GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — Sophomore tailback Bobby Coy carried the ball 38 times for 173 yards rushing to help Mesa State rally from an early 14-0 deficit and claim a 23-21 win over Humboldt State on Saturday.

In a tight battle between evenly-matched teams, the Jacks had two chances to claim the lead late in the game, first driving down to the Mesa 19-yard line. But Nick Nelson's 37-yard line drive field goal attempt was blocked, handing the ball over to Mesa State with just under three minutes remaining.

After holding the Mavericks' deep in their own territory, the Jacks took over on the MSC 47 following a punt. Garrett Hubrich's pass was intercepted by Josh Padilla, however, turning over possession to the Mavericks, who ran out the final 1:26 to earn the win.

Playing its second of four straight road games to open the season, Humboldt State fell to 0-2 while Mesa State, home for the second straight week, improved to 2-0.

From early in the contest, Mesa State stuffed tailback Cornell Canidate and Humboldt State's entire running game, forcing the Lumberjacks to the air. A pair of HSU quarterbacks – Hubrich and Brian Hildebrand  – struggled to find consistency, but both managed long touchdown strikes that helped HSU keep in contention until the end.

Humboldt State opened the game's scoring when Hildebrand dropped back on second and long and unleashed a play-action pass in the direction of Richard Perkins, who caught the ball in stride and raced into the end zone. The play covered 69 yards, and the successful PAT kick gave HSU a 7-0 lead less than four minutes into the game.

Mesa State benefited in the field position battle throughout the game, starting several drives in or near Jacks' territory as the punt exchanges continued. The Mavericks were unable to capitalize early, however, and were stopped by the Jacks defense on their first seven possessions.

Edwin Henry kept momentum on the Jacks' side midway through the second period, returning a punt 43 yards to midfield with help from Keon Gaither's big block.  Hubrich directed a tidy drive from there, with two key third down receptions by Henry keeping it going and a 26-yard pass to Marcus Cox finishing it off for a 14-0 lead with 5:57 remaining in the first half.

RIcky Noble gave the Mesa State offense another great chance, however, returning the ensuing kickoff 76 yards all the way to the HSU 23. Coy carried nine yards on the first play, and after he was stuffed on the next, Vigil connected with Justin Murray on a tipped ball for a 16-yard touchdown pass.

HSU got the ball back as the clock ticked toward halftime, but quickly returned it to the Mavericks via the punt. Taking over with 1:36 remaining, Mesa State moved the ball all the way to the 5-yard-line before settling for Jared Keating's 22-yard field goal to make the score 14-10 with 2.2 seconds remaining in the half.

Mesa grabbed the advantage early in the third quarter, getting field position in the Jacks' territory on a punt and riding Coy's running to the HSU 29. Vigil connected with Buddy Blevins on a pass down to the 10-yard line, and Coy gave the Mavericks' their first lead of the night on a one-yard run two plays later.

Trailing 17-14, the Lumberjacks continued to struggle offensively, and were unable to move the ball on successive possessions. Mesa took advantage, again gaining good field position on a punt exchange as the third quarter ended.

Coy dashed 12 yards down to the Jacks' 21-yard line to open the final period, then added eight more two plays later. HSU's defense held inside the 10, and another chip-shot field goal by Keating — this time from 25 yards — gave the Mavericks a 20-14 advantage.

Starting deep in their own territory following the kickoff, the Jacks again turned to Hubrich who started with a six-yard completion to Corey Anderson. His next throw found Edwin Henry clear of his defender, and Henry out-sprinted the rest of the Mavericks' pack all the way down field for an 85-yard touchdown completion. Nick Nelson's PAT put the Jacks' back in front, 21-20 with 10:44 remaining in the game.

But Vigil directed Mesa State on another drive, converting a big third down to move the ball to the HSU 23-yard line.  Keating was called upon to give his team the lead again, and he obliged with a 40-yard field goal that made the score 23-21 with 7:50 remaining to be played.

