CHADRON, Neb. - Chadron State College defeated #16 Colorado School of Mines by the score of 38-31 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) football action on Saturday, November 6th, at Elliott Field at Don Beebe Stadium.  BOX SCORE

Chadron State (7-3 overall, 6-2 RMAC) scored the first 28 points of the game, 21 of which came in the first period.  Jonn McLain tossed scoring passes to Jeff Alcorn (23 yards; 14:06) and Nathan Ross (nine yards; 9:04) and Glen Clinton found the endzone on a nine-yard run (1:08) in the opening quarter.  Dominic Morris hauled in a 59-yard touchdown reception from McLain midway through the second quarter (7:14).

The Orediggers, however, got a pair of touchdown passes from Clay Garcia late in the second period to trim their deficit in half.  Tom Kastens caught a 23-yarder at 5:42 and Robbin Vinnola was on the receiving end of a 25-yard effort with 1:02 remaining in the first half.

Early in the third period, Mines got a one-yard touchdown run from Blaine Sumner to pull to within seven points.  CSM managed to tie the contest at 28 apiece at 14:47 in the fourth quarter on Vinnola's second scoring reception of the day (19 yards).

Chadron went ahead by three points (31-28) on a 27-yard field goal by Michael Ziola midway through the final period (8:23), but Mines knotted the affair once again on a 40-yard field goal by Paul McVay with 1:17 left to play.

The Eagles registered the decisive score when Clinton went 88 yards on the ensuing kickoff with just 63 ticks left on the clock.

The 16th-ranked Orediggers (8-2 overall, 7-1 RMAC) suffered their first conference loss of the season after their eight-play, 35-yard ensuing drive ended with an interception at the CSC one yard line as the clock expired.

McLain (15-of-21) passed for 236 yards and three scores (no interceptions) while Clinton (228 all-purpose yards) carried 23 times for 66 yards.  Alcorn and Ross led CSC with four receptions apiece.  Jed Herblan (interception) led all players in solo tackles (nine) and total stops (12).  CSC All-American punter Kevin Berg averaged 49.9 yards on seven boots and pinned the Orediggers inside their own 20-yard line on two occasions.

Garcia completed 33-of-53 passes for 384 yards and three touchdowns (two interceptions) and Vinnola had a game-high eight receptions for 113 yards and two scores.  Ryan Moos, Dan Palmer and Cody Renken (139 all-purpose yards) each had six catches.  Ryan Wood and Kaleb Anderson led Mines with nine total tackles apiece and Marc Schiechl had eight total stops (five solo).

CSM will conclude the regular-season portion of its schedule by hosting Nebraska-Kearney on Saturday, November 13th, at 12:00 p.m. (MDT) at Campbell Field.  November 13th will be Parent's Day and Senior Day for the Orediggers.  CSM's seniors, as well as their parents, will be recognized prior to the start of the game.

The 24-team field for the 2010 NCAA Division II football championships is scheduled to be announced on Sunday, November 14th.  Six teams from each of the four Super Regionals will qualify for the 2010 NCAA Division II football championships.

Regular-season conference champions do not automatically qualify for the 2010 NCAA Division II football championships.  However, earned access into the 2010 NCAA Division II football championships can be gained if a regular-season conference champion finishes in the top eight of their respective final Super Regional rankings.  The RMAC resides in Super Regional Three.

Mines was ranked eighth in NCAA Division II Super Regional Three top 10 poll released on November 1st.  Nebraska-Kearney was ranked fourth.

-- OREDIGGERS --