GOLDEN, Colo. - Colorado School of Mines dominated both sides of the ball as they stunned #10/12 Azusa Pacific, 27-23, at Marv Kay Stadium.

The Orediggers (4-2) kept the previously-unbeaten Cougars (5-1) off the field with 92 offensive plays, 40 more than APU ran. Justin Dvorak threw for 342 yards and four touchdowns, three to Brody Oliver, who produced 120 yards on nine catches. Against one of the nation's top-rated defenses, Mines rang up 481 yards of total offense.

The Mines defense was equally spectacular, holding APU to 13 first downs with four sacks and a key fourth-quarter interception by Jalen Champagne to prevent a go-ahead touchdown. Ty Young's third-quarter score proved decisive as Mines held Azusa Pacific scoreless for the final 28:52 of the game.

Oliver got Mines out to a 13-0 lead in the first quarter with touchdown receptions of 7 and 21 yards, but APU halted the momentum with Tyree Davis' 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. APU scored again to open the second quarter when Tanner Henry caught a three-yard Andrew Elffers pass to take the lead at 14-13, but a long Mines drive ended with a nine-yard Dvorak pass to Oliver to retake the lead at 20-14. A muffed punt later in the quarter by Mines set APU up in great field position, but a third-down tackle for loss by Dallas Fields and Grant Gale limited them to a field goal, setting the score at 20-17 at halftime.

The Cougars struck quickly out of the break as Elffers found Weston Carr in the flat, and Carr weaved his way 85 yards to take the lead at 23-20 with a missed PAT. That would end up being APU's final points of the game, and Mines went ahead 27-23 when Young laid out for a 15-yard touchdown catch midway through the quarter.

From there, the Mines defense took over with constant backfield pressure. The closest APU came was late in the fourth quarter, driving to the Mines 16 before a penalty and a sack from Fields and Michael Kelso brought up 4th and 15 at the Mines 25. Needing a touchdown to go ahead, Azusa Pacific went for it, and Champagne jumped Chad Jeffries' route near the goal line to take over possession.

The Mines run game was effective all game, but none more so than at the end of the fourth quarter as Zac Guy and Sam Seeton combined to help the Orediggers burn 5:16 off the clock and win.

NOTABLES
- Oliver entered the weekend leading all of college football with 11 touchdown catches. His new total of 14 is one off the Mines single-season record, and one away from tying the NCAA D-II record for receiving touchdowns in a season by a tight end. Oliver has had at least 100 yards and one touchdown in every game this season; it was his third 3+ touchdown game.
- Dvorak threw for four touchdowns for the fifth time this season, completing 31 of 45 passes. The senior now has 106 career touchdown throws, approaching the RMAC record of 109. He crossed 11,000 career yards in the game and now stands at 11,310.
- Seeton ended up with 70 yards, and Guy compiled 53 as Mines rushed for a season-best 139 yards.
- Oliver was Mines' leading receiver, with Riley Hoff catching four passes for 92 yards and Zach Richter finding eight for 52 yards. Seeton was also a key relief valve in the passing game with five catches for 40 yards as he compiled 110 yards of all-purpose offense.
- Azusa Pacific came in ranked #10 by the AFCA and #12 by D2football.com. They rank in the top-10 statistically in NCAA D-II in interceptions, red zone defense, sacks, scoring defense, and turnover margin. It was Mines' second win over a top-10 team this season.
- Mines made a key goal-line stand in the second quarter, stopping APU twice inside the two-yardline on stops by Drake Thenell, and Caleb Courkamp and Grant Gale.
- Chase Nicholas led all Orediggers with nine tackles. Mines compiled 7.0 tackles for loss led by Michael Kelso, who had 2.5 TFL, 1.5 sacks, and two pressures. Tommy Hoskins, Thenell, and Fields were also in on sacks. 
- Austin Toussaint had a very good punting day, averaging 46.3 yards on three kicks with one inside the 20 and one on the 20. APU had -3 yards worth of punt returns.
- In their two-quarterback system, APU's Elffers completed 11-of-14 passes for 219 yards and 2 TDs, and Chad Jeffries was 6-of-13 for 85 yards. Kurt Scoby led all rushers with 79 yards.
- The 11th-least-penalized team in the nation, Mines was hit with only two flags during the game and none in the first half. 
- Mines possessed the ball for a season-high 33:23.
- It was the first-ever meeting between Mines and Azusa Pacific. The Orediggers will make the return trip to Los Angeles next year. 

NEXT UP
Mines will host South Dakota School of Mines and Technology Oct. 15 at noon.