It was a terrific Autumn day in the San Luis Valley for two of the fiercest rivals is all of Division II college football to meet in what was the 73^rd edition of the Colorado Classic. Western Colorado came into town at 2-1, coming off of two straight victories just as the Grizzlies had. They would find out that afternoon what was the worst kept secret in the RMAC, as the Grizzlies' most dynamic players on offense, Tariq Bitson, and defense, Alani Pututau, turned the afternoon into personal showcases.
 
Though this game is ranked #6 on my list, it was one of my personal favorites this year to watch, stat, and write about, and if you were there, you would completely understand why.
 
The Grizzlies jumped out of the gate with a ferocious attack on both sides of the ball. The two players previously mentioned, Bitson and Pututau, put on an absolute clinic in the first quarter alone. Alani Pututau came out red hot off the edge, sacking Mountaineer quarterback Connor Desch twice and disrupting ball carriers in the backfield. He led a defense that left Western looking for answers as they fell behind 21-0 in the second quarter.
 
The offense did their part capitalizing on empty Mountaineer possessions by feeding the ball to their best playmaker, Tariq Bitson, who hauled in touchdown receptions of 34 and 60 yards in the first half. Western finally got on the board late in the half to cut the Grizzly lead to 14, but they knew that entering halftime, they had big problems on offense and defense trying to stop the two Grizzly gamers.
 
Adams State received the ball to open up the second half, and picked up right where they left off with the same plan in mind: get the ball to number eleven. Bitson hauled in his third touchdown of the game early in the third quarter, as quarterback John Buksa took advantage of what was to be a free play with Western jumping offside, to take a shot and connect with his big target. The 54-yard touchdown made the score 28-7, Grizzlies.
 
Western faced an uphill battle down three scores, and two more Alani Pututau sacks on their opening drive in the second half did not help one bit. His sack total in the game was now up to four, and the Mountaineers had to find a way to block him in order to get back into the game.
 
The Grizzlies looked to put the nail in the coffin on their next drive and blow the game wide open, but a bad punt gave Western new life, as they had the ball in Adams State territory. Western looked to be held up again, but on third and a mile, Connor Desch hit receiver Zach Manchester on a 50-yard touchdown catch and run that cut the lead to 14. The game seemed to be picking up, as the Mountaineers got the spark they desperately needed.
 
The Western defense finally looked to be clicking, stopping Adams State on their next possession and giving the ball right back to their offense, who moved down the field in a hurry and got into the end zone, cutting the Grizzly lead to just seven.
 
In a game that looked like it was about to be a blowout, the Grizzlies had work to do in order to secure the Colorado Classic Trophy for the third year in a row, with what seemed like forever left in the game.
 
The next two scoring drives in the fourth quarter featured the teams exchanging field goals, which kept the margin at seven points, and more importantly, kept Western in the ballgame.
 
With seven minutes left in the game, Western engineered what was their best and most lengthy drive of the afternoon that amassed over five minutes and tied the game. It was now up to Tariq Bitson and the offense to get the lead back and win the game.
 
In the two-minute drill, Adams State was the beneficiary of a pass interference call on third down that kept the drive alive with under a minute to play, and the defense that neutralized Tariq Bitson for most of the quarter was about to have their backs broken for good.
 
Buksa hit Bitson on a 34-yard touchdown on the very next play following the penalty, and with less than thirty seconds left to play, the game seemed all but over. Bitson's final stat line read: 12 receptions, 257 yards, 4 touchdowns, in what was a monster day for the junior wideout.
 
Though they gave up the lead, the Adams State defense did just enough to get the victory, and their star pass rusher's (Alani Pututau's) final stat line read: 12 total tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 5 sacks.
 
While Bitson was nominated for, and won RMAC Offensive Player of the Week for his huge performance, I'll never understand how Alani Pututau did not win Player of the Week on the defensive side. I don't know how many times in covering these two stud talents I've wrote the statement, "both are juniors and will be back for the 2020 season", but Grizzly Nation has to be excited to see the senior campaigns for these two players next Fall. Coach Blankenship has a couple good ones on his hands, and no game embodied their dominance like last year's Colorado Classic.
 
We hope you enjoyed the 6^th-best moment on our countdown, and be sure and tune in tomorrow for number five.