GOLDEN – For the second time in as many weeks, the Colorado School of Mines football team entered the fourth quarter trailing and with no points on the scoreboard, but the squad found magic once again in the final quarter en route to a 14-13 win over Western State on Saturday at Campbell Field.
The Orediggers (6-3, 5-2 RMAC) entered the final quarter trailing the Mountaineers (1-7, 1-5 RMAC) by a score of 13-0, but answered with 14 unanswered points in the stanza for its second consecutive come-from-behind victory.
The win assured Mines of its seventh-straight winning season and the 12th in 14 seasons under head coach Bob Stitt. Mines set a new program record for consecutive winning campaigns, eclipsing the mark of six set last year and in the first six years of the program (1888-1893).
A 26-yard field goal by Ryan Winke just 13:23 into the game gave the visitors a quick 3-0 advantage before a 71-yard touchdown run by Austin Ekeler as the opening quarter expired put the Mountaineers in front, 10-0.
That score would hold through halftime and into the third quarter before Winke added a 37-yard field goal with 9:25 remaining in the third for a 13-0 advantage.
Mines mounted a 12-play, 90-yard drive over the end of the third and beginning of the fourth quarter to get some momentum and capped off the drive with a 15-yard touchdown pass from Justin Dvorak to Diamond Gillis to cut the deficit to 13-7.
Mines forced a punt on the next WSCU possession, and used its next turn with the ball to take its first lead of the contest when Dvorak found Gillis on a slant route for a 16-yard touchdown with 07:25 remaining. Avery Llewellyn's extra point would be true, giving Mines a 14-13 lead.
Western State covered 59 yards in nearly four minutes on its next possession to set up a 32-yard field goal attempt by Winke, but the kick would miss right, leaving the Orediggers with a 14-13 lead it would not relinquish.
Offensively, Mines churned out a season-low 77 plays for 368 yards, but found the groove when it needed in out-gaining WSCU 124-to-69 in the fourth quarter.
The Orediggers finished with 164 yards on the ground and 204 through the air to overcome seven fumbles (three lost) in the ballgame.
Tevin Champagne led the offense with 112 yards on 25 carries for a healthy 4.5 yards per carry. He also gained 18 yards on five receptions in the passing game.
Dvorak finished 23-of-34 for 204 yards and two touchdowns while adding 50 yards on 15 carries on the ground.
Gillis caught four passes for 55 yards and a pair of scores to lead the receiving corps, while Jimmy Ellis accounted for 63 yards on five catches.
Ellis added 47 yards on a pair of punt returns as well for 110 all-purpose yards in the game. Saturday's effort put him over 1,000 all-purpose yards on the season.
Llewellyn finished 0-for-1 on field goals, but made both extra point attempts and averaged 41.2 yards per punt on five kicks.
Defensively, the Orediggers were led by junior Kole Kadavy and sophomore Billy Sprague, who notched 11 stops apiece. Kadavy added 3.0 tackles for loss, a sack, a pass break up and a quarterback hurry to his totals as well.
Senior Ryan Wood added 10 stops and a pass break up, classmate Chad McGraw notched eight stops and Ryan Griffith added seven.
Dallas Fields added 1.5 tackle for loss and a sack to go along with seven tackles (two solo).
Mines will head out for its final road test of the regular season next week when the squad travels to Alamosa for a matchup with Adams State. The Grizzlies (6-3, 4-3 RMAC) lost to Fort Lewis 27-24 on the road on Saturday.
Scoring Summary
Qtr Time Scoring Play - Score
1st 13:23 WESTERN - Ryan Winke 26 yd field goal - WSCU, 3-0
00:00 WESTERN - Austin Ekeler 71 yd run (Ryan Winke kick) - WSCU, 10-0
3rd 09:25 WESTERN - Ryan Winke 37 yd field goal - WSCU, 13-0
4th 13:54 CSM - Diamond Gillis 15 yd pass from Justin Dvorak (Avery Llewellyn kick) - WSCU, 13-7
07:25 CSM - Diamond Gillis 16 yd pass from Justin Dvorak (Avery Llewellyn kick) - Mines, 14-13
