The Grizzlies, who led 21-3 before the Mountaineers scored 16 points in just two minutes and 38 seconds of early fourth quarter action, have now defeated the Mountaineers nine straight times and will again retain possession of the Colorado Classic Trophy for at least the next 364 days until the teams meet again on Nov. 12, 2011, in Alamosa. They also finish the season on a 2-game winning streak and in the top half of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference standings for the third straight year with a 4-5 conference mark, good for sole possession of fifth place after Mesa State and Western New Mexico both lost season-ending home games.
The Grizzlies also finish the season with a 5-6 record for the third straight year while the Mountaineers finish the season 1-10 overall and 1-8 in RMAC action, tied with New Mexico Highlands for last place in the conference.
Kellogg had six catches for 84 yards and a late first half 5-yard touchdown reception from sophomore quarterback Trevor Eggleston (Tucson, Ariz.) that put the Grizzlies up 18 points at the intermission but also did a lot of damage on returns racking up 100 yards on three kick returns and another 57 yards on three punt runbacks as he tallied the third highest single-game all-purpose yard total in the Grizzlies' last 14 years, all of which have come against Western State.
In the process, Kellogg moved all the way into fourth place on the Grizzlies' NCAA Division II era (1992-Present) history with 1,327 all-purpose yards, the most of any Grizzly since 1997.
The Mountaineers out-yarded the Grizzlies 421-325 on the afternoon and recorded 29 first downs, compared to the Grizzlies' 13, but played from behind all day as the Grizzlies took advantage of a 40-yard Kellogg punt return going up 7-0 on an 8-play drive that started inside Mountaineer territory at the 46-yard line.
Terjean Saffold (Stockton, Calif.) capped the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run, his ninth rushing and 12th overall touchdown of the campaign, the most for any Adams State player since All-America receiver Chris Perry scored 21 in 1995.
The Mountaineers then went on a 12-play, 66-yard drive of their kept alive by a fourth-down personal foul penalty but came up empty when kicker Lloyd Tucker missed a 31-yard field goal wide left.
The Grizzlies then used a 27-yard Chris Jamison (Mesa, Ariz.) run on the first play of the second quarter to help set up a 7-yard Eggleston to Delton Prescott, Jr. (Phoenix, Ariz.) touchdown pass that, along with a David Van Voris (Elizabeth, Colo.) point after made the score 14-0.
The Mountaineers did come back with a 23-yard Tucker field goal at the end of 13-play, 74-yard drive that was stalled by a stout Grizzly goal-line stand.
The teams then traded second quarter punts before a 17-yard Kellogg return allowed the Grizzlies to start in Mountaineer territory again. The Chatfield High School product then caught a 17-yard pass on 3rd-and-10 to move the ball the Mountaineer-2 before scoring just three plays later as the Grizzlies led big at the break.
In the third quarter, both teams went on sustained clock-chewing drives only to watch miscues thwart potential point-scoring opportunities.
The Mountaineers had their chance and moved the ball into the red-zone on a Miles Gorham to Shaun Suttorp reception before Grizzly sophomore rover James Ackel (Riverside, Calif.) jarred the ball out of Suttorp's hand while falling on it at the Grizzly-8.
The Grizzlies then quickly marched to 85 yards to the other end of the field thanks in large part to a 31-yard pass to Prescott, Jr. and another 42-yard Kellogg reception. However, the Grizzlies were not able to complete four straight passes from the Mountaineer-7, the last of which came on an unsuccessful fake field goal attempt as holder Bryce Buderus (Florence, Colo.), a former Grizzly quarterback, tried to connect with Shane McBurney (Chandler, Ariz.) in the end-zone for a potential game-sealing win.
The Mountaineers took advantage of new life and marched 90 yards on 14 plays but only came away from a fourth-quarter starting 1st-and-goal situation at the Grizzly-9 with three points.
Still leading 21-6 after that 20-yard Tucker field goal with 14:06 left, the Grizzlies then committed their first and only turnover of the game when DJ Hughes recovered an Eggleston fumble at the Grizzly-23 after he was hit in the backfield by Patrick Atherton.
The Mountaineers needed just one play and seven seconds to cash in as Gorham hit Dustin Driscoll for a touchdown pass on the next play.
The Grizzlies, held to just two first downs in the fourth quarter, then went 3-and-out before a 46-yard touchdown run by Germaine Daniels brought the Mountaineers within two points (21-19) with 11:25 still left in the game.
However, Daniels was stopped on the ensuing potential game-tying 2-point conversion.
The Grizzlies then used a 39-yard Kellogg return on the ensuing kick and 12 and 11-yard passes to Trevor Zott (Arvada, Colo.) and Kellogg, respectively, to set up Brown for what proved to be the game-clinching touchdown with 9:27 left before the Grizzly defense recorded three fourth-down stops the rest of the way.
That defense was led by junior Will Naas (Tucson, Ariz.) tallied 11 tackles, all of the solo variety. Ackel, who had two forced fumbles, and Daniel Dodd (Gilmer, Texas) also had eight tackles and two pass breakups each while senior cornerback Bryant Williams (Mesa, Ariz.) recorded six tackles and four breakups in his final collegiate game.
Eggleston finished the game with 215 passing yards and the two touchdowns strikes but was just 13-for-31. Meanwhile, Brown ended as the Grizzlies' leading rusher with 45 yards.
Gorham was 20-for-34 for 217 yards while Suttorp, the Mountaineers' all-time leading receiver, caught eight passes for 95 yards to lead the passing game. Meanwhile, Daniels rushed 21 times for 127 yards to lead their ground-attack.
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