GOLDEN – The Colorado School of Mines football team came back from a 21-6 deficit to visiting and 11th-ranked Carson-Newman, but could not pull off the upset in falling by a 27-24 final at Campbell Field in the Boulder Broker Classic on Saturday afternoon.
Mines (1-1) and Carson-Newman (2-0) combined for 998 yards of offense on the afternoon, with the Eagles posting 382 yards on the ground and Mines throwing for 332 through the air. The Orediggers added 158 on the ground while the Eagles posted 126 yards through the air.
Carson-Newman quarterback De'Andre Thomas needed just two plays to get his legs working, as he took the second snap from scrimmage 73 yards for a touchdown to give the visitors a quick 7-0 lead.
The Orediggers responded quickly by marching 75 yards on six plays and capped the drive by a 10-yard touchdown scamper by quarterback Matt Brown – his fourth rushing touchdown of the season.
The Eagles pushed their lead to 14-5 with 3:03 remaining in the first quarter on a four-yard touchdown run by Tyron Douglas.
With 5:57 remaining in the first half, Thomas got loose in the secondary once again and out-ran the Mines defense for a 72-yard touchdown to put his squad up 21-6.
The Orediggers used the remainder of the half to mount a 13-play, 75-yard drive which Brown capped off with a seven-yard touchdown pass to redshirt freshman Ty Young for his third TD catch of the season, and the 21-13 score would hold until halftime.
The Orediggers scored on their first drive of the second half in strange fashion after Brown completed a pass to Jimmy Ellis, who ran down to the CN 15 yard line and fumbled into the hands of teammate Diamond Gillis, who finished the last 15 yards for a touchdown.
Brown ran in the 2-point try to notch the game up at 21-21 with 11:30 to play in the third quarter.
Carson-Newman added a 26-yard field goal by Curt Duncan with 4:10 remaining to increase its lead to 24-21, before an Avery Llewellyn 23-yard field goal tied the game up once again at 24-24 with 11:05 to play in the ballgame.
Duncan added a 38-yarder with 5:26 to go to give CN a three-point lead at 27-24.
Mines marched down the field on the ensuing possession and set themselves up to tie the game with a 48-yard field goal by Llewellyn, but the kick would fall short.
Brown led the offense with 465 yards of total offense, including a career-high 133 yards on the ground on 23 carries with a touchdown. He finished 31-of-48 through the air with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
Ellis led the receiving corps with 11 catches for 85 yards, while Ty Young added 67 yards on three catches and a score.
Senior Tyler Denson and junior Kole Kadavy led the defense with 13 tackles apiece on Saturday, while Denson added 1.5 tackles for loss and a pair of fumble recoveries.
Senior Jake Utley added 11 stops and a forced fumble, while Emmanuel Graves added 10 stops and 0.5 tackle for loss.
Alex Laudenslager added seven tackles and two forced fumbles as well.
Mines will head out on the road for the first time this season next Saturday when the squad travels to Spearfish, S.D., for a matchup with Black Hills State.
