ALAMOSA, Colo. – The Adams State Grizzlies Football team looks to earn their third straight win Saturday, up against their archrivals, the Western State Colorado Mountaineers. Coming off of a Week 3 domination, particularly in the first half, of the Black Hills State Yellow Jackets, the Grizzlies are up against a team in the Mountaineers who are coming off of an impressive Week 3victory of their own against Colorado Mesa. With both teams at 2-1, and considering the history of the rivalry, the game is not short of any big storylines.
The two teams will compete for the Colorado Classic Trophy, which travels to the winning team every season. The rivalry between the two began all the way back in 1934, where the Mountaineers won 14-0. The two would not play again for another 12 years, as World War II took a tremendous toll on college football in America as a whole, with so many players entering the war. Since 1946, the team have played annually, making the game the longest standing rivalry in college football. Western State leads the series 39-33 coming into Saturday, with Adams State having won the last two. The last three decades, the rivalry has been a streaky one, as Western won every contest from 1991-2001, and Adams won the next 11 after that. Since 2014, the game has been extremely competitive in favor of the Grizzlies, 3-2, which included the largest comeback in college football history in 2015, as they came back from being 41 points down to win in overtime.
Coming into Saturday, the Grizzlies will feature fully healthy offensive and defensive units. Expect receiver Tariq Bitson to continue to tear up opposing defenses, as the Grizzlies have gotten tons of help on the outside with Ziere Banner, Jordan Simon, and tight end Ian Fryday opening up the passing game for quarterbacks John Buksa and Sohail Mohsini as of late. They hope to extend their streak of 30-plus point games to three on Saturday, and improve their record to 3-1.
The Grizzly defense was dominant last Saturday against Black Hills, as they got relentless pressure on the quarterback and forced two interceptions. Alani Pututau hopes to anchor down the pass rush again, and get plenty of help from Deon Mayes and company to stifle the Mountaineers passing attack. The Mountaineers come into the game a run-heavy squad, and interior linemen Rob Luckett and Alu Taito hope to feast on Mountaineer running backs Saturday.
The 72nd Colorado Classic kicks off Saturday at 2 P.M. from Rex Stadium in Alamosa, CO. The game will follow the annual Hall of Fame Induction happening Friday night. Live stats and stream for the game will be available through the Adams State Athletics website at asugrizzlies.com
