#11/12 Colorado School of Mines at New Mexico Highlands, Saturday, 12 p.m.  

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After an impressive opening win over nationally-ranked CSU-Pueblo, #11/12 Mines hits the road to take on New Mexico Highlands in a RMAC game.

WATCH US
Every remaining Mines game this season will be seen live online on the RMAC Network at MinesAthletics.com/tv. Archived games are available on demand any time as well.

IF YOU GO
Tickets and directions are available online from NMHU. The weather forecast calls for mostly clear skies and a high of 69 degrees.

WEEK 1 REWIND
Mines stunned #5/4 CSU-Pueblo at home, 57-21, thanks to a 36-point second quarter to snap a five-year losing streak to the Thunderwolves. Justin Dvorak threw for 402 yards and six touchdowns as Riley Hoff caught three of them for 109 total yards and Ty Young and Brody Oliver each crossed 100 yards receiving. Mines' defense was dominant, producing five turnovers and a safety, including two interceptions by Dean Wenger with a pick-six, and two fumble recoveries by Drake Thenell.

MOVING UP THE POLLS
Mines was the week's biggest mover in both major polls, shooting up to #11 from #18 in the AFCA coaches' poll and from #21 to #12 in the D2football.com media rankings. They are also #11 in the HeroSports power rankings, up from #22 in preseason.

WITH HONORS
Mines' Week 1 win produced multiple individual honors. Quarterback Justin Dvorak was named the NFFCC and RMAC Offensive Player of the Week (his third and sixth career honors from those organizations, respectively) while Drake Thenell was the RMAC's Defensive Player of the Week for the first time in his career.

DVORAK BREAKS TD RECORD
Justin Dvorak surpassed former Harlon Hill Trophy winner Chad Friehauf as Mines' all-time passing touchdowns leader last week, hitting the end zone six times to take his total to 87. Now, the senior quarterback has more records in his sight. He is 589 yards away from Friehauf's passing yards mark (Dvorak has 9,284, record is 9,873) and 21 away from Friehauf's completions record (has 752, record is 773). If the season was over today, Dvorak's rating of 154 and completion percentage of 66 percent would also be Mines records.

AIRING IT OUT
Mines had three receivers cross the 100-yard mark against CSU-Pueblo, and all three had at least one touchdown catch as well. Ty Young (4 rec., 110 yards, 1 TD), Riley Hoff (8 rec., 109 yards, 3 TD), and Brody Oliver (6 rec., 102 yards, 1 TD) combined for the milestone, with Zach Richter (7 rec., 79 yards, 1 TD) also producing big numbers. Hoff's three touchdown catches set a Marv Kay Stadium record for a receiver. The last time Mines had three receivers over 100 yards? Sept. 22, 2012 against New Mexico Highlands with Jerrod Doucet (212), Cody Renken (145), and David Pawelek (120) as Matt Brown threw for a Mines-record 606 yards.

NOTHING LIKE IT
How impressive was Mines' 36-point second quarter against CSU-Pueblo? As it turns out, it was unprecedented in Mines history. Since joining NCAA Division II in 1992, only once had Mines even scored 30 in a quarter, when they dropped 35 in the second quarter of last year's season opener against South Dakota Mines.

YOINK!
The Mines defense produced five turnovers last week, with two interceptions by Dean Wenger, a pick by Drew Stephon, and two fumble recoveries by Drake Thenell, one of them forced by Grant Gale. Mines' +5 turnover margin is tied for the best in the nation with Limestone after the opening week of play.

BOTTLED LIGHTNING
25. 35. 28. Don't worry, it isn't a math riddle. That's the length, in seconds, of three different Mines scoring drives in the second quarter of the CSU-Pueblo game. The first, starting at midfield after Pueblo's first fumble, needed only two plays: a 39-yard pass to Ty Young and Brody Oliver's 15-yard touchdown grab. The second came after a safety and needed only three plays and 35 seconds capped by Riley Hoff's 28-yard touchdown catch, while the third came off the second CSUP fumble and needed three plays and 28 seconds to get Sam Seeton into the end zone. Mines' seven offensive scoring drives in the game averaged 1:40, with five of the seven under two minutes in length.

NEW SPECIAL TEAMS FACES
Special teams saw plenty of new faces last week. Kicking duties were split between Grayson Harris and Scott Marshall, both making their debuts, as Marshall had seven touchbacks averaging 64 yards per kickoff with 3 PATs and Harris had four PATs with a missed field goal kicking into a tough west wind. Punter Austin Toussaint also made his debut and punted four times, averaging 27.2 yards (three into the wind) while sticking one inside the 20. None of his four punts were returned.

PRESEASON HONORS
Dvorak's big 2015 numbers earned him a bevy of preseason honors, including RMAC Preseason Co-Offensive Player of the Year. He was also named a preseason all-American by four different organizations. Dvorak was one of five preseason all-RMAC selections for the Orediggers, including Tommy Hoskins, Richie Rice, Hasan Shaar, and Ty Young.

RUSHING INTO HISTORY
Sam Seeton had a season to remember in 2015, becoming only the fifth 1,000-yard rusher in program history as he racked up 1,150 yards. His total was the second-most ever in a season at Mines and most since 1939 when Lloyd Madden went for 1,316 yards. Seeton had a very solid outing against Pueblo with 80 yards on 20 carries with a touchdown.

KEEP PUSHING
A big component to Seeton's success has been an outstanding offensive line that returns four all-RMAC veterans: tackle Justin Traxinger, right guard Stephen Candelaria, center Richie Rice, and left guard Hasan Shaar. Traxinger slides over to the left side to replace the graduated Kyle Gilbert, while Levi Cecil, an Air Force transfer who backed up right tackle last year, started there last week. The opening-week numbers were fueled by that experience - zero sacks and only two tackles for loss allowed while Mines produced 515 yards of total offense.

THE BROCKMAN BROS
It's no coincidence that former D-I FCS standout Chris Brockman landed at Mines - his younger brother, running back Chad Brockman, is a redshirt junior for the Orediggers. The elder Brockman sat out his senior season at Lafayette due to injury after starting 11 games and earning the Leopards' linebacker MVP honor in 2014 with 77 tackles, 7.0 TFL, and 3.0 sacks, including two sacks against Lehigh in their 150th meeting game at Yankee Stadium; in his Mines debut he made two tackles with a sack. The younger Brockman looks to break into the running back rotation this season; he was an RMAC Academic Honor Roll recipient a year ago.

SCORING BIG
Mines was fourth in NCAA Division II last year in scoring offense and second in total offense, putting up big numbers in each category. The Orediggers averaged 43.4 points per game and racked up 542.2 yards per game, including a national-best 365.3 in the air. Last week's 57 points was the fifth-best showing in D-II. Mines has scored points in 105 consecutive games dating back to Nov. 10, 2007. The last time Mines was shut out was on Nov. 3, 2007 - an 18-0 loss at Colorado Mesa (then Mesa State).

SCOUTING THE COWBOYS
New Mexico Highlands lost a tight season opener, 21-14, at Dixie State on Sept. 1; like Mines, they've had the extra two days to prepare for Week 2. Quarterback Cody Keith threw for 154 yards and a touchdown while the dual threat of Davonte Lynch and Jairan Manning combined for 119 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Defensively, NMHU allowed 419 yards to Dixie State but also generated three takeaways led by Blue Thomas, who had an interception and a fumble recovery. Ponepate Faleofa had seven tackles with a sack, 2.5 TFL, and two hurries to lead up front.

NEXT TIME
The Orediggers return home to face #25 Colorado Mesa Sept. 17.