ASC to honor 10 players before Saturday's Senior Day game
ALAMOSA, Colo.- A spot in the top half of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference standings is on the line Saturday when the Adams State College Grizzlies will meet the visiting Mesa State College Mavericks, Saturday at Rex Stadium in what will be the final career home game for nine Grizzly seniors and a redshirt junior in Bryce Buderus (Florence, Colo.) who will graduate a semester early in December.
All ten will be honored prior to the noon kick-off between the 3-6 Grizzlies and 3-5 Mavericks that can be heard live on KSPK-FM (104.1 in Alamosa) and via the internet at www.kspk.com. Online subscription based video coverage will also be available thanks to America One and live statistics on the Grizzlies' website can be accessed by clicking here.
Furthermore, the game will be televised by KSPK-TV and can be seen on a tape-delay basis or by purchasing a DVD. Click here more information about how to do that and the air dates and times.
The Grizzlies come into Saturday's contest after two heartbreaking losses, both of which have come by a single touchdown. Now standing at 2-5 in RMAC play and as part of a 3-way tie for sixth place, the Grizzlies can move into a tie with the fifth-place Mavericks, who are now 3-4 in conference play after getting past Western State, 33-28, last Saturday night. The Grizzlies then play at Western State (1-8, 1-6 RMAC) to close the season on Nov. 13, while the Mavericks return home to face Chadron State (6-3, 5-2 RMAC) on the final day of the regular season.
The Grizzlies have won five of the last six meetings with the Mavericks including last year's 19-12 decision in Grand Junction and the 30-27 thriller in 2008 when the Grizzlies knocked the then nationally-ranked Mavericks out of playoff contention by scoring a touchdown with just 10 seconds left. That victory also game on the Grizzlies' Senior Day at Rex Stadium.
The Grizzlies have gone 2-2 at home this season and will also be in search of their fourth straight home win against the Mavericks, who have gone 0-4 on the road this season.
Four of the Grizzlies' seniors are on the defensive side of the ball in cornerbacks Bryant Williams (Mesa, Ariz.) and Joseph DuBose (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and defensive linemen Caleb McKenzie (Oakland, Calif.) and Thomas Porter (San Ramon, Calif.). That group has helped the Grizzly Blackshirts rank second in the conference in total defense. Giving up just 287.8 yards per game, the Grizzlies also rank fifth in the country and atop the RMAC in pass defense efficiency holding opposing quarterbacks to a 94.73 yard rating and just 155.6 yards per game while coming up with 12 interceptions.
Williams, a 2-time All-RMAC selection, has two of those picks and is fourth in the entire RMAC for passes defended with 11. Porter paces the Grizzlies 4 ½ sacks and has 30 total tackles while McKenzie has 20 total stops. DuBose, who primarily plays on special teams, has five stops.
The Grizzly offense has five seniors, including four offensive linemen in 2-time Third Team All-RMAC pick Dean Dodero (Denver, Colo.), Jed Garrison (Fort Collins, Colo.), 6-game starter Darius Morales (Oakland, Calif.) and Jeff Younker (Rosenburg, Texas), who has started all nine of the Grizzlies' games this season, mostly at right tackle.
That group has helped the Grizzlies gain 178.0 passing and 115.4 rushing yards per game this season.
The other senior is slot receiver and return man Trevor Zott (Arvada, Colo.) who has 24 catches, third most on the team, for 195 yards. He is also second on the team in all-purpose yards with 747 and ranks third in the RMAC with his 11.6 punt return average.
Buderus (Florence, Colo.), who was one of the Grizzlies' two primary quarterbacks in 2008 and the team's starting running back for much of 2009, is now playing as a fullback and tight end. Expected to make his 27th career appearance Saturday, Buderus' graduation will also mark the end of an era in Grizzly football as his older brothers Clint and Ty and father Mark all played for Adams State.
Visit ascgrizzlies.com for the latest news and info on Adams State College Athletics.
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