Box Score GOLDEN, Colo. - #11 Colorado School of Mines dominated from start to finish, routing New Mexico Highlands 51-6 on Homecoming at Marv Kay Stadium.
The Orediggers remained unbeaten at 5-0 overall and 3-0 in RMAC play behind Justin Dvorak's four touchdown passes. Mines compiled 490 yards of offense while its defense stuffed the Cowboys (0-5, 0-3 RMAC) all game long.
Cole Spurgeon caught the first of his two touchdowns on an 11-yard pass from Dvorak to open things, and Sam Seeton broke loose for a 14-yard score at the tail-end of the first quarter. Devin Reaves punched up the middle from a yard out to open the second before Avery Llewellyn's 27-yard field goal and Seeton's second TD made it a 31-0 rout by halftime.
Spurgeon caught his second early in the third quarter, a 13-yard catch, and Ty Young scored from five yards to make it 44-0. NMHU's best drive of the game resulted in a Dominic Bierria three-yard catch, but Mines responded with Jason Brown's 22-yard dive to the pylon to finish the scoring at 51-6.
Dominating At the Line
Mines was dominant in the trenches on both sides of the ball. The offensive line did not allow a sack for the second straight week and pushed Mines' rushing game to a season-high 228 yards. Defensively, Mines' front four racked up three sacks, 6.5 tackles for a loss, and five hurries as they applied constant pressure to Keith Moore. Highlands ended with only 75 yards rushing, and was in negative numbers until late in the third quarter.
Take It Away
Mines generated three interceptions – two by Drake Thenell and another by Drew Stephon – and now stands at +10 for the season. In five games, six different Orediggers have picked off nine passes.
Run Game Shines
The Orediggers established their run game early as Sam Seeton had over 60 yards on the opening drive alone on his way to 97 yards and two touchdowns. The entire depth chart contributed, with Zac Guy compiling 68 yards, Brandon Farmer 27, and Ryan Call 24 as Devin Reaves carried for 12 yards and a score.
Defense Wins Games
Mines carried a shutout until late in the third quarter and received contributions all over the field. Adam Leonard led CSM with seven tackles, while Emmanuel Graves was everywhere, racking up five tackles, 1.5 TFL, a sack, a batted pass, and two hurries, including one that led to Thenell's second interception. Tommy Hoskins lived in the backfield with five tackles, two sacks, and three hits for a loss.
Quotables
"We just knew if we could come out and control the line of scrimmage we would have a great game, and that's what we did in the first half. Our offensive line dominated, our backs ran hard, we finished drives and got into the end zone which is what we need to do." – Head Coach Gregg Brandon on the keys to Mines' win
"We talked at halftime about getting a shutout and came close. We knew our defensive line was better than their offensive line if we played up to our capabilities… we really need to win games up front. Both of our lines dominated today." – Brandon on the play of his offensive and defensive lines.
Notables
- Dvorak's four touchdown throws puts him at 63 for his career. It was his third 4+ TD game of the season, and his 20 touchdowns this season leads NCAA Division II. Dvorak was an efficient 20-of-26 for 236 yards overall.
- NMHU's Keith Moore was 18-of-29 for 203 yards and a touchdown, but also had three interceptions. Kirt Terry-Springs was a bright spot for the Cowboys catching 10 passes for 101 yards.
- Mines' single touchdown allowed was the second time this season they've given up seven or fewer points (along with the 42-7 win at William Jewell).
- Jason Brown's touchdown was the first of his career. The redshirt sophomore out of Limon caught two passes for a CSM-best 51 yards.
- Spurgeon increased his team lead in receiving touchdowns to seven with his third multi-score game of the year.
- Mines' starters went about three quarters for the second straight week. Steven Yoshihara completed two passes for 26 yards and Zac Guy shined at running back with 68 yards on seven carries.
- Mines' defense limited NMHU to 5-of-16 on third downs and 0-of-3 on fourth. Mines meanwhile was 7-of-13 on third down, 3-of-4 on fourth down, and 7-of-8 in the red zone.
Next Up
Mines heads to Western New Mexico next Saturday.
