The Mavericks are on to the 3A State Championships for the first time since Mead High School first opened in 2009.

The deciding game that took place on Saturday, Nov. 27 started at 1 p.m. The afternoon was a little chilly, but the Mavericks didn’t seem to care — they started with the ball and went down the field quickly.

With six minutes left in the first quarter, Mead got on the board with a seven yard touchdown run by #24 Corby Tecu (‘22). 

The Roosevelt Roughriders couldn’t get anything going until the middle of the second quarter when running back #22 Cooper Walton rushed into the end zone for a touchdown, tying the game up 7-7. 

Mead then fumbled on their next drive, setting Roosevelt up for a likely score. Roosevelt scored a touchdown catch by wide receiver #20 Tucker Peterson to make the score 14-7 in favor of the Roughriders.

With approximately 3 minutes left in the first half, Mead appeared determined to tie it up. Quarterback #4 Gavin Garrettson (‘22) saw #21 Sean Medlock (‘23) wide open downfield — he threw it, and the rest was Medlock (‘23). He caught it and ran it in for a Maverick touchdown, tying the score at 14-14 going into halftime.

Roosevelt got the ball to start the second half off and turned the ball over on downs to give the Mavericks great field position. Mead then scored once again with a 48 yard rushing touchdown by Medlock (‘23), crediting him with two touchdowns of the game.

The Mavericks had a 21-14 lead.

Roosevelt couldn’t move the ball once again against the rallying Maverick defense, leaving punting as their only option. This gave Mead possession and gave them a shot to pull ahead by even more. 

A long run by Garrettson (‘22) put the ball at the one yard line and from there #7 Evan Morris (‘22) easily ran it in for another Maverick touchdown, putting Mead at a two touchdown lead with a score of 28-14 to end the third quarter.

After Roosevelt wasn’t able to score for the third drive in a row, Mead got the ball once again and made a 29 yard field goal kicked by #20 Ka’ili Casco (‘22), bringing the score to 31-14.

As the game started winding down, #6 Brenden Castanon (‘23) intercepted the Roughriders pass, giving Mead a chance to put the game out of reach. Garrettson (‘22) ran in a touchdown himself to make the score 38-14 and basically wrap it up.

Roosevelt scored a touchdown too late — the game was still in favor of Mead. MHS fans celebrated as they watched the clock hit zero.

Not only did the Mead Mavericks make it to the state championship, they also got sweet revenge on the Roughriders, who beat them less than six weeks ago.

They’ll be playing in the state championship against the Fort Morgan Mustangs on Saturday, Dec. 4th at 1 p.m. at CSU-Pueblo.