For Humboldt State, Hubrich completed 10 of 19 passes for 187 yards, with two touchdowns and one interception. The Lumberjacks managed only 18 net yards rushing, with Canidate picking up 15 on eight carries.

Continuing their season on the road, the Lumberjacks travel to Ellensburg, Wash. for Saturday's game against Central Washington.

Humboldt State Univ. vs Mesa State College (Sep 01, 2007 at Grand Junction, CO)

Score by Quarters     1  2  3  4   Score
-----------------    -- -- -- --   -----
Humboldt State Univ.  7  7  0  7  - 21       Record: (0-2)
Mesa State College..  0 10  7  6  - 23       Record: (2-0)



Scoring Summary:
1st 11:02 HSU - Perkins, Richar 64 yd pass from Hildebrand, Bri (Nelson, Nichola kick), 2-55 1:01, HSU 7 - MSC 0
2nd 05:57 HSU - Cox, Marcus 26 yd pass from Hubrich, Garret (Nelson, Nichola kick), 7-51 3:15, HSU 14 - MSC 0
    04:23 MSC - Justin Murray 15 yd pass from Philip Vigil (Jared Keating kick), 3-24 1:20, HSU 14 - MSC 7
    00:00 MSC - Jared Keating 22 yd field goal, 11-64 1:36, HSU 14 - MSC 10
3rd 08:51 MSC - Bobby Coy 1 yd run (Jared Keating kick), 10-45 3:51, HSU 14 - MSC 17
4th 11:08 MSC - Jared Keating 25 yd field goal, 10-31 4:43, HSU 14 - MSC 20
    10:44 HSU - Henry, Edwin 85 yd pass from Hubrich, Garret (Nelson, Nichola kick), 2-91 0:14, HSU 21 - MSC 20
    07:43 MSC - Jared Keating 40 yd field goal, 8-42 2:52, HSU 21 - MSC 23



                                    HSU      MSC
FIRST DOWNS...................       11       18
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)............    24-18   50-204
PASSING YDS (NET).............      273      100
Passes Att-Comp-Int...........  34-14-1  29-11-1
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS.....   58-291   79-304
Fumble Returns-Yards..........      0-0      0-0
Punt Returns-Yards............     2-57     5-31
Kickoff Returns-Yards.........     4-80    4-114
Interception Returns-Yards....      1-0     1-30
Punts (Number-Avg)............   9-37.9   8-36.1
Fumbles-Lost..................      0-0      0-0
Penalties-Yards...............     7-80     9-56
Possession Time...............    24:49    35:11
Third-Down Conversions........  4 of 16 10 of 21
Fourth-Down Conversions.......   0 of 0   1 of 1
Red-Zone Scores-Chances.......      0-1      4-4
Sacks By: Number-Yards........     4-20     3-20


RUSHING: Humboldt State Univ.-Canidate, Corne 14-15; Hubrich, Garret 4-9;
Cox, Marcus 2-3; Hildebrand, Bri 4-minus 9. Mesa State College-Bobby Coy 38-173;
Philip Vigil 11-33; TEAM 1-minus 2.

PASSING: Humboldt State Univ.-Hubrich, Garret 10-19-1-187; Hildebrand,
Bri 4-14-0-86; Canidate, Corne 0-1-0-0. Mesa State College-Philip Vigil
11-29-1-100.

RECEIVING: Humboldt State Univ.-Anderson, Corey 5-54; Henry, Edwin 4-113;
Perkins, Richar 2-71; Cox, Marcus 1-26; Devlin, Matt 1-5; Canidate, Corne 1-4.
Mesa State College-Justin Murray 3-27; Ricky Noble 3-23; Buddy Blevins 2-29;
Tommy Campbell 1-22; Bobby Coy 1-2; Seth Lewis 1-minus 3.

INTERCEPTIONS: Humboldt State Univ.-Washington, Mom 1-0. Mesa State
College-Josh Padilla 1-30.

FUMBLES: Humboldt State Univ.-None. Mesa State College-None.

Stadium: Stocker Stadium       Attendance: 1542
Kickoff time: 7 PM      End of Game: 10:10     Total elapsed time: 3:10