"Punter Arrested for Allegedly Stabbing Rival
Northern Colorado Reserve Faces Charges

GREELEY, Colo. (Sept. 13) - (T)he backup punter at Northern Colorado has been accused of stabbing his rival in the leg - his kicking leg.

Mitch Cozad, a sophomore from Wheatland, Wyo., allegedly attacked Rafael Mendoza in a parking lot this week. Arrested on a charge of second-degree assault, Cozad was freed Wednesday on a $30,000 bond.

""I guess the only identified motive...is the competition for that position,"" Evans police Lt. Gary Kessler said.


Cozad was suspended from the university and the team and was evicted from his dorm room.

The stabbing took place Monday in Evans, a small town adjacent to Greeley and about 50 miles north of Denver. The Greeley Tribune first reported the story in Wednesday's editions.

Kessler said Mendoza, averaging 37.6 yards per punt on nine punts in the two games, was attacked from behind and stabbed in his right thigh after parking his car outside his Evans apartment about 9:30 p.m.

The assailant fled in a black Dodge Charger, Kessler said. About 10 minutes after the attack, a liquor store clerk told police that two men in a car matching that description stopped outside the store, stripped tape off the license plate and drove away.

The clerk gave police the license number, and the car was traced to Cozad, who was arrested Tuesday, Kessler said.
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