensuing drive, however, as Juda found the end zone for a third time, capping a 9-play, 65-yard drive, which included a 25 yard reception by senior Ron Gaudin (Miami, Fla.).
The Grizzlies found the end zone again early in the fourth quarter on a two yard rush by Juda. This put the score at 42-14 with 12:55 left to go in the game.
The Mustangs answered back on their next possession with a 29 yard pass from freshman quarterback Mitch Glasmann to Donald Byrd. The Mustangs then did an on-side kick and recovered the ball on their own 47. They then went the remaining 53 yards in 8 plays to bring the score to 42-28 with 7:19 to play.
The Grizzlies would take over and march down the field, aided by a 15 yard run by Juda before he would find the end zone for a final time on a one yard rush that capped the scoring efforts of the day.
On the day, the Grizzlies accumulated 516 yards of total offense, 340 of which were rushing yards. Eggleston went 16-26, rushed for 150 yards, and caught one touchdown pass. Juda, who didn’t throw a single pass in the contest, added 65 yards on the ground. Sophomore Drew Edwards (Longmont, Colo.) had 54 yards on 2 receptions while Gaudin had 4 catches for 27 yards. Van Voris was successful on all of his PAT attempts.
Juda’s five rushing touchdowns in the contest is the most by any RMAC player this season and also ties the Grizzlies’ Division II-era record for rushing touchdowns in a game.
Defensively for ASU, senior James Ackel (Riverside, Calif.) recorded 13 tackles, six of which were solo. Senior Mario Moore (Moreno Valley, Calif.) and sophomore Connor Stevens (Colorado Springs, Colo.) each registered 9 tackles.
The Grizzlies return home this weekend to face the Fort Lewis Skyhawks in the musket game. The Skyhawks are 0-7 overall and 0-6 in RMAC play. The game is set to kick off at 1 p.m.
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