GOLDEN – Led by a sound effort in all three phases of the game, the Colorado School of Mines football team overpowered visiting New Mexico Highlands by a score of 30-10 on Saturday in the annual Homecoming game at Campbell Field. 

Mines (3-1, 2-0 RMAC) was held significantly under its season average with 339 yards of offense, but showed tremendous discipline as the Cowboys (2-2, 1-1 RMAC) were flagged for 15 penalties for 188 yards. Mines limited its mistakes all game en route to zero turnovers and just 43 penalty yards on four infractions. 

Mines finished with a pedestrian 175 passing yards, also well under its season average, but the squad finished with a balanced attack after rushing for 164 yards, including 83 by senior Dan Palmer on 22 carries. The balanced attack allowed the Orediggers to double up the NMHU time of possession. 

The defense kept making plays all afternoon, and held NMHU to just 337 yards, including 91 on the ground after entering the game averaging 451.7 yards and 30 points through its first three games. 

Mines forced three turnovers, including a pair of interceptions by senior Tyler Denson and an athletic pick in the end zone by redshirt freshman Jalen Champagne. 

Matt Brown finished 18-of-28 for 175 yards and two touchdowns, while also adding 76 yards on the ground on 23 carries. 

Diamond Gillis posted his second-straight game with two receiving touchdowns, including a 17-yard score to put Mines up 17-0 and a 32-yarder to give Mines a 27-0 lead before halftime. 

Jimmy Ellis added seven receptions for 60 yards and senior Jordan Ward caught three balls for a total of 32 yards. 

Denson led the defense with 16 tackles (six solo) and 0.5 tackle for loss to go along with a pair of interceptions, a pass breakup and a quarterback hurry. 

Ian McFadden finished with 10 tackles and a tackle for loss, while Alex Laudenslager and Billy Sprague registered seven stops apiece. Laudenslager added 1.0 tackle for loss to go along with five solo stops. 

Champagne, Ryan Wood, Kole Kadavy and Chad McGraw each added five stops apiece, with Champagne adding an interception and McGraw posting a sack for a loss of 11 yards. 

Sophomore Avery Llewellyn finished a perfect 3-for-3 on field goal attempts while also adding four touchbacks on seven kickoffs. The Durango native was good on attempts of 34, 35 and 23 yards during the contest, and averaged 48.3 yards per kick on three punts, including a long of 54 yards. 

Mines will head out on the road next weekend for a matchup with Western New Mexico in Silver City, N.M.

Scoring Summary
Qtr     Time                   Scoring Play                                                                            Score
1st   08:00 CSM - Avery Llewellyn 34 yd field goal -                                                     Mines, 3-0
        02:45 CSM - Matt Brown 2 yd run (Avery Llewellyn kick) -                                    Mines, 10-0
2nd  13:18 CSM - Diamond Gillis 17 yd pass from Matt Brown (Avery Llewellyn kick) -   Mines, 17-0
        10:41 CSM - Avery Llewellyn 35 yd field goal -                                                     Mines, 20-0
        06:35 CSM - Diamond Gillis 32 yd pass from Matt Brown (Avery Llewellyn kick) -   Mines, 27-0
3rd   12:01 NMHU - B Johnson 1 yd run (Zach Tapia kick) -                                           Mines, 27-7
        08:20 CSM - Avery Llewellyn 23 yd field goal -                                                      Mines, 30-7
        05:25 NMHU - Zach Tapia 28 yd field goal -                                                           Mines, 30-10