BOLIVAR, Mo. - Zac Guy ran for four touchdowns to key a potent ground attack as #21/21 Colorado School of Mines went on the road to beat #17/19 Southwest Baptist 63-35 in the NCAA Championship First Round.

With their first postseason win in 12 years, Mines will move on to the Second Round at Ferris State in Big Rapids, Mich. on Nov. 26, at a time to be announced. Ferris State was a 65-34 winner over Midwestern State. 

Mines rolled out 614 yards of offense including 405 on the ground led by Guy (209 yards, 4 touchdowns) and Sam Seeton (146 yards, 1 touchdown). Justin Dvorak was an efficient 19-of-27 for 209 yards, three passing touchdowns, and another on the ground as he broke the RMAC career passing yards record during the game.

Mines got off on the right foot, going on offense first and scoring with a 32-yard pass catch by Ty Young setting up Seeton's 21-yard touchdown catch-and-run. Caleb Courkamp's fourth-down interception halted SBU's first offensive series, and that led to Seeton's 20-yard run up the middle to make it 14-0.

Young's 4th-and-6 conversion put Mines into the red zone on their next possession, and four plays later Brody Oliver rose up in the back of the end zone for the touchdown to go up three scores. SBU answered right back two plays later as Bubba Jenkins hit a hole and went 86 yards to score.

The Orediggers only needed two plays of their own to respond. Off a terrific kick return by Oliver, Guy went for 34 yards to get in the red zone and then 20 yards to score putting Mines ahead 28-7. Jenkins did it again on SBU's next series, though, going 48 yards to score.

Mines used another fourth-down conversion, this time by Seeton, to set up their fifth touchdown as Dvorak kept it on the option and dove in from 13 yards to lead 35-14. After both teams traded possessions, Guy got a late score with an 18-yard option pitch to set a 42-14 halftime lead.

A combined sack by Brockton Sterling and Matthew King halted SBU's first drive of the third quarter on 4th down, and Oliver made them pay with his second touchdown catch, this time from four yards, later in the period. Jenkins' third touchdown got the Bearcats on the board in the half, but after a 36-yard Josh Odom kick return on a pooch kick, Guy broke free for his third score, this time from 30 yards, to make it 56-21. 

The Bearcats added Jenkins' fourth touchdown at the tail end of the third quarter, but Guy's fourth score - a 56-yard breakout - sealed it up midway through the fourth quarter with Scottie Wilson's four-yard catch a consolation score late for SBU.

NOTABLES
- Guy is only the second Oredigger to run for four touchdowns in a game. Tony Evans co-owns the record with four against Chadron State in 1993.
- Mines is making its fourth NCAA Championship appearance. The Orediggers previously qualified in 2004, 2010, and 2014. SBU was making its first trip to the postseason. Mines and SBU had never met.
- Mines extended its win streak to eight games, the program's best run since 2010.
- Dvorak passed former Western New Mexico great Mitch Glasmann's RMAC passing record of 12,997 yards. Dvorak now has 13,103 yards and previously set the RMAC record for passing touchdowns (now 132).
- It was the third time this year and the second straight game that Mines has had a pair of 100+ yard rushers (Dvorak and Seeton against South Dakota Mines, and Guy and Seeton at Black Hills State).
Mines is averaging 316 yards rushing per game over its last six games, including three 350+ and two 400+ outings.
- Oliver extended his NCAA-best receiving touchdown total to 24 for the season.
- Kick returns were a huge component to Mines' offensive success as they had an average starting position of their own 40 yard-line from kickoffs. Brody Oliver, Josh Odom, and Cameron Mayberry each knocked off 30+ yard returns with an average of 26.2 yards per return.
- Mines was fearless on offense going 12-of-18 on third-down conversions and 2-for-2 on fourth-down tries. The Orediggers kept the SBU defense on the field for 35:28.
- Courkamp's interception was the only turnover of the game, making Mines +13 this season.
- Chris Brockman and Grant Gale led the defense with seven tackles each. Brockman added 2.0 TFL and a sack. Mines compiled 10 tackles for a loss and three sacks overall.
- The Bearcats, who entered the playoffs #9 in the nation in scoring at 42.7 points per game and #10 in total offense at 505 yards per game, were held by the Mines defense to 35 points and just under their average of 492 yards.
- Mines' 63 points are its most ever in the postseason, bettering their 52-33 win over Midwestern State in the 2004 NCAA Championship.
- Mines improved to 3-1 against ranked teams this season.
- In Saturday's other Super Region 4 match-up, Texas A&M-Commerce beat Colorado Mesa 34-23 and will visit top-seeded Grand Valley State in the second round.