#11/10 Colorado School of Mines (6-0/6-0 RMAC) vs. Fort Lewis (3-3/3-3 RMAC), Saturday, 12:05 p.m.
Marv Kay Stadium, Golden, Colo.
[TV: KWGN Colorado's Own Channel 2] [Streaming: RMAC Network] [Live Stats] [Mines Media Notes] 
 

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It's Homecoming at Marv Kay Stadium this Saturday as #11/10 Mines welcomes a tough Fort Lewis team in a match-up of the RMAC's two best defenses.

WATCH US
For the second straight week, Saturday's game will be simulcast live on KWGN Colorado's Own Channel 2, and stream live on the RMAC Network, which is also available on smart TV services like Roku, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire. Miles Dunklin, Andy Lindahl, and John Simmer will have the call. 

TICKETS AND PARKING
Digital tickets are available through Mines' online ticketing portal. Parking in Lot K (north of the soccer stadium) is available for $10 - a reminder to all fans that Lot K does not open until 10 a.m. Free parking is available anywhere else on campus. Fans should be on the lookout for local neighborhood street closures in Golden on gameday; plan on utilizing 11th Street or Maple Street to reach Marv Kay Stadium. 

WEATHER REPORT
Saturday's forecast is absolutely perfect for football with highs in the mid-60s, sunshine, and light winds out of the south. 

CAPTAINS NAMED FOR 2019
Mines has elected four captains for the 2019 season: senior linebackers Jimmy Bauer and James Kohlschmidt, senior running back Cameron Mayberry, and senior tackle Grant Stewart. Stewart is a returning captain from 2018.

MINES VS. FORT LEWIS
Mines and Fort Lewis will meet for the 58th time ... The Orediggers hold a 30-27 series edge ... Mines has won 12 in a row, the longest winnings streak by either side in the series ... The two first met on Oct. 12, 1963, a 21-7 Mines win in Durango ... Mines is 14-13 against FLC at home and 28-24 in RMAC play ... Mines has scored at least 41 points in each of their last seven games.

MINES STAYS PUT IN NATIONAL POLLS
There was little movement in this week's national polls as Mines remained at #11 in the AFCA rankings and in the D2football.com poll at #10. The Orediggers have been ranked in every poll this year since debuting at #17 in preseason.

RMAC STANDINGS
Mines remains alone atop the RMAC at 6-0, with Dixie State and CSU-Pueblo at 4-1. CSUP beat DSU earlier this year; Mines beat CSUP but has yet to play Dixie. [Standings]

OREDIGGERS SHUT OUT WESTERN COLORADO
A punishing defense produced the program's first shutout since 2017 as Mines rolled over Western Colorado, 28-0, at Marv Kay Stadium. The Orediggers improved to 6-0 overall and in RMAC play as John Matocha led the offense with a masterful 263-yard passing, 52-yard rushing, four-total-touchdown day. Matocha was unstoppable as he completed his first 14 passes on the way to a 32-for-40 game, hooking up for strikes to Zach Hoffman (who had a career 10-catch, 123-yard day) and Garrett Hyles while also running for scores of six and 23 yards. Led by Mack Minnehan and Mason Pierce, the defense stepped up to limit Connor Desch to 13-of-33 passing for 164 yards as the Mountaineers ran for only 54 yards. Minnehan had a team-high seven tackles with a sack while Pierce had four tackles and three pass break-ups, all coming in sequence on a goal-line stand in the third quarter.

MATOCHA EARNS RMAC, NFFCC WEEKLY HONORS
For his work against Western Colorado, John Matocha was named both the RMAC Offensive and NFFCC Player of the Week. It is his third RMAC and second NFFCC honor this season; he is the only player this season to earn multiple awards from each organization.

LAST YEAR VS. FORT LEWIS
The Orediggers rolled 44-14 in Durango last year behind history-making performances from Brody Oliver and Cameron Mayberry. Oliver became the RMAC's all-time leader in receiving touchdowns, and Mayberry broke the Mines program rushing yards record. Quarterback Isaac Harker was 32-of-47 for 345 yards and five touchdowns, producing a pair of 100-yard receivers in Riley Hoff (11 rec., 134 yards) and Oliver (9 rec., 127 yards) as Oliver caught four of Harker's five scores. The Oredigger defense was busy produced arguably its best all-around game of the year to that point with three interceptions - two by Anthony Makransky and another by Miguel Rosendo - and its third safety of the year in limiting FLC to only 188 yards of offense.

NO PLACE LIKE HOME
Since the opening of Marv Kay Stadium, Golden has been very friendly to the Orediggers. Mines is 23-3 at home since the first game in 2015, and Homecoming has been especially kind to the Orediggers as they are 4-0 since the stadium opened. Mines has won six straight Homecoming games back to 2013.

DEFENSE AMONG THE ELITE
Mines has been well-known for nationally-elite offenses over the years, and the Orediggers are certainly still doing well on that side of the ball with national top-20 metrics in most every category. But in 2019, the Oredigger defense has gotten in on the act to put up elite numbers of their own. Through six games, Mines ranks in the NCAA Division II top 10 in scoring defense (2nd, 10.7 ppg), rushing defense (2nd, 36.7 ypg), total defense (4th, 226.5 ypg), first downs defense (5th, 77), and third down defense (9th, 25%). 

THAT'S ACCURATE
John Matocha enters Week 7 ranked third in NCAA Division II in completion percentage, and he is first among freshman quarterbacks by a wide margin. At the halfway point of the regular season, Matocha has completed an absurd 74.83% of his passes (113-of-151), which is currently ahead of the Mines and NCAA Division II record of 74.4% set by Chad Friehauf during his Harlon Hill-winning season in 2004. Matocha set a career high for completions and attempts last week against Western Colorado at 32-of-40 (80%) as he threw for 263 yards and two touchdowns.

PICK YOUR TARGET
Coming into 2019, the receivers were a question mark for Mines as only Sean O'Dell had returning starting experience. O'Dell certainly produced early on before being hurt in the New Mexico Highlands game, but since then, a different Oredigger has stepped up each week to lead the team in catches. Three different players - O'Dell, Mason Karp, and Zach Hoffman - have produced 10 or more catches in a game this year.

2019 Leading Receivers, Per Game
at Adams State - Sean O'Dell - 6 catches    
vs. Black Hills - Sean O'Dell - 9 catches    
at CSU-Pueblo - Sean O'Dell - 11 catches    
vs. N.M. Highlands - Josh Johnston - 6 catches    
at Colorado Mesa - Mason Karp - 10 catches    
vs. Western - Zach Hoffman - 10 catches    

ROOKIE REVOLUTION
It's been unusual under head coach Gregg Brandon to have true freshmen play as rookies, with typically only one or two standouts per season (guys like Chris Clore, Evan Gill, Luke Jeter, Scott Marshall, and Mason Pierce) not utilizing their red shirt. But this year, four true freshmen - John Matocha (QB), Logan Rayburn (DB), Myles Ruiz (DB), and Zach Heckman (OL) - have appeared in games with Matocha and Heckman earning starts. It's the largest group of freshmen to play during Brandon's time at Mines.

BELOW AVERAGE
In five out of six games this season, Mines' defense has held its opponent to significant below their season average (through week 6) in total offense. As a result, the Orediggers own the RMAC's #1 and NCAA D-II's #4 total defense at 226.5 yards per game. 

LIVING IN THE BACKFIELD
Through six games, the Mines defense has three players averaging better than 1.0 tackles for loss per game: Averie Mansfield (8.0), Mack Minnehan (7.5), and Luke Jeter (6.5). Mines as a team has racked up 53 tackles behind the line including 20 sacks; that rate ranks sixth in NCAA Division II this season.

VERY SPECIAL
Mines is +3 on turnovers this season, but it isn't just the defense doing the work - special teams have accounted for two of those turnovers, both fumbles. Josh Odom forced a fumble on a kickoff return against Black Hills State in week 2, and last week Denver Hargrove pounced on a muffed punt by Western Colorado. 

RETURN GAME SHINES
Mines doesn't return kickoffs very often - with the addition of fair catch rule last year, the Orediggers are usually content to take the free pass to the 25, doing so 13 times this year. Nor does Mines get many chances to return a kickoff in the first place - thanks to the defense, opponents have kicked off just 17 times in six games. All that being said, when Mines does return a kick... look out. Mines ranks third in NCAA Division II in kickoff return average at 31.25 yards per return; Brandon Farmer averages 34 yards after ripping off a 68-yarder last week, and Josh Johnston averages 26 yards per return with a long of 30. 

FANGIO'S A FAN
Denver Broncos head coach Vic Fangio created some buzz on Monday when he appeared at his weekly press conference wearing a Mines football hat. Fangio commented that he's all about supporting local teams. The hat was a gift from Mines head coach Gregg Brandon, who attended training camp in August.

HEADED TO THE HALL
Today, former quarterback Clay Garcia will be part of the Mines Athletics Hall of Fame class to be introduced at halftime. Garcia was a two-time All-American and 2010 Harlon Hill Trophy finalist throwing for 7,657 yards and 61 touchdowns in two season as a starter. Garcia was the 2011 CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year in football, and was the first student-athlete in Mines football history to be a two-time Academic All-American. Garcia will be joined in the Hall of Fame class by Heather Beresford (cross country/track & field), Kayla Mitchell Jacobsen (soccer), Harold and Patricia Korell (outstanding contributors), and Jim Knous (golf); the group will be introduced at halftime. 

ALL IN A DAY'S WORK
The hard hat is a longtime symbol of Mines students (every freshman receives one when they embark on the M Climb) and engineers everywhere. This season, the Mines bench is featuring a Turnover Hard Hat, which is awarded to and signed by a player generating a takeaway. So far the hard hat has been worn by six different players, with Kobe Brewster and Geoff Keating each getting it twice:

Mack Minnehan at Adams State, Interception    
Logan Braden at Adams State, Interception (TD)    
Josh Odom vs. Black Hills State, Forced fumble    
Geoff Keating vs. Black Hills State, Interception    
Kobe Brewster at CSU-Pueblo, Interception    
Kobe Brewster vs. N.M. Highlands, Interception    
Geoff Keating at Colorado Mesa, Interception (TD)
Denver Hargrove vs. Western Colorado, Fumble recovery    

NEXT UP
Mines takes a break from RMAC play to visit Azusa Pacific next Saturday at 6:30 p.m. Pacific